New polling shows House Speaker Dade Phelan’s approval rating is underwater with Texas voters.
The poll, conducted by the University of Texas and the Texas Politics Project, shows that 22 percent of Texas voters have a favorable opinion of Phelan, with 31 percent of voters having an unfavorable opinion.
Republican Party of Texas Chairman Matt Rinaldi noted that the -9 net approval was “unprecedented in recent years.”
“For context, Speaker Straus’ worst showing in a [Texas Politics Project] poll was a -4 in 2017,” he added.
The polling comes as Phelan also remains underwater in popularity with Republican voters in his own district.
A poll commissioned by Defend Texas Liberty in October reveals 49 percent of Republican voters in his district had an unfavorable opinion of him while 35 percent had a favorable opinion.
Phelan faces two challengers in the upcoming Republican primary election: David Covey and Alicia Davis.
Covey has already earned the endorsement of Attorney General Ken Paxton and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.
The primary election will take place on March 5, 2024.
