Poll: Texans Want Perry To Stay In Texas
AUSTIN (AP) - Most Texans approve of Gov. Rick Perry's work as the nation's longest-serving governor, but even more don't want him to leave the state and run for president, according to a poll released Monday.
Perry has said he isn't interested in White House, but with a new book out and as the new leader of the Republican Governor's Association, his national profile is rising. Tea party activists in particular praise his brand of conservatism.
The poll found 51 percent of Texans approve of his job performance, and nearly two-thirds think he should not run for president. The poll was commissioned by the Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle, the San Antonio Express-News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Austin American-Statesman.
"It's not necessarily a vote of no confidence," pollster Mickey Blum told the Dallas Morning News. "Sometimes it's a statement that, 'I like you where you are, keep doing a good job, just stay there."'
The poll by Blum and Weprin Associates Inc. questioned 819 adult Texans by phone Dec. 28-Jan. 5. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points for all adults, and 3.7 percentage points for the 716 registered voters in that group.
The rise in Perry's approval rating marks the first time he's broken 50 percent in four years. Meanwhile, Republican U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's approval rating stalled at 46 percent. Hutchison lost her 2010 primary challenge to replace Perry as governor.
While 73 percent of Republicans think Perry is doing a good job, only 56 percent of Republicans give Hutchison high marks.
Democrats and blacks were far more likely to give Perry low ratings, while Hispanics were divided. Older, white voters were Perry's biggest supporters.
Blum said Perry's supporters could change their minds and back a presidential bid if Perry made a serious run for the job.
"If he decided to run, do I think they would support him?" she said. "Sure."
The poll also found that Texans hold low opinions of politicians who switch parties after re-election. State Reps. Aaron Pena of Edinburg and Allan Ritter of Nederland switched to the Republican Party shortly after the November elections. Nearly two-thirds of voters said what they did was unfair, with a majority of voters from both parties in agreement.
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