New UT Tyler Poll Reflects Texas Voters’ Views on Current Issues, Political Matchups 

TYLER, Texas (June 24, 2025) – The University of Texas at Tyler Center for Opinion Research recently  surveyed 1,154 Texas voters about their views on current state and national issues as well as  hypothetical political primary matchups in 2026.

According to the poll conducted May 28 – June 7, respondents said the most important policy facing  Texas today was the economy (inflation) at 21%, with securing the border being the second most  cited policy at 19%. K-12 education was the distant third of the policy alternatives (10%) chosen by  respondents.

“Although securing the border was a big issue that had an electoral impact in Texas in 2024, it  appears that many voters are more worried about the economy now that the election is over, and  the process of governing has started,” said Dr. Ken Wink, UT Tyler professor and interim center  director.

Democrats, Independents and Republicans cited inflation as the first or second most important  policy facing the state. Securing the border was the top choice of Republicans and the second most  cited choice of Independents, but it was not in the top three choices of Democratic respondents,  Wink noted.

In the 2026 party primaries for U.S. Senate on the Republican side, Texas Attorney General Ken  Paxton received support from 44% of self-identified Republican primary voters, while incumbent  John Cornyn was favored by 34% of Republican primary voters, with a large undecided percentage  (23%). In polling possible Democratic primary voters about a list of possible candidates for Senate,  respondents were asked who most closely shared their values, Wink said. Three possible  Democratic candidates emerged as viable alternatives, with U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett  leading the pack at 30%, followed closely by former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (29%) and former U.S.  Rep. Colin Allred (28%), according to poll results.

When respondents were asked the Democratic candidate who would be most likely to win the  general election, many Democrats favored Allred (34%), with Crockett trailing in second place at  27%. “Although many observers have suggested an Allred candidacy for Senate would be a  predictable choice for the Democrats, Representative Crockett’s frequent and vocal opposition to  President Trump has struck a chord with many Democratic voters, suggesting she might be a viable  candidate for U.S. Senate in 2026,” Wink said.

In a hypothetical matchup for Lieutenant Governor, Republican incumbent Dan Patrick leads  Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives Vikki Goodwin 46%-42%, with 12%  being undecided, according to the poll.

Senate Bill 2 –– the bill that provides vouchers for private school children that was signed into law  by Gov. Greg Abbott on May 3 –– was heavily supported by Texas voters, with 54% in favor and 31%  opposed. There was consistent support across demographics like party, race and size of community,  Wink added.

The only group opposed were respondents from “metropolitan areas with smaller than a 250,000  population,” with 35% support and 45% opposition, Wink said, noting parents of school-aged  children across the state were substantial supporters, with 60% in favor and 29% against.

Visit the polling center website for more information about current and previous studies.

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT  Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 10,000 students.  Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has  unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent  patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World  Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.