Poll: Texas voters disapprove of Trump, Abbott, Patrick, Paxton and Cruz ahead of midterms

High-ranking Republicans have lost ground with Lone Star State voters amid recent political turmoil and signs of a sputtering economy, according to a new poll by the Texas Politics Project.

With the economy slowing, the national housing market stagnant and consumer confidence continuing to decline, just 44% of the state’s registered voters said they approve of the job President Donald Trump is doing. Meanwhile, 51% disapprove — a tie for the highest negative job approval rating ever recorded for Trump in University of Texas polling.

The Texas Politics Project, in collaboration with the University of Texas, conducted its survey by interviewing 1,331 registered voters in Texas June 6-16. The poll has a +/-2.83% margin of error.

When it comes to Trump’s handling of the economy, a whopping 79% of Democrats said they strongly disapprove, with 50% of independents and 5% of Republicans sharing the same sentiment.

Republicans elected to statewide office in Texas didn’t fare much better with voters in the poll.

With Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott preparing to go to war in the upcoming special session over whether Texans should be allowed to get high, 45% of respondents said they disapprove of the job Abbott’s doing, while only 41% said they approve. Voters disapprove of Patrick’s leadership by a 42%-30% margin.

Meanwhile, only 29% of respondents said they approve of Attorney General Ken Paxton, compared to 43% who said they disapprove. That polling comes as allegations surface that one Paxton’s top deputies engaged in witness tampering during the AG’s 2023 impeachment trial.

Paxton’s approval rating was almost as low as that of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, which stood at 28%, the Texas Politics Poll found. In contrast, 49% of voters disapprove of the job the senator is doing.

Trump’s continued slide in popularity with Texans, along with the piss-poor ratings further down the Republican side of the ticket, could spell trouble to the party in the 2026 midterms.

Texas Democrats are already capitalizing on anger over Trump’s performance and policies.

Former El Paso congressman Beto O’Rourke, San Antonio U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro and Texas State Rep. James Talarico of Austin are holding a town hall in the Alamo City this Friday. O’Rourke and Talarico have both said they’re weighing a run against U.S. Senator John Cornyn.

Registrations to attend the Democrats’ town hall at The Pearl’s Stable Hall are available online.

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This article appears in Jun 12-25, 2025.