In a new Second Reading Podcast, James Henson & Joshua Blank assess the potential impact of Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke's campaign efforts in rural parts of the state.
The conversation in the podcast referenced multiple sources of election and polling data. Below are some snapshots of data referenced in the podcast. Some of the graphics below are cut directly from working notebooks, so lack styling. Please contact us with any questions about the data presented below.
Compliations of party identification among rural Texans in Texas Politics Project polling.
Summary statistics for party identification among rural respondents in Texas Politics Project polls, February 2015- June 2022.
Greg Abbott job approval in June 2022 compared to Ted Cruz in June 2018.
| category | Total |
|---|---|
| Approve strongly | 21% |
| Approve somewhat | 18% |
| Neither approve nor disapprove | 13% |
| Disapprove somewhat | 8% |
| Disapprove strongly | 33% |
| Don't know | 7% |
| category | Total |
|---|---|
| Approve strongly | 18% |
| Approve somewhat | 25% |
| Neither approve nor disapprove | 11% |
| Disapprove somewhat | 9% |
| Disapprove strongly | 37% |
| Don't know | 1% |
| category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approve strongly | 2% | 10% | 42% |
| Approve somewhat | 7% | 7% | 32% |
| Neither approve nor disapprove | 10% | 24% | 11% |
| Disapprove somewhat | 9% | 12% | 6% |
| Disapprove strongly | 65% | 31% | 3% |
| Don't know | 6% | 15% | 7% |
| Category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approve strongly | 2% | 15% | 33% |
| Approve somewhat | 4% | 12% | 44% |
| Neither approve nor disapprove | 7% | 17% | 11% |
| Disapprove somewhat | 7% | 17% | 8% |
| Disapprove strongly | 79% | 38% | 3% |
| Don't know | 0% | 2% | 1% |
| category | Urban | Suburban | Rural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approve strongly | 14% | 24% | 27% |
| Approve somewhat | 15% | 17% | 24% |
| Neither approve nor disapprove | 16% | 10% | 14% |
| Disapprove somewhat | 9% | 6% | 11% |
| Disapprove strongly | 38% | 35% | 18% |
| Don't know | 8% | 7% | 6% |
| Category | Urban | Suburban | Rural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approve strongly | 17% | 17% | 24% |
| Approve somewhat | 21% | 24% | 31% |
| Neither approve nor disapprove | 11% | 11% | 10% |
| Disapprove somewhat | 7% | 10% | 10% |
| Disapprove strongly | 44% | 38% | 24% |
| Don't know | 0% | 1% | 1% |
Favorability ratings of Beto O'Rourke from June 2018 and June 2022.
| category | Total |
|---|---|
| Very favorable | 22% |
| Somewhat favorable | 15% |
| Neither favorable nor unfavorable | 16% |
| Somewhat unfavorable | 8% |
| Very unfavorable | 16% |
| Don't know/no opinion | 24% |
| category | Total |
|---|---|
| Very favorable | 22% |
| Somewhat favorable | 19% |
| Neither favorable nor unfavorable | 9% |
| Somewhat unfavorable | 5% |
| Very unfavorable | 40% |
| Don't know/No opinion | 4% |
| category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very favorable | 48% | 9% | 3% |
| Somewhat favorable | 25% | 18% | 5% |
| Neither favorable nor unfavorable | 11% | 22% | 18% |
| Somewhat unfavorable | 2% | 7% | 14% |
| Very unfavorable | 2% | 17% | 29% |
| Don't know/no opinion | 14% | 28% | 32% |
| Category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very favorable | 50% | 10% | 3% |
| Somewhat favorable | 33% | 16% | 6% |
| Neither favorable nor unfavorable | 7% | 19% | 8% |
| Somewhat unfavorable | 4% | 6% | 6% |
| Very unfavorable | 2% | 40% | 74% |
| Don't know/No opinion | 4% | 10% | 3% |
| category | Urban | Suburban | Rural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very favorable | 28% | 22% | 15% |
| Somewhat favorable | 18% | 15% | 9% |
| Neither favorable nor unfavorable | 16% | 15% | 15% |
| Somewhat unfavorable | 6% | 8% | 9% |
| Very unfavorable | 11% | 17% | 20% |
| Don't know/no opinion | 20% | 23% | 32% |
| Category | Urban | Suburban | Rural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very favorable | 26% | 24% | 12% |
| Somewhat favorable | 25% | 17% | 13% |
| Neither favorable nor unfavorable | 10% | 9% | 8% |
| Somewhat unfavorable | 6% | 6% | 3% |
| Very unfavorable | 29% | 41% | 57% |
| Don't know/No opinion | 4% | 4% | 7% |
About the Second Reading podcast. The podcast has been produced intermittently by Jim Henson for the Texas Politics Project, with production support from UT's Liberal Arts Development Studio, since 2016. You can find past episodes and subscribe to the Second Reading podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.