A new poll shows that Texas voters are most concerned about border security, mass migration, and rapidly rising inflation.
The poll, which was conducted by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas, surveyed 1,200 registered Texas voters. It had a 2.83% margin of error.
When asked what the most important issue facing Texas was, 20% of respondents across party lines said border security. Some 15% said immigration, while 11% answered inflation and rising prices.
When broken down by party lines, 35% of Republicans, 18% of independents, and 5% of Democrats said border security was the number one issue facing the state. Immigration was the top concern for 25% of Republicans and 25% of independents, but only 4% of Democrats.
Inflation, the third biggest problem overall, was ranked number one by 9% of Republicans, 14% of independents, and 4% of Democrats. The biggest issue for Democrats (23%) was “political corruption/leadership.”
Border security and immigration have seemingly been impacting rural voters the most, with 31% and 22% ranking those issues number one, respectively. The next highest concern for rural Texans was political corruption (12%), followed by inflation (9%).
Suburban voters also identified border security (21%) and immigration (15%) as the dual issues they were most concerned about. Inflation and political corruption were tied for third at 10% each.
In Texas’ urban centers, there was a wider spread across the top problems that voters were concerned with. Border security was the top answer for 14% of urbanites, followed by inflation (12%), immigration (11%), political corruption (9%), gun violence (7%), and the economy (6%).
The crisis at the southern border has continued to escalate as the Texas government spars with the administration of President Joe Biden and the Mexican cartels over control of the border.
As reported by The Dallas Express, Gov. Greg Abbott launched military operations on the Rio Grande’s Fronton Island to stop cartels from using it as a staging ground for drug smuggling, human trafficking, or armed incursions into Texas. Footage released by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows rival cartels engaged in firefights and using explosives to capture lucrative smuggling routes in the area.