Texas headed in wrong direction, voters say

The moods of Texans have soured, according to a Dallas Morning News-University of Texas at Tyler poll released Sunday. Among the signals was a bump in the percentage of voters who say Texas is heading in the wrong direction – to 56% this month, up from 49% in February. The growing unease crossed all party and racial-ethnic categories. Only 43% of Texans say the state is on the right track, down from 50% in February. “These are tough times,” said Mark Owens, a political scientist at UT Tyler and the poll’s director. “Texans feel a sense of economic uncertainty, even if most Texans assign blame to federal lawmakers for inflation.” He referred to how the poll found Texans feel stressed over their finances. A plurality (48% of respondents) blames inflation mostly on President Joe Biden and the Democratic-controlled Congress.

On another touchy subject – high property taxes – a plurality of 40% assigns responsibility to Gov. Greg Abbott and the GOP-led Legislature. Just 31% blame a population-growth-driven shortage of homes, and 24%, local elected officials. Many Texas say they’re not going to restaurants as much as they used to. “Voters are also indicating that they are diverging from leaders on policy,” Owens said. “There is support for ways that Texas is trying to lead where the nation is not, but voters object to the state trying to direct local decisions across multiple policies.” While Biden remains deeply unpopular in Texas, with just 39% of voters approving of the job he’s doing, and 58% disapproving, the poll shows slight erosion for Abbott and state Republicans. Abbott’s job approval rating is now underwater: 46% approve and 50% disapprove of how he’s handling his duties, compared with net approval of 50-46 in February. The survey found that Texans back many things Abbott is doing to halt a migrant influx at the U.S.-Mexico border, but support for his state-built wall has ebbed.