With the 2024 Republican presidential primary drawing closer, Texas GOP voters are showing increasing support for former President Donald Trump.

A new poll from CWS Research shows that most Texas Republicans favor Trump over other GOP candidates.

The poll asked voters which candidate they favored. The list included: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, and six other candidates.

Out of the ten Republican presidential candidates, only Trump and DeSantis received double-digit support.

Trump drew 61 percent of the votes, while DeSantis only garnered 10 percent.

The other eight candidates only received between zero and five percent. Meanwhile, 10 percent said they were undecided.

If the primary field were narrowed to only Trump or DeSantis, 62 percent of voters would choose Trump, while only 24 percent would select DeSantis. The remaining 14 percent said they were undecided.

CWS Research also asked voters if they “believe that President Trump is guilty and should be convicted?”

The question refers to Trump’s recent Fulton County, Georgia indictment claiming he attempted to “overturn” the 2020 presidential election. Among the charges officials lodged against Trump was violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act. Trump—and several of his associates—were also charged with solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, and filing false documents.

Only 10 percent of GOP voters said Trump is guilty and should be convicted, while 79 percent said he should be found not guilty.

The poll also posed several policy-related questions, including asking voters if “human behavior is causing climate change.”

Recently, Texas Scorecard reported that Austin and Houston are participating in an emissions-cutting program seeking to end meat and dairy consumption.

Sixty-five percent of voters said human behavior was not the driving force of climate change, while 22 percent said it was and 13 percent said they are unsure.

A commanding majority of Republican voters signaled they were against allowing local governments “having the authority to implement vaccine and mask mandates.”

The question comes as one Texas school district shut down for several days last month after ten employees tested positive for COVID-19. Another school district—Garland Independent School District—recently came under fire after announcing that students and staff would have to test for COVID-19 routinely.

As schools and local governments are floating potential COVID-19 restrictions, 83 percent of voters said they opposed new vaccine and mask mandates, while 13 percent supported the measures. Four percent said they were unsure.

Another question asked voters, “​​Last session, the Texas House voted to give taxpayer dollars to hospitals who are socially transitioning children with radical transgender therapy. Do you believe that taxpayer dollars should be given to institutions that push transgender ideology on children?”

While two percent of voters supported giving tax dollars to these institutions, 95 percent of voters disagreed with the action. Three percent said they were unsure.

The full poll from CWS Research can be viewed here.

Katy Marshall

Katy graduated from Tarleton State University in 2021 after majoring in history and minoring in political science.

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