TEXAS — A poll by Texas Public Opinion Research (TPOR), released Thursday, details Texans' opinions on the 2025 legislative session.
The poll surveyed opinions on school vouchers, the potential THC ban, public perception of figures like President Donald Trump and Elon Musk and more.
A key takeaway from the poll is that affordability is at the top of Texans’ minds this legislative session. About 37% of respondents ranked it as a number one priority, with education leading close behind at 28% and immigration at 24%.
A majority of voters oppose a school voucher bill with just a third of respondents supporting it. Gov. Greg Abbott has been trying to pass a voucher program for several years, even marking it as an emergency item to pass in this legislative session.
Previous sessions saw similar proposals on school vouchers fail due to worries about the program’s operation and, primarily, the legislation’s effect on per-pupil school funding.
In Texas, 48% of voters desire a voice on the state’s THC policies. A complete ban is supported by only 13% of voters, compared to the 36% who want to keep it legal.
Texas has shifted to be more centered on issues in the past several months, becoming less favorable towards Republican leaders and more receptive to moderate political positions. The state also saw a drop in favorability for both Trump and Musk during this change.
Musk’s favorability rating is 10 points below zero, while Trump’s has fallen from 12 points above zero in November to 3 points below zero in March.
Between November and March, there was a 5% decrease in the number of Texans who identified as conservative, falling from 43% to 38%.
“This poll highlights that the state’s affordability crisis is top of mind for Texans, yet few believe their elected officials are effectively addressing it,” said Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners, which conducted the poll. “The data also shows that Cornyn is vulnerable ahead of his re-election bid next year, even as the electorate has shifted toward the center in recent months.”
Most Texans believe affordability and cost of living should be the things top of mind for legislators in this session. Only 11% of voters believe their state legislator is sufficiently addressing this issue, while 72% believe they are not.
All issues addressed in the poll with their weight of importance to Texans include:
- Affordability and the cost of living: 37%
- Education and public schools: 28%
- Immigration and border security: 24%
- Social Security and Medicare: 21%
- Taxes: 16%
- Abortion and reproductive health issues: 15%
- Health care: 14%
- Economic growth and job creation: 12%
- Infrastructure and the electric grid: 11%
- Oil and gas production: 6%
- Public safety: 5%
- Climate change: 4%
- Cultural issues: 2%
- Other: 4%
- Don’t know/refused: 1%
To ease the cost of living, 93% of Texans support lowering property taxes, while 85% endorse increased investment in affordable housing.
“With the 2025 legislative session in Austin in full swing, this new data sheds light on the top issues Texans want their elected representatives to tackle,” said Luke Warford, director of TPOR. “State lawmakers should focus on voters’ priorities and recognize that Texans want them to address bread-and-butter issues like affordability, healthcare, border security, and Social Security and Medicare.”
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