While the most recent Texas Politics Project poll focused primarily Texas attitudes toward the February storm that resulted in infrastructure failures throughout the state, the poll also included a small battery of previously-asked questions checking in on Texans behavior in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a pair of questions about Gov. Abbott’s lifting of capacity limits on businesses and ending of the statewide mask order.
Overall, large majorities of Texans report they are still engaging in the most basic precautions against COVID-19: 79% report staying away from large groups, 71% report avoiding other people as much as possible, and 83% report wearing a mask when in close contact with other people from outside their household. Not surprisingly, given increasing availability and distribution of vaccines, these shares are relatively static compared to February polling. The first two reported activities showed slight declines inside the margin of error, though reported mask wearing did drop from 88% in February, a 5-point decrease that is outside the margin of error of both polls.
The poll also asked Texans to assess how Gov. Abbott and President Joe Biden are handling the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Abbott’s ratings changed little since February, though noticeable shifts in the intensity of both approval and disapproval of his performance in this domain reflect partisans’ reception of his announced shifts in policy – 44% approved (24% strongly), 48% disapproved (34% strongly). Assessment of Biden’ handling of the pandemic remained slightly higher than Abbott’s and materially unchanged from February (48% approved, 33% strongly; 44% disapproved, 39% strongly).
More graphics for all of these results with selected crosstabs are included below.
| category | Total |
|---|---|
| Yes | 83% |
| No | 17% |
| Category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 96% | 79% | 73% |
| No | 4% | 21% | 27% |
| Category | White | Black | Hispanic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 77% | 93% | 92% |
| No | 23% | 7% | 8% |
| Category | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 78% | 88% |
| No | 22% | 12% |
Avoiding other people as much as possible
| category | Total |
|---|---|
| Yes | 71% |
| No | 29% |
| Category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 91% | 64% | 54% |
| No | 9% | 36% | 46% |
| Category | White | Black | Hispanic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 63% | 90% | 78% |
| No | 37% | 10% | 22% |
| Category | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 64% | 77% |
| No | 36% | 23% |
Staying away from large groups
| category | Total |
|---|---|
| Yes | 79% |
| No | 21% |
| Category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 97% | 73% | 66% |
| No | 3% | 27% | 34% |
| Category | White | Black | Hispanic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 73% | 92% | 88% |
| No | 27% | 8% | 12% |
| Category | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 75% | 84% |
| No | 25% | 16% |
Abbott ending capacity limits on Texas businesses
| category | Total |
|---|---|
| Strongly approve | 34% |
| Somewhat approve | 13% |
| Somewhat disapprove | 10% |
| Strongly disapprove | 39% |
| Don't know/No opinion | 4% |
| Category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly approve | 4% | 30% | 62% |
| Somewhat approve | 9% | 14% | 16% |
| Somewhat disapprove | 11% | 10% | 10% |
| Strongly disapprove | 74% | 30% | 10% |
| Don't know/No opinion | 3% | 16% | 2% |
| Category | White | Black | Hispanic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly approve | 43% | 8% | 25% |
| Somewhat approve | 15% | 12% | 11% |
| Somewhat disapprove | 11% | 11% | 8% |
| Strongly disapprove | 29% | 60% | 50% |
| Don't know/No opinion | 2% | 9% | 6% |
| Category | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Strongly approve | 40% | 29% |
| Somewhat approve | 13% | 13% |
| Somewhat disapprove | 10% | 10% |
| Strongly disapprove | 33% | 44% |
| Don't know/No opinion | 4% | 4% |
Abbot ending statewide mask order
| category | Total |
|---|---|
| Strongly approve | 34% |
| Somewhat approve | 11% |
| Somewhat disapprove | 7% |
| Strongly disapprove | 44% |
| Don't know/No opinion | 4% |
| Category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly approve | 5% | 30% | 60% |
| Somewhat approve | 5% | 9% | 16% |
| Somewhat disapprove | 7% | 11% | 7% |
| Strongly disapprove | 81% | 37% | 13% |
| Don't know/No opinion | 2% | 13% | 3% |
| Category | White | Black | Hispanic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly approve | 42% | 11% | 25% |
| Somewhat approve | 13% | 10% | 8% |
| Somewhat disapprove | 8% | 9% | 5% |
| Strongly disapprove | 34% | 65% | 56% |
| Don't know/No opinion | 3% | 4% | 6% |
| Category | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Strongly approve | 41% | 28% |
| Somewhat approve | 12% | 10% |
| Somewhat disapprove | 7% | 8% |
| Strongly disapprove | 37% | 50% |
| Don't know/No opinion | 4% | 4% |
Approval of Gov. Abbott handling of COVID-19
| category | Total |
|---|---|
| Approve strongly | 24% |
| Approve somewhat | 20% |
| Neither approve nor disapprove | 7% |
| Disapprove somewhat | 13% |
| Disapprove strongly | 35% |
| Don't know | 1% |
| Category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approve strongly | 4% | 18% | 43% |
| Approve somewhat | 7% | 15% | 31% |
| Neither approve nor disapprove | 4% | 16% | 6% |
| Disapprove somewhat | 16% | 20% | 10% |
| Disapprove strongly | 69% | 24% | 9% |
| Don't know | 0% | 7% | 0% |
| Category | White | Black | Hispanic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approve strongly | 30% | 7% | 19% |
| Approve somewhat | 24% | 15% | 14% |
| Neither approve nor disapprove | 6% | 5% | 10% |
| Disapprove somewhat | 13% | 17% | 12% |
| Disapprove strongly | 27% | 56% | 43% |
| Don't know | 1% | 1% | 3% |
| Category | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Approve strongly | 26% | 22% |
| Approve somewhat | 20% | 19% |
| Neither approve nor disapprove | 7% | 6% |
| Disapprove somewhat | 15% | 12% |
| Disapprove strongly | 31% | 40% |
| Don't know | 2% | 1% |