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Top Texas Leaders Get Wake Up Calls
as Approval Rates Plummet in New Poll
Capitol Inside
October 29, 2025
The state's most powerful Republican officials saw their popularity plunge to record lows on Tuesday in a new poll of Texas voters that found Governor Greg Abbott's approval rating under water dramatically for the first time in nearly 11 years as the top leader here.
The newfound discontent among the electorate appeared to be a consequence of growing public concerns about inflation and the economy to a large degree with political corruption and leadership as the number one issue facing the state in 2025 in the University of Texas poll that was released today.
The Texas Politics Project survey of 1,200 registered voters during a 10-day span this month should send anxiety soaring among GOP contenders in statewide contests and down-ballot fights in districts where Democrats have the potential to be competitive in the general election a year from now.
Abbott took the biggest hit in the poll with an overall approval rating in October of only 32 percent - down an eye-popping 16 percentage points compared to his standing in the UT survey in February. Forty-seven percent of the voters in the sample registered their disapproval with the governor's work. That's an increase of 10 percent from his disapproval mark in the poll six months ago.
The governor fared somewhat better in the favorability rating competition with 41 percent positive and unfavorables of 49 percent.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, who isn't on the ballot again in 2026, was slightly more popular than Abbott in the Texas flagship university poll with an approval rating from 35 percent of the voters who participated. Fifty percent of the voters gave Cruz a thumbs down.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Senator John Cornyn didn't fare nearly as well as Abbott and Cruz, however, in terms of overall scores from voters in the UT survey this month. But it was close.
Paxton and Cornyn, who are competing for the GOP nomination in the U.S. Senate race, scored approval marks of 29 percent and 25 percent respectively in the new poll. Cornyn's disapproval ratings were four points higher than Paxton's at 49 percent. Paxton was 16 percentage points under water - one more than the governor.
While Abbott had approval ratings that were 3 points higher than the Texas AG, Paxton's disapproval mark was lower than the governor's. Cornyn and Cruz were the only Texas leaders in the survey with higher disapproval scores than Abbott.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick fared almost as well as Abbott in the UT poll for October with an approval mark of 29 percent compared to a 46 percent disapproval rate.
That put Patrick 17 percentage points under water. Patrick's approval scores were down 8 points overall and down 8 with Republicans in the sample.
Abbott received approval ratings from 76 percent of the UT poll respondents who identified as Republicans - down 6 points from February with an increase of that amount in disapprovals from GOP voters who participated. Paxton was 5 points less popular with Republican voters than he'd been six months ago .
But Cornyn was the least popular of the group among GOP voters with a 47 percent rating among that bloc compared to 57 for the attorney general who's attempting to oust the longtime incumbent in the primary on March 3. U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt entered the U.S. Senate race last week and is still largely unknown to the vast majority of Texas voters based on the new polling.
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows was underwater 18 points with 15 percent overall approval ratings compared to disapproval marks of 37 percent.
The poll contained other bits of intrigue on Texas politicos as well.
* 55 percent of the voters in the UT October sample could not name the Texas agriculture commissioner. Thirty-three percent got it right with Sid Miller - a Republican who's seeking another term at the polls next year. Seven percent identified Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick as the state farm and ranch boss while 3 percent guessed wrong with Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows while 4 percent said the job belonged to Glenn Hegar, who served as state comptroller for 10 years before signing on during the summer as the chancellor for the Texas A&M University System.
* A majority of the Texans who participated in the survey opposed the deployment of the Texas National Guard for law enforcement in American cities outside the state. The pollsters found that 51 percent were against such a move compared to 41 percent who supported the action. Abbott sent Guard troops from Texas to the Chicago area in the past month for the sake of protecting federal agents against protesters. The UT survey participants expressed similar feelings about the use of the U.S. military for protests.
* Fifty-one percent of the Texans in the poll disapproved of the way President Donald Trump has handled the federal government shutdown compared to 38 percent who approve. Fifty percent give the Republicans in Congress thumbs down for their role in the shutdown. But 52 percent disapprove of the Democrats' performance in the standoff on federal funding.
* U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas fared best among the Democrats whose support was measured in the University of Texas survey this month. Crockett received a favorable rating from 62 percent of the Democrats in the poll while a mere 6 percent rated her unfavorably. Crockett is weighing a U.S. Senate bid in 2026.
* U.S. Senate contender Colin Allred was held in a positive light by 59 percent with an unfavorable rating from just 10 percent. Democratic State Rep. James Talarico of Austin - a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2026 as well - scored a favorable rating of 43 percent compared to an unfavorable mark of 5 percent.
more to come ...
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