In a recently released poll by Quinnipiac University, results show the steady downward trend in terms of approval that Governor Abbott has been experiencing among Texan voters.
According to the poll, 51 percent of Texan voters do not believe Abbott deserves to be reelected, in contrast with a 42 percent minority who believe he should be governor for a third term.
As reported by The Hill, the opposition to Abbott’s reelection was up from June, when a separate Quinnipiac poll found that 46 percent of Texas voters supported Abbott’s 2022 reelection bid, compared with 48 percent who did not.
Those numbers, according to Quinnipiac, mark the first time since the firm started polling on the Lone Star State that Abbott’s approval rating has sunk below his disapproval rating, referred to as being “underwater.”
Voters were also asked about Abbott’s handling of four separate issues, receiving only one positive score out of the four: handling of the economy, with 53 percent of approval and 39 percent disapproval.
On the rest of the issues, Abbott had a clear disapproval rate: handling the situation at the Mexican border resulted in a 43 percent approval and 46 percent disapproval; handling the response to the coronavirus had 46 percent approval and 50 percent disapproval; and lastly, handling the issue of abortion had 37 percent approval, while 53 percent disapprove.
The Quinnipiac Poll also revealed that voters are split on whether Abbott is taking Texas in the right or wrong direction, as 48 percent say that Abbott is taking Texas in the wrong direction and 45 percent say in the right direction.
“Despite high marks for his handling of the economy, emotional lightening rod issues like policing the border, containing COVID-19, and legislating the right to choose in Texas are not helping Governor Abbott’s standing with the voters” said Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy.
In addition to a majority of respondents believing there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election, voters were also asked if they thought Greg Abbott would make a good president, with two-thirds (67 percent) saying no, while only 24 percent said yes.