TYLER, Texas — A new poll by the University of Texas at Tyler and The Dallas Morning News revealed the economy and the coronavirus are the most influential issues among Texas voters.
On Monday, UT Tyler announced the highlights of the poll that was conducted after early voting began in Texas.
“When asked which candidate would be best at handling the economy, Texas voters prefer President Donald Trump 53-46,” Dr. Mark Owens, associate professor of political science and director of the UT Tyler Center for Opinion Research, said. “However, voters are also concerned with public health, and only 45% of the voters had a fair amount or great deal of confidence in President Trump to keep our communities healthy and safe from the coronavirus.”
When asked the same question, 53% of Texas voters indicated that they trusted Gov. Greg Abbott to keep communities healthy and safe during the pandemic.
Results indicate the race between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden is neck and neck among likely voters (48-45) and all registered voters (48-46) with Biden having a slight lead.
The poll also shows Sen. John Cornyn is maintaining an 8% lead over challenger MJ Hegar.
“Across the six polls of Texas voters that the Dallas Morning News and UT Tyler have done this year, the expectation has continued to be that the election in Texas will be within single digits,” Owens said. “Another consistent finding is that with the continued population growth in Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, East Texas has become an even more important region for the outcome of this election.”
Elections in East Texas
President Trump has 64% support among voters in East Texas. The UT Tyler/Dallas Morning News Poll shows that the East Texas region still supports President Trump at a similar rate as we saw at the polls in 2016, he said.
- Voter enthusiasm is 5% higher in East Texas than the state average.
- Of the respondents who took the survey, 43% had already voted during the first week of early voting. In East Texas, ballots cast during the first week of early voting favored the incumbent President Trump (73-27). Other East Texans are holding off on voting until they have a full view of the candidates.
- East Texas voters who planned to vote during the second and third week of early voting still supported President Trump, but at lower levels (52-38). Consistent with previous elections, the poll suggests most of the votes on Election Day will favor President Trump (69-22).
- These responses are based on 78 survey respondents from the counties encompassed within the upper and lower East Texas region.
Texans have one more week of early voting before all precincts open to voters on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
For more information, visit uttyler.edu/politicalscience/pollingcenter.
