TEXAS — A new poll from the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin shows a majority of Texas voters support stricter border control measures. A majority of Texas Democratic primary voters also favor Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, over other Democratic Senate candidates ahead of the March 5 primaries.

What You Need To Know

  • A poll from the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin shows a majority of Texans support making it harder for migrants fleeing violence in their home countries to find asylum in the U.S.
  • Most Texans also favor Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, over other Democratic candidates ahead of the primary elections
  • Democrats are divided on supporting stronger immigration measures
  • In a head-to-head matchup between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, Trump leads the current president 48% to 41%

Immigration

The February 2024 poll shows that 33% of Texas voters strongly support making it more difficult for migrants to seek asylum and 26% somewhat support it. Meanwhile, 16% somewhat oppose it, 16% strongly oppose it and 10% don’t know or don’t have an opinion on the issue.

A majority of Texas voters would classify the immigration rates at the border as a “crisis,” according to the poll. Republicans lead the charge, with 74% agreeing with the sentiment.

The poll found that more Democrats supported stronger border control measures now compared to 2016. When asked if undocumented migrants living in the U.S. should be deported immediately, 58% of Texans surveyed agreed and 37% disagreed. Of those, 80% were Republicans and 35% were Democrats.

About 41% of Texas voters support Texas preventing U.S. Border Patrol agents from accessing parts of the Texas-Mexico border and 44% opposed.

The majority of Texans surveyed support border control measures such as building the border wall (65%) and using buoys and barbed wire to deter migrants (57%). 

Elections

Ahead of the primary elections, a majority of Texas Democratic primary voters surveyed (52%) would cast their vote for Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, as the Democratic candidate for Senate. He holds a significant lead in the poll over state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who stands at 14%. Allred is seeking to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz.

About 50% of voters view Allred favorably while 7% view him unfavorably. About 37% hold a favorable view of Gutierrez and 7% hold an unfavorable view of him. Cruz holds a significant lead over both Democratic candidates, with a 46% — 32% lead over Allred and a 45% — 31% lead over Gutierrez.

For presidential candidates, more Texas voters favor former President Donald Trump. In a head-to-head matchup between Trump and President Joe Biden, Trump leads the current president 48% to 41%. In a multi-candidate matchup, 45% of Texans would vote for Trump while 36% would vote for Biden.

The majority of Texas voters (60%) believe there will be "political violence" in response to the 2024 election results.

Abortion

About 45% of Texans surveyed believe state abortion laws should be more lax — 66% of Democrats and 24% of Republicans. Meanwhile, 27% of Texans believe abortion laws should be stricter —25% of Democrats and 32% of Republicans.

Gun control

Most Texans (52%) support raising the legal age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21 years old. Across party lines, 90% of Democrats, 63% of Republicans and 56% of independents support raising the age. 

As for opinions on open carry, 74% of Democrats think the U.S. would be "less safe" if more people carried guns, and 51% of Republicans think the U.S. would be "more safe" if more people carried guns. A small group of GOP voters (18%) say it would have “no impact on safety.”

The poll surveyed 1,200 self-declared registered voters in Texas from Feb. 2 to Feb. 12, 2024.

CORRECTION: Data collected on Democratic primaries was from likely Democratic primary voters. Additionally, among those polled, Cruz's lead over Allred would be 46%-32%, not a 46% lead, and his potential lead over Gutierrez would be 45%-31%. (Feb. 19, 2024)