Texans have long carried a healthy dose of confidence in their state.
Our 10th Texas Voter Poll suggests that confidence is still there. But it increasingly exists alongside uncertainty about what comes next.
When asked whether Texas or the rest of the United States will have the stronger economy over the next four years, 57% choose Texas, compared with 21% who pick the rest of the country. Another 23% are unsure.
The feeling extends beyond the economy. Six in 10 Texas voters say Texas is a better place than the rest of the country to raise a family.
On their own, those numbers paint a fairly optimistic picture of how Texans see their state.
Confidence today, questions about tomorrow
Those positive views sit alongside significant concern about Texas’ future. More than two-thirds of voters (67.7%) say they are extremely or very concerned, the highest level recorded across 10 editions of the Texas Voter Poll dating to 2020.
That concern crosses party lines, although its intensity varies. It reaches 85% among Democrats, 61% among Independents and 58% among Republicans.
But concern alone does not tell us Texans have lost faith in the state. In fact, the earlier findings suggest otherwise. The more revealing question may be whether voters think Texas is taking the steps necessary to remain successful.
When we split voters between two versions of a question asking whether Texas is taking the proper actions today to ensure that, 20 years from now, it will remain a great place to live, work and raise a family, fewer than half thought Texas is currently doing enough.
Only 38.8% say Texas is taking the proper actions today to ensure it will be the best state 20 years from now to live, work and raise a family. Even when the standard is one of the best states, just 43.1% say Texas is on the right path.
Among voters under 35, 31.5% say Texas is taking the proper actions and 54.6% say it is not (the lowest yes share of any age group.). The yes share rises with each older age group, and yes answers outnumber no answers from age 55 onward: 44.8% to 38.3% among voters 55 to 64, and 46.7% to 35.7% among voters 65 and older.
The challenge two decades from now
The findings suggest Texans have not lost confidence in what makes their state attractive. Most still expect Texas to outperform the national economy, and most still see it as a better place to raise a family.
The question is whether those advantages can be taken for granted.
Voters appear much less certain that Texas is making the choices today that will keep it among the best places to live, work and raise a family two decades from now.
Texans still believe in Texas. The challenge is giving them reason to believe the Texas of 2046 will live up to that same promise.
