Texans Don’t Want Abbott Back As Governor—But Don’t Want O’Rourke Or McConaughey, Either, Poll Finds - Forbes

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Topline

The 2022 Texas governor's race is already attracting a lot of attention, but Texas voters don't seem too excited about the names being floated for the job at this point, according a a Quinnipiac poll, which found most voters don't think Gov. Greg Abbott (R) should be reelected, but also aren't confident that Beto O'Rourke or Matthew McConaughey are good fits for the job.

Key Facts

The poll of 863 Texas voters conducted September 24-27 found only 42% think Abbott is deserving of a third term, while 51% said he should not be reelected.

Democrat Beto O'Rourke, who will reportedly jump into the race, only has 33% of voters believing he'd make a good governor at this point, while 50% think he wouldn't.

O’Rourke has strong support among Democrats, with 81% believing he'd do a good job, but scores poorly among Republicans and independents—84% in the GOP and 55% of independents don't think he'd make a good governor.

Matthew McConaughey, the famed actor who's publicly mulled a run, also doesn't seem to be inspiring potential voters at this point.

A quarter of those polled think he'd do a good job as governor, but 49% say he would not, and his numbers are underwater with Republicans, Democrats and independents.

Democrats are the most confident in McConaughey, with 36% saying they think he'd make a good governor, but only 23% of independents and 17% of Republicans agree.

What To Watch For

Abbott is facing a primary challenge from former U.S. Rep. Allen West, who served as chairman of the Texas GOP from July 20, 2020 to July 11, 2021. West was known for his clashes with Abbott over Covid policy, and at one point protested outside the governor's home, demanding Abbott immediately lift the Covid restrictions that were in place at the time. The West-led Texas GOP also filed a lawsuit against Abbott in September of 2020, claiming the governor exceeded his authority by expanding the period of early voting for the 2020 presidential election. Abbott appears strongly positioned to fend off West and other competitors, though. According to Quinnipiac, Abbott has an 83% approval rating among Republicans.

Key Background

Texas has been at the center of national attention over the past days and weeks over a series of highly divisive issues, most recently for chaotic scenes at the Del Rio border crossing, where more than 15,000 Haitian migrants were at times packed into a makeshift camp under a bridge after illegally entering the United States. Abbott blasted President Joe Biden, claiming Texas law enforcement worked to secure the border in Del Rio—not the federal government, which deported thousands of asylum seekers back to Haiti. For his response, Abbott received a 43% approval rating from voters, while 46% disapproved. Those numbers are far better than Biden's, according to the Quinnipiac poll, which found only 20% of voters approved of the president's handling of the situation, while 71% disapproved. Under Abbott, Texas also enacted a new law that almost completely bans abortion in the state. The law prohibits essentially all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a time period so short many women may not even know they're pregnant, while also not providing any exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Another controversial piece of legislation—Senate Bill 1—was signed into law by Abbott earlier this month. SB1 enacts a new slate of voting restrictions in the state, even after Democrats went great lengths to try to block the legislation, with dozens of lawmakers fleeing to Washington, D.C., to prevent a quorum in the Texas House. The standoff lasted for 38 days before enough Democrats returned to the state.

Tangent

Texas is conducting an audit into the 2020 presidential election results in four of its largest counties, after former President Donald Trump sent a letter to Abbott requesting the audit on Thursday. Despite no evidence, 78% of Texas Republicans said they believe there was "widespread voter fraud" in the presidential election.