FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Margaret Justus 281-250-8253
Email: margaretjustus@att.net
Texans optimistic about state economy/Number reflect state’s continued deep red roots among likely voters/Governor Romney 58%, President Obama 39%/Ted Cruz leads Paul Sadler 50 - 24, 26% undecided
Should Governor Perry run for re-election? 30% against, 18% for, 53% will wait and see
(AUSTIN) Seventy percent of Texans indicated they are optimistic about the state’s economy, but not so upbeat about the nation’s recovery according to a recent independent poll sponsored by the Texas Lyceum, a statewide, non-profit, non-partisan leadership group.
The poll, which has a +/- 2.83 percent margin of error, interviewed 1,175 Texans September 10 – 26 and was led by University of Texas Professor Daron Shaw, a Lyceum alumnus who has conducted the poll for the past six years. Lyceum Director and Rhodes College Professor Amy Jasperson assisted Professor Shaw. The pollsters used the latest poll data collection techniques utilizing a combination of landline and cell phone samples plus Spanish language interviewers.
When asked about the direction the country is headed, 42 percent of registered voters believe that the country is moving in the right direction, while 51 percent believe that we’re off on the wrong track. When limiting our analysis to likely voters, only 39 percent say that we’re headed in the right direction while 57 percent say that we’re off on the wrong track.
Looking at personal economic evaluations, the poll asked, “compared to one year ago, are you better off, worse off, or about the same economically?” Among registered voters, equal proportions said that they were better and worse off than they were a year ago (24% percent), while 50 percent said that they were doing about the same. Among likely voters, 22 percent said they were better off, 30 percent said they were worse off, and 48 percent said that they were doing about the same.
Meanwhile, it is mixed bag for federal and state leaders’ job approval numbers. Voters slightly disapprove of President Obama’s job performance and slightly approve of Governor Perry’s. Forty-five percent of likely voters think President Obama is doing a good job, while 55 percent think that the president is doing a poor job. On the economy, 44 percent think he’s doing a good job while 55 percent think he’s doing a poor job. Not surprisingly, there is a big difference of opinion by party. While 96 percent of Democrats approve of the job President Obama has done, only 5 percent of Republicans share this opinion. Among independents, 45 percent approve of the President’s job performance compared with 54 percent who disapprove.
If the election were held today, ballot tests show the red state dominance in Texas may well continue in 2012. Mitt Romney leads Barack Obama by 19 points in the presidential race among likely voters, 58 percent to 30 percent, while Republican Ted Cruz leads Democrat Paul Sadler by 24 points on the U.S. Senate ballot 50 – 24 percent.
Finally, 53 percent of Texans say they will wait and see if they will support Governor Perry should he seek a fourth term for Governor in 2014. However, 30 percent said they would vote against him today while only 18 percent support him.
"Texas is clearly a 'red state' and the 2012 elections show it. The ray of hope for the Democrats is that very few people have tuned into the U.S. Senate or state legislative elections, so Republican support levels in the non-presidential races are under 50 percent,” said Professor Shaw.
He continued, "The economic evaluations demonstrate that Texans believe their state is out-performing the national economy. This seems to be why evaluations of Governor Perry and the state legislature are decent, even as voters express skepticism about another term for Perry."
About the Texas Lyceum
The Texas Lyceum, a non-profit, non-partisan group, is the premier statewide leadership organization focused on identifying the next generation of top Texas leaders. The Lyceum consists of 96 men and women from throughout the state who begin their six-year term while under the age of 46, and have demonstrated leadership in their community and profession, together with a deep commitment to Texas.
For more information, please visit www.texaslyceum.org.
Texas Lyceum is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/texaslyceum and on Twitter @TexasLyceum http://twitter.com/texaslyceum.
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