Ted Cruz slides in poll, leaving Greg Abbott king of the Texas GOP

STATE & REGIONAL GOVT & POLITICS
By Jonathan Tilove - American-Statesman Staff

Updated: 5:55 p.m. Monday, June 27, 2016 | Posted: 1:00 p.m. Monday, June 27, 2016

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s poll numbers have slid in the aftermath of his unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for president, according to the new University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll released Monday, leaving Gov. Greg Abbott far and away the most popular Republican in the state.

Abbott has an 11 percentage-point approval margin among the general electorate — calculated by taking those who like what he’s doing minus those who don’t — and a 65 percentage-point net approval rating among Republicans. Cruz has a 39-point net approval margin among Republicans, but, among the broader electorate, he has an approval margin of -18 points.
That’s the biggest deficit for the big-name Republicans the Texas Politics Project named in the survey.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is now both more popular with Republicans, and less unpopular with other voters, than Cruz. Patrick scored a 45 point approval margin among Republicans, and his net approval among the general electorate was flat, at zero.

PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS
In this file photo, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. right, listens to Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, left, speak about ... Read More


House Speaker Joe Straus, largely unknown to most voters, had a 17 point net job approval margin with Republicans who had an opinion about him, and a net -4 margin with all voters.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has a net 19 point positive approval margin with Republicans, and a -11 point margin with the broader electorate. Those numbers are so-so, but Cornyn just won re-election in 2014 and won’t face the voters again until 2020.

Abbott is viewed positively by 72 percent of Republicans, with only 7 percent disapproving of his performance as governor. His positive numbers have fluctuated between 69 and 74 percent since taking office in 2015, and he enjoys support across the tea party, non-tea party divide in state politics.

He is the only one of the GOP officials the poll asked about with a net positive rating among all voters.

Cruz’s bruising presidential primary campaign, which included a big but not overwhelming victory in the March 1 primary in Texas, appears to have exacted a cost. His overall approval rating among Republicans in the UT survey has dropped from 71 percent in October 2015, to 64 percent in February 2016, to 55 percent in this most recent poll.

The poll, conducted June 10 to 19, interviewed 1,200 self-identified registered voters, producing a margin of error for the full sample of 2.38 percent.

Sen. Ted Cruz approval rating among Republicans
October 2015 — 71 percent
February 2016 — 64 percent
June 2016 — 55 percent
Net approval for statewide GOP leadership (Voters who like what the politicians are doing minus those who don’t)
Overall voters / Among Republicans
Gov. Greg Abbott — +11 percentage points/ +65 percentage points
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — 0 / +45
House Speaker Joe Straus — -4 /+17
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz — -18 / +39
John Cornyn — -11 / +19

SOURCE: June 2016 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll of 1,200 registered voters, with a margin of error of 2.38 percent

http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/cruz-slides-in-poll-leaving-abbott-undisputed-king/nrnwH/