Gov. Greg Abbott remains Texas voters' favorite state official, while his potential rivals see higher disapproval ratings.
The latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll shows Gov. Abbott with a 45 percent approval rating compared to 38 percent who disapprove. Meanwhile, both Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus saw their approval ratings slip since the legislative session.
“The poll reflects it was a bruising process, everyone who watched the legislative process recognized it, and their bruising reflects that,” says political strategist Bill Miller of Austin-based HillCo Partners.
“By the time the next session rolls around, if they still want to have the job they want, their numbers will be great on the front end and then at the back end they'll again be depressed, that's just the way the process works.”
Political strategist Bill Miller says both U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz also are feeling the heat.
“The expectations were very high for the Senate and the House to move things with the Republican president, that hasn't occurred,” he says. “I think the problems with the Trump presidency also bleeds over to those senators.”
Good news for Cruz, more than half of those polled never heard of his Democratic challenger.