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Opinion

Poll shows Texans won’t tolerate incivility and inaction

In Texas 2036 poll, voters send a clear message

Texans have a message for their leaders in Austin: Get along and get something done.

Texas 2036, the public policy think tank founded by Dallas attorney Tom Luce, is releasing a new poll today that shows that Texans are concerned about the state’s future, and that fewer Texans feel confident in our state government.

The poll, conducted by Baselice & Associates of Austin, asked Texas voters about such wide-ranging topics as K-12 public education, workforce issues, health care and government. A few data points stood out.

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First, Texans won’t be content with a legislative session that just keeps the lights on. They want Austin to make progress this year. More than 80% of respondents agreed that the Legislature should take action to address challenges created by the pandemic. More than “get back to normal” or “weather the storm,” Texans are looking to Austin for leadership and relief.

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“These numbers make clear that across age groups, ethnicities and political parties, Texans want their leaders to take action on the issues that will shape our future,” Texas 2036 CEO Margaret Spellings said.

Second, Texans overwhelmingly support public education. More than two-thirds of respondents believe the state should use all available tools, including standardized tests, to address learning losses caused by the pandemic. Fully 90% said they were concerned with those losses and 84% expressed concern about achievement gaps along racial and socioeconomic lines.

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Finally, and we think most significantly, the poll shows that Texans understand the precarious political climate we find ourselves in and they say that finding a way to talk to one another is the most important issue facing the state in the next several years. That’s remarkable. Pollsters asked respondents to indicate “the one issue Texas needs to address to be successful 15 years from now.” Respondents chose politics/government/civility most often, followed by economy/jobs/trade in second place, and education in third. Immigration, which topped the list last year, dropped to fourth.

The top issue on the minds of Texans isn’t taxes or immigration or education. It’s civility. In the wake of a contentious election season and political unrest in Washington, Texans are ready to leave fake-news-fueled foolishness behind and get on with recovery.

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The poll surveyed 1,021 Texas voters. The margin of error for the results was 3.1 percentage points. And while that may be a small sample in a state of almost 30 million, the message the poll sends to Austin is clear: We don’t have time for partisan squabbles and ideological sermonizing. We need you to get along. We need you to lead. And we need you to find ways to support our recovery.