Toplines - NUSA March 2023 - Texas

March 2023 Poll of 1,020 Texas Likely Voters

Conducted by Rasmussen Reports and NumbersUSA

How would you rate the job Joe Biden has been doing as President… do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of the job he’s been doing?

 

24% strongly approve

19% somewhat approve

10% somewhat disapprove

46% strongly disapprove

2% not sure

 

Has Texas developed its open land into cities, housing, and highways too much, too little, for about as much as it should?

 

36% too much
12% too little
42% about right
10% not sure

 

Government data show that the United States now has about one-third less cropland for each American than it did 30 years ago.  How important is it to protect U.S. farmland from development so the United States is able to produce enough food to feed its own human population in the future?

 

74% very important
19% somewhat important
4% not very important

1% not at all important

2% not sure

If recent migration and fertility trends continue, Texas demographers project that the state's population of 30 million will reach about 44 million by 2060.  Do you find the prospect of adding another 14 million residents to be more positive or more negative?

30% more positive
55% more negative
15% not sure

If Texas adds another 14 million residents, do you expect traffic to become much worse or would the state Department of Transportation be able to build enough extra road capacity to accommodate the extra residents without more congestion?

 

73% traffic will become much worse

21% the Department of Transportation could accommodate the extra residents without more congestion

6% not sure

Texas ranks third in the U.S. in agricultural acres irrigated, and irrigation is crucial to food production in the state. Texas cities compete for scarce water with agriculture. Should water used to irrigate farmland be diverted to support additional human population growth in Texas?

 

25% water should be diverted from agriculture to support more residents

57% water should not be diverted from agriculture to support more residents

18% not sure

Texas has limited water flows in its undammed streams and rivers. Is it more important for the remaining amount of water in free-flowing streams and rivers to be used to support forested wildlife habitat, fish and birds, or is it more important to use the remaining water in Texas streams to support the projected increase of residents in the state?

 

69% water should be kept in streams to support forested wildlife habitats, fish and birds

20% water in streams should be used to support more residents

11% not sure

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

From an environmental standpoint, how important is it to preserve Texas’ woodlands, natural wetlands, rivers, grasslands, and mountains?

 

67% very important

25% somewhat important
5% not very important

1% not at all important

2% not sure

How important is it to you that you can easily get to Natural Areas and Open Space?

 

54% very important
34% somewhat important
8% not very important

1% not at all important

3%   not sure

A study of government data found that 70% of the loss of Texas’s Open Space, natural habitat, and farmland in recent decades was related to the state's rapid population growth. Would continuing this level of population growth into the future make Texas better, worse or not much different?

 

15% better
58% worse
19% not much different

8% not sure

 

In recent years, have you sensed that Texas’s cities, parks, neighborhoods, schools, and roads have become much more crowded, somewhat more crowded, somewhat less crowded, or much less crowded?

 

54% much more crowded
36% somewhat more crowded
5% somewhat less crowded

1% much less crowded
5% not sure

 

The population of Texas has more than doubled since 1980. Would you prefer that the Texas population continue to rapidly grow, that it grow more slowly, that it stay about the same size, or that it become smaller?  

 

13% continue to grow rapidly

46% grow more slowly

24% stay about the same

13% become smaller

3% not sure

A major source of Texas population growth is people moving in from other states, especially places like California. Should local and state governments in Texas make it more difficult for people to move to Texas from other states by restricting development?

 

46% yes

37% no

17% not sure

 

Another major source of Texas population growth is immigration from other countries.  Should the federal government reduce annual immigration to slow down Texas population growth, keep immigration and population growth at the current level, or increase annual immigration and population growth?

 

57% reduce annual immigration

28% keep immigration at its current level

8% increase immigration

7% not sure

 

Currently the federal government adds about one million legal permanent immigrants to the country each year.  What annual level would you prefer:  increase to two million or more per year, increase to one and a half million, keep it at around one million, reduce it to a half-million, or reduce it to 100,000 or less? 

 

10% two million or more

13% one and a half million

24% one million

20% half a million

23% 100 thousand or less

9% not sure

 

One way to handle continued population growth without losing as much open space, natural habitat, and farmland in Texas is to change zoning and other regulations to funnel more current and future residents into apartments and condo buildings instead of single-family houses with yards. Do you strongly favor that change, somewhat favor it, somewhat oppose it or strongly oppose it?

 

13% strongly favor

29% somewhat favor

25% somewhat oppose

24% strongly oppose

9% not sure

 

In trying to control illegal immigration, should the government mandate that all employers use the federal electronic E-Verify system to help ensure that they hire only legal workers for U.S. jobs?

 

71% yes

17% no

12% not sure

 

Do you live in a major city, the suburbs, a small city, a town or a rural area?

 

27% a major city

34% the suburbs

16% a small city

7% a town

14% a rural area

1% not sure

 

Where would you prefer to live – in a major city, the suburbs, a small city, a town or a rural area?

 

17% a major city

30% the suburbs

20% a small city

10% a town

21% a rural area

2% not sure

 

Have you lived in Texas since childhood or did you move to Texas as an adult?

 

67% since childhood

33% you moved in as an adult

 

About how long have you lived in Texas, less than 10 years, 10 to 20 years, 20 to 30 years, or more than 30 years? 

 

10% less than 10 years

16% 10 to 20 years

14% 20 to 30 years

60% more than 30 years

 

Were you born in Texas, in another state, or another country? 

 

56% Texas

39% another state

5% another country

 

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence