Approval of Response to Winter Storm by Political Actors and Institutions (March 2021)

Approval of Response to Winter Storm by Political Actors and Institutions (March 2021)

  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of how each of the following has handled the response to the winter storm and its effects?"
Loading chart...
categoryTotal
Your local government47%
Governor Greg Abbott41%
Senator Ted Cruz31%
The Texas Legislature28%
Senator John Cornyn26%
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)12%
Railroad Commission of Texas12%
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)8%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of how each of the following has handled the response to the winter storm and its effects?" Measurement of Party ID for this figure is based on two questions. First, respondents were asked whether they consider themselves to be a Democrats, Republicans, independents, other, or not sure. Those who responded that they are independents or "other" were then asked if they lean toward either the Democrats or Republicans. If they indicated that they lean toward one party or the other, they are considered Democrats or Republicans for the purposes of this figure. Only "pure" independents or members of a third party who indicate that they have no preference for Democrats vis-a-vis Republicans are considered independents. Respondents who answered that they are "not sure" for either of the two aforementioned questions are not incorporated into this figure.
Loading chart...
CategoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Your local government45%32%52%
Governor Greg Abbott11%32%70%
Senator Ted Cruz9%16%55%
The Texas Legislature13%13%48%
Senator John Cornyn9%15%44%
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)8%7%15%
Railroad Commission of Texas9%7%16%
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)9%6%8%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of how each of the following has handled the response to the winter storm and its effects?" Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
Loading chart...
CategoryLean DemocratNot very strong DemocratStrong Democrat
Your local government44%44%46%
Governor Greg Abbott8%15%10%
Senator Ted Cruz6%6%10%
The Texas Legislature7%14%15%
Senator John Cornyn8%8%10%
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)4%15%8%
Railroad Commission of Texas12%10%7%
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)7%8%9%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of how each of the following has handled the response to the winter storm and its effects?" Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
Loading chart...
CategoryLean RepublicanNot very strong RepublicanStrong Republican
Your local government51%48%53%
Governor Greg Abbott62%70%74%
Senator Ted Cruz43%45%64%
The Texas Legislature42%42%52%
Senator John Cornyn30%38%53%
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)12%19%14%
Railroad Commission of Texas11%15%19%
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)10%14%6%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of how each of the following has handled the response to the winter storm and its effects?" Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
Loading chart...
CategoryLiberalsModeratesConservatives
Your local government45%39%52%
Governor Greg Abbott7%26%72%
Senator Ted Cruz5%15%57%
The Texas Legislature8%21%46%
Senator John Cornyn6%16%44%
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)9%11%15%
Railroad Commission of Texas9%9%16%
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)7%8%9%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of how each of the following has handled the response to the winter storm and its effects?" Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
Loading chart...
CategoryLean liberalSomewhat liberalExtremely liberal
Your local government42%55%38%
Governor Greg Abbott5%8%8%
Senator Ted Cruz2%5%6%
The Texas Legislature6%7%12%
Senator John Cornyn3%5%9%
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)3%8%13%
Railroad Commission of Texas8%7%10%
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)4%7%12%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of how each of the following has handled the response to the winter storm and its effects?" Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
Loading chart...
CategoryLean conservativeSomewhat conservativeExtremely conservative
Your local government51%53%52%
Governor Greg Abbott52%73%80%
Senator Ted Cruz41%54%67%
The Texas Legislature39%47%48%
Senator John Cornyn29%45%49%
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)17%13%16%
Railroad Commission of Texas16%17%14%
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)19%7%9%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of how each of the following has handled the response to the winter storm and its effects?" Race is calculated according to the race variable.
Loading chart...
CategoryWhiteBlackHispanic
Your local government53%43%37%
Governor Greg Abbott51%20%28%
Senator Ted Cruz38%15%19%
The Texas Legislature34%19%22%
Senator John Cornyn31%20%15%
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)11%12%12%
Railroad Commission of Texas12%12%13%
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)6%14%12%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of how each of the following has handled the response to the winter storm and its effects?" Gender is calculated according to the GENDER variable.
Loading chart...
CategoryMaleFemale
Your local government44%49%
Governor Greg Abbott42%40%
Senator Ted Cruz31%30%
The Texas Legislature27%29%
Senator John Cornyn26%26%
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)11%12%
Railroad Commission of Texas13%11%
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)10%8%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of how each of the following has handled the response to the winter storm and its effects?" Community type is based on the following question, " Would you say that you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community?"
Loading chart...
CategoryUrbanSuburbanRural
Your local government49%43%51%
Governor Greg Abbott31%41%56%
Senator Ted Cruz26%28%46%
The Texas Legislature26%24%45%
Senator John Cornyn21%24%39%
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)16%9%11%
Railroad Commission of Texas19%8%12%
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)15%7%5%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of how each of the following has handled the response to the winter storm and its effects?" Age is calculated according to the AGEG variable.
Loading chart...
Category18-2930-4445-6465+
Your local government27%53%47%53%
Governor Greg Abbott27%34%45%52%
Senator Ted Cruz24%27%31%37%
The Texas Legislature19%31%28%33%
Senator John Cornyn18%21%26%36%
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)21%17%7%6%
Railroad Commission of Texas16%17%10%7%
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)21%13%5%3%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of how each of the following has handled the response to the winter storm and its effects?" Education is calculated according to the EDUC variable.
Loading chart...
CategoryNo HSHigh school graduateSome college2-year4-yearPost-grad
Your local government27%42%46%38%55%55%
Governor Greg Abbott41%36%40%40%46%45%
Senator Ted Cruz29%27%33%34%31%31%
The Texas Legislature20%24%29%36%32%25%
Senator John Cornyn16%22%26%35%27%27%
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)4%11%13%17%11%8%
Railroad Commission of Texas3%8%13%19%12%10%
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)3%8%8%18%8%8%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of how each of the following has handled the response to the winter storm and its effects?" Religiosity is calculated according to the IMPORT variable.
Loading chart...
CategoryExtremely importantSomewhat importantNot very importantNot at all important
Your local government53%47%39%38%
Governor Greg Abbott56%37%30%19%
Senator Ted Cruz44%27%23%11%
The Texas Legislature42%25%19%10%
Senator John Cornyn39%21%15%11%
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)15%13%7%4%
Railroad Commission of Texas15%13%9%4%
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)12%10%8%2%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of how each of the following has handled the response to the winter storm and its effects?" Fundamentalism is calculated according to the LITERAL variable.
Loading chart...
CategoryThe Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word.The Bible is the word of God but not everything in it should be taken literally, word for word.The Bible is a book written by men and is not the word of God.Don't know.
Your local government54%49%39%27%
Governor Greg Abbott57%46%20%28%
Senator Ted Cruz46%34%10%23%
The Texas Legislature47%29%10%18%
Senator John Cornyn41%28%9%13%
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)23%9%5%5%
Railroad Commission of Texas20%12%5%8%
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)18%6%4%8%

Latest Poll News

June 2023 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll

The June 2023 University of Texas / Texas Politics Project poll included extensive questioning about the performance of state leaders during the 2023 Legislative session.
State on the Wrong Track

For only the second time in UT polling, but the second time in less than a year, a majority of Texas voters say that the state is on the wrong track.
Inflation on Texans' minds

More than half of Texans think the state is on the wrong track, while border security and immigration continue to loom large, especially among Texas Republicans.
June 2021 University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll

The latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll has been released in full. Check out the latest poll page to explore results related to the 87th legislative session, the coronavirus pandemic, assessments of state leaders, and more.
March 2021 Texas Politics Project/UT Energy Institute Poll

The Texas Politics Project just released the results of a March poll developed in conjunction with a team of researchers at the UT Energy Institute that asked dozens of questions about Texans’ experience during the winter storm, their attitudes toward causes and consequences of the storm, their views of, and expectations about, possible policy responses, and their views of how a wide range of actors from their neighbors and utility providers to state political leaders, regulatory bodies, and corporate actors. 

Related Results