Texas voters are split down the middle when asked if they wanted a wall built on the Mexico border, but whether the wall is built or not they don't want President Donald Trump using emergency powers to build it, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.
The poll said Texans are split 48-48 on whether to build a wall along the Texas-Mexico border. The support can nearly be drawn down party lines with 87 percent of Republicans supporting it and 90 percent of Democrats opposing it. Fifty-one percent of Independent voters also opposed the wall. According to those voters, only 47 percent of them approve of the job Trump is doing
The poll said 60 percent of Texas voters disapproved of President Donald Trump using emergency powers to fund the wall; 52 percent of voters said they don't believe undocumented immigrants crossing the border amounts to a national emergency. However, 52 percent of voters agreed with Trump "that the undocumented immigrants, drugs and gang members crossing the border is an 'invasion.'"
Texas voters are divided in their opinion of President Donald Trump as 47 percent approve of the job he is doing and 50 percent disapprove. "Texas is the state most directly impacted by the border wall controversy because of its long border with Mexico. Its generally conservative nature and stronger support for President Donald Trump makes these numbers especially relevant. "President Trump’s 47 – 50 percent job approval in Texas is not great, but it’s better than Quinnipiac University finds in nationwide polls," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
According to the poll, 53 percent of men supported the wall while 52 percent of women opposed it. Sixty-four percent of voters ages 18-34 opposed the wall while 58 percent of voters over 65 were in favor of it.
Racially, 63 percent of white voters support the wall while 80 percent of black voters and 65 percent of Hispanic voters are opposed.
"Texas voters are split down the middle on the need for a border wall, but overwhelmingly think immigration has been good for this country," Brown said
According to 57 percent of Texas voters, a wall on the Mexican border would not "significantly decrease violent crime in the U.S." while 54 percent said the wall would not "significantly decrease the amount of illegal drugs in the U.S.."
By a wide margin, 62 percent of Texans oppose the federal government seizing private property to build the wall.
Regarding school funding, an overwhelming 83 percent of Texas voters supported proposed multi-billion dollar increases in school funding; 78 percent favored school funding being linked to student population while 12 percent said it should be tied to student performance on standardized tests -- 60 percent said standardized tests were not good for education.
On property tax, 77 percent of voters favored requiring local governments to get voter approval if they want to increase property tax by more than 2.5 percent.
Approval ratings for Gov. Greg Abbott was at 58 percent; U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was at 51 percent while U.S. Sen. John Cornyn was at 43 percent.
Researchers with Quinnipiac University surveyed more than 1,200 Texas voters and said the margin of error in their survey was +/- 3.4 points. The poll was conducted by using random digit dialing of land-lines and cell phones followed up with live interviews.
