Voters head to the polls in Tyler during November 2023 election. (Jennifer Scott/Tyler Morning Telegraph File)

From Staff Reports

A recent UT Tyler poll has revealed how a surveyed group of voters feel about President Donald Trump’s administration so far as well as the Texas Legislature.

The University of Texas at Tyler’s Center for Opinion Research surveyed 1,252 Texas voters about their views on the first month of the Trump administration and policy priorities of the state legislature.

The survey, conducted Feb. 20–27, found voters starkly divided along party lines about how policies should be addressed, although they largely agree on the state of the economy, according to Dr. Ken Wink, UT Tyler professor and poll director.

“At first glance, it may appear that the honeymoon period for candidates who won elections in 2024 may already be over, even though Donald Trump won Texas by more votes than any of his prior campaigns,” Wink said.

The poll showed slightly fewer voters approve of how Trump is handling his job as president (44% approve, 53% disapprove) compared to the end of his first term (47%-48%). Trump still performs well on two key policy areas, Wink noted.

“First, a majority of voters approve of President Trump’s handling of the economy (53%-43%). Furthermore, when voters are focused on the economy or border security, Trump’s approval is statistically equal to that of Gov. Greg Abbott, which is a good sign for the president,” Wink said. “After the election, favorability ratings for Sen. Ted Cruz (44% favorable, 47% unfavorable) are no better than in October 2024 (46%-48%).”

Most voters are split between whether the top issue of concern for Texas is border security (24%) or the rising cost of goods and services (23%), according to the survey.

Wink said it is also clear voter attitudes are still taking shape about the work of the Department of Government Efficiency, a new entity headed by Elon Musk. A majority of Texans — 51% — approve of actions taken by DOGE, according to the poll. When it comes to non-Republican voters, 75% of Democrats and 40% of independents disapprove.

As to Texas’ move to adopt a similar strategy through its new DOGE-inspired committee, Wink said, “It is clear there is support among Texans to evaluate programs for efficiency in Texas like DOGE is doing for the federal government with 60% support and 24% oppose.”

Trump Administration priorities

On the ending of diversity programs, Wink noted voters were divided, with 33% responding the Trump administration is giving too much attention to this effort, 38% saying that the administration was spending the right amount of attention to this issue, and 19% stating too little attention had been given to the issue.

“Most Republicans in Texas (58%) are fine with the quick effort to review diversity, equity and inclusion programs, with an additional 15% of Republicans asking for even more to be done,” Wink said.

However, Democrats (51%) and Independents (35%) mostly see this issue as a distraction for the government, he added.

Border security and immigration

Attention to border security in Texas has centered on actions related to Operation Lonestar, the Texas’ initiative to curb illegal immigration at the southern border.

“At the time of the poll, this issue was back in the news as Gov. (Greg) Abbott and U.S. Rep. Roger Williams requested the federal government reimburse Texas for state actions at the border,” Wink said. “The expansion of border security efforts is certainly something that is more positive for Republicans, who believe that it is the top issue (40%) compared to Democrats (7%) and Independents (12%).”

As leaders plan to shift Operation Lone Star to aid the federal government’s response to immigration, the poll found a 60% majority of Texans support Texas renewing efforts to provide bus travel to ICE centers instead of large cities across the country. About the same share of voters (58% to 33%) believe the state should continue deploying the Texas National Guard and officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety to help monitor the border, Wink noted.

“A slim majority (51%-42%) want to see Texas appropriate money to extend the border wall. This support has been stable over time and is two percent higher than during the legislative session two years ago when President (Joe) Biden was in office,” he added.

Tariffs and inflation

Ahead of expected tariffs on imported goods, the poll shows inflation is a bipartisan concern, with a quarter of Democrats and a quarter of Republicans indicating that inflation is their issue of most concern.

“The bipartisan concern about inflation is reflected in the broad agreement that higher prices have affected Texans similarly based on race and party. It was also a widely held view that the economy had gotten worse in the past year,” Wink said.

The public’s concern for the Texas electric grid has been clear and stable for years, according to Wink.

“Voters overwhelmingly believe that Texas should focus on improving its own ability to produce electricity instead of sharing with neighboring grids (70%-22%). This is the same margin we found weeks after Winter Storm Uri, when temperatures in Texas plunged below freezing four years ago,” Wink said.

As for public confidence in the Texas electricity grid in the months after the storm, public confidence was 10% lower than it is today; nonetheless, since February 2022, one year after the storm – almost half of the public has not been confident Texas will avoid future blackouts (49% confident, 48% not confident in this poll), he added.

State Legislature policy priorities

The survey also covered public support for many of the emergency items Abbott laid out in his address to the legislature. More Texans — 54% — support the education savings account program than oppose it — 31%.

The poll offers further insights to voter attitudes about abortion policy in the state, tax relief, infrastructure and cannabis regulation, Wink said, noting it also includes support for allowing time for prayer in school (56% approve, 28% disapprove) and disapproval of placing the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms (40% approve, 43% disapprove).

The poll also found Texans support the introduction of sports betting and casinos in the state.

“The public’s belief that this will help improve Texas’s economy is still as high as it was four years ago in 2021 – 67% believe it will improve the economy a fair amount or a great deal,” Wink said.

According to the poll, Texas voters also believe Texas Republicans are more likely than Texas Democrats to handle most issues like reducing crime (Republicans +26%), securing the border (Republicans +47%), handling the electricity grid (Republicans +8%), improving higher education (Republicans +3%), and improving school safety (Republicans +15%). However, Texas voters give the advantage to Texas Democrats in improving K-12 education (Democrats +2%), Wink noted.

“Lastly, Texans heavily favor a ‘tough on crime’ approach to handling gun violence,” Wink added. “Seventy percent of Texans favor a little or a great deal a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison for using an illegal firearm, while only 24% oppose this sentence a little or a great deal.”

The UT-Tyler Poll is a statewide random sample of 1,252 registered voters conducted February 20 and 27, 2025. The mixed-mode sample includes 302 registered voters surveyed over the phone by the University of Texas at Tyler with support from ProMark Research and 950 registered voters randomly selected from Dynata’s panel of online respondents. The weighted margin of error for the sample of 1,252 registered voters in Texas is +/- 2.9 percentage points for a 95% confidence interval.

The online and phone surveys were conducted in English and Spanish. Using information from the 2022 Current Population Survey and Office of the Texas Secretary of State. The sample’s gender, age, race/ethnicity, education, metropolitan density and vote choice were matched to the population of registered voters in Texas. 

Source: UT Tyler