Respondents were asked, "For each of the following presidential candidates, please tell us whether you think that they would be a great, good, average, poor or terrible president."
Respondents who indicated that they would vote in or have already voted in the Republican primary were asked, "What's most important: picking the candidate best prepared to..." "Likely Voters" were defined as those who indicated that they were either "Extremely" or "Somewhat" interested in politics in Q2 AND either voted in "Every" or "Almost every" election in Q3.
Respondents who indicated that they would vote in or have already voted in the Republican primary were asked, "If the 2016 Republican primary election for president were held today, which of the following candidates would you vote for?" Response options were randomized. Respondents were first asked the question above. If they initially answered that they didn't know, they were then asked a follow-up question: "If you had to make a choice, who would you choose?" Responses to the follow-up questions were folded into the results found below. "Likely Voters" were defined as those who indicated that they were either "Extremely" or "Somewhat" interested in politics in Q2 AND either voted in "Every" or "Almost every" election in Q3.
February 05, 2016 | By:
Jim Henson,
Joshua Blank
The Texas political world is all in a tizzy this week after Ted Cruz won the Iowa caucuses, using a combination of evangelical support, streamlined political science, crack campaign organization, and, of course, charm. Seems a sure thing that Marco Rubio will make a play in Texas, and to this end he announced his “Texas Leadership Team". Speaking of wanting to lead, aspiring Texas GOP-chair Jared Woodfill announced while on his day job that his client, the fake fetal tissue dealer David Daleiden of Planned-Parenthood-sting-gone-wrong fame, would not take a plea deal offered by the Harris County DA, presumably at least in part to use the trial as a forum to air his views on abortion (after all, he’s an activist). For those who really want the inside baseball on abortion politics, theDallas Morning News took a good look at the competing anti-abortion groups in Texas, pegging the story of dueling defenders of all things life to their taking sides in the fight between Pro-Straus and anti-Straus forces in the GOP primary. Their struggle inspired us to include a bonus video.
November 22, 2015 | By:
James Henson, PhD
Established patterns in attitudes among Republican voters working in concert with the sense of immediate crisis in the aftermath of Paris are surely fueling the surprising vehemence of the illiberal rhetoric and ideas about that are so at odds with the civil libertarian culture of the country. But the vehemence of this approach and its centrality to the current political debate are the results of political choices, especially those of the candidates vying for the GOP presidential nomination.
Respondents who indicated that they will be voting in the Republican Primary election were asked, "Are there any of these candidates for the Republican nomination for president whom you would definitely not support?"
Respondents who indicated that they will be voting in the Republican Primary election were asked, "If the 2016 Republican primary election for president were held today,which of the following possible candidates would you vote for, or haven't you thought about it enough to have an opinion?" Response options were randomized.
Respondents who indicated that they will be voting in the Republican Primary election were asked, "Of the remaining possible candidates, who would be your second choice, or have you not thought about it enough to have an opinion?" Response options were randomized.
October 30, 2015 | By:
James Henson, PhD,
Joshua Blank, PhD
Halloween is upon us, but it's already been a scary week for Jeb Bush and homeowners thinking about their property tax bills – but Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are trying their best to calm everyone down. Calm by nature, Dr. Ben Carson started the week off early causing a stir with his proclamation that he's against abortion in cases of rape and incest, while two of Texas politics' more animated politicians – Dan Patrick and Ted Cruz – essentially endorsed each other. Both Patrick and Governor Abbott also endorsed the legislature preventing so-called sanctuary cities in Texas, but not enough to require legislators to haunt Austin in a special session. Finally, President Obama followed the lead of Texas in pressing for a reduction in standardized testing – a treat for kids and their parents, who increasingly told pollsters they find frequent high stakes testing pretty ghastly.
Respondents who indicated that they will be voting in the Republican Primary election were asked, "If the 2016 Republican primary election for president were held today, which of the following possible candidates would you vote for, haven't you though about it enough to have an opinion?" After indicating their first choice, respondents were asked, “Of the remaining possible candidates, who would be your second choice, or have you not thought about it enough to have an opinion?”
