CBS 11 Poll: Texans Support Trump, Border Wall And Path To Citizenship
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – A new CBS 11 / Dixie Strategies poll shows President Donald Trump's popularity here in Texas is slightly higher now than when he was elected on November 8, 2016.
A majority of Texans support border security and either a pathway to citizenship or extended work permits for people brought to the United States illegally as children or DACA (Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals) recipients.
♦ MORE POLL RESULTS: TEXAS PRIMARY
In the poll taken last week, when asked to describe their opinion of President Trump, 55% of Texans said they had a somewhat or very favorable opinion of him. That is up slightly from when Trump won the state in the 2016 Presidential Election with 53% of Texans casting their ballot for him.
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Which of the following best describes your opinion of President Donald Trump?
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Brian Graham of Dixie Strategies said Trump remains strong in Texas. "Overall, his numbers are similar with the election results."
The survey shows a deep polarization between Democratic and Republican voters with 85% of Democrats having a somewhat or very unfavorable opinion of the President and 93% of Republicans having a somewhat or very favorable opinion of the President. Half of Independents don't like the President.
According to the survey, more than half of Texans support an an expanded border wall and granting a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients.
When asked, "Do you support a pathway to citizenship, extended work permits, or deportation" almost 53% of Texans said they would support a pathway to citizenship and 21% said they would support providing extended work permits for those affected. 18% favored deportation.
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In regards to people brought to the United States illegally as children, do you support a pathway to citizenship, extended work permits, or deportation?
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While Texans surveyed do favor a solution for DACA recipients other than deportation 57% also said they would support a wall including electronic and other enhanced security measures along the border. Nearly a third of those surveyed said they oppose the wall with 12% undecided. Republicans overwhelmingly support it while 68% percent of Democrats oppose. Half of independents favor the wall.
"It seems that the border wall is dividing much along party lines, so if you are more of a conservative, you support a border wall, you support enhanced security on the southern border," said Graham. "If you're a Democrat, you tend to be more opposed to a border wall," he continued.
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Do you support a wall including electronic and other enhanced security measures along the southern border?
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While the poll suggests there may be room to compromise on immigration, right now there's no agreement in site and the courts are blocking the administration's effort to rescind DACA.
When asked about Texas Governor Greg Abbott and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, 60% of respondents viewed Abbott favorably and 52% viewed Cruz favorably.
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Which of the following best describes your opinion of Senator Ted Cruz?
Which of the following best describes your opinion of Governor Greg Abbott?
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The CBS 11/Dixie Strategies Poll was conducted on February 22-23, 2018 and includes the viewpoints of 695 likely voters across Texas who were contacted and surveyed over the phone. The margin of error is 3.82% for favorability ratings and issue questions; 5.66% for the Democratic Primary; 4.65% for the Republican Primary and has a 95 percent confidence level.
