Blogs: February 2020

Texas Democrats, like Democrats elsewhere, put health care at or near the top of their lists of most important problems. But they have significant disagreements among themselves over what to do about it.

Donald Trump's presidential job approval ratings have shown remarkable strength acorss key demographic categories thorughout his presidency. We've updated our table with breakdowns of presidential job approval among key Republican subgroups with data from the February 2020 UT/Texas Tribune Poll.

The February 2020 University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll caught Bernie Sanders’ apparent rise and troubling times for Joe Biden in the 2020 Democratic presidential nominating contest, even as the race changes on a seemingly day-to-day basis heading into the end of the beginning of the delegate-earning phase of the contest. While the flow of the Democratic race remains rapid and unpredictable, Texans’ views of Congress are still, deep, and fetid. The impact of the impeachment process and its outcome were similarly settled, especially along partisan lines, though the attitudes of independents could potentially produce tricky undercurrents for incumbents. Donald Trump is getting some credit in Texas for a good economy even as his other job approval ratings remain deeply divided. Beneath all the Democratic presidential shifting and Trumpian chaos, the Democrats attempting to earn the right to challenge John Cornyn continued to struggle for attention -- good news for the incumbent. Find more on these points below.

As with most things related to Trump, attitudes that are both intense and polarized along partisan lines are likely to motivate voters of both parties if impeachment remains an issue over the next seven months. Given voters’ attitudes, it’s hard to imagine Cornyn choosing another path, and just as difficult to imagine how his vote will change the existing partisan dynamic in the 2020 election.

Whatever the reason is for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn's support for the president, it puts him tightly in sync with Republican voters in Texas.