Texas voters remain broadly positive about the state, but growing concern over its long-term future is shaping the political mood ahead of November’s elections, according to a new Texas 2036 poll.
Six in 10 respondents said Texas was a better place than the rest of the United States to raise a family. Yet only 39 per cent believed state leaders were taking the right steps to ensure it remained the best place to live, work and bring up children over the next 20 years.
The survey found that 67.7 per cent of voters were extremely or very concerned about Texas’s future — the highest level recorded across the ten waves of the Texas Voter Poll, which began in 2020.
Concern was particularly high among Democrats, at 85 per cent, but the issue crossed party lines. Some 58 per cent of Republicans said they were extremely or very concerned, a 15-point increase on the previous year.
Despite the unease, economic confidence remained relatively strong. More than half of voters, 56 per cent, expected the Texas economy to outperform the rest of the country over the next four years, while 59.4 per cent believed there would be better opportunities for people like them.
However, only 52.3 per cent said they had personally benefited from Texas’s economic growth, while nearly a third said they had not.
Texas voters remain undecided ahead of November
The poll also points to a potentially fluid election, with nearly two-thirds of voters still considering their choices in at least one race. Around 21 per cent described themselves as mostly or fully undecided.
Only half of those surveyed said they planned to vote straight ticket. That compares with about 67 per cent of ballots cast in the state’s 40 most populous counties in 2018, the last election for which reliable straight-ticket data is available.
One in six voters, or 16.7 per cent, were classified as both unaffiliated with a political party and undecided about their November vote. Nearly half of all respondents said they were unaffiliated, although 33.2 per cent of voters in that group said they had already made up their minds.
The findings come as candidates compete for voters who appear more focused on household costs and public services than on party loyalty.
Education and household costs top voters’ priorities
The issue most likely to increase support for a candidate was ensuring that Texas pupils could read and do maths at their expected grade level, backed by 84.8 per cent of respondents.
Reducing healthcare prices was supported by 83.2 per cent, while 82.6 per cent said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who wanted high-school pupils to leave ready for college or a career.
Lower residential electricity bills attracted support from 81.8 per cent, followed by investment in water infrastructure at 81.4 per cent. Reducing homeowners’ insurance costs and property taxes were backed by 79 per cent and 77.2 per cent respectively.
Among unaffiliated and undecided voters, healthcare costs were the leading concern. Some 83.5 per cent said they would be more likely to support a candidate campaigning to reduce them, while 80.9 per cent favoured candidates promising lower electricity bills.
The Texas 2036 poll was conducted by Baselice & Associates between 22 and 26 August among registered voters. It involved 1,369 interviews, with results weighted to an effective sample of 1,001 and a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
