According to a University of Texas/ Texas Tribune poll released on Saturday, former Vice President Joe Biden trails President Donald Trump by five points in the Lone Star State.
Voters appear to be deeply divided along party lines, with the vast majority of respondents saying they will back their party’s nominee in November. Independent voters seem undecided, however. Thirty-nine percent of Independents support Trump, and 29 percent of them back Biden. Notably, 32 percent have not made up their mind yet.
Republicans are apparently highly enthusiastic about voting for Trump, with 81 percent of them saying they would “definitely” vote for him if the election were held today, and 11 percent saying they would “probably” do so. Eighty-five percent of Democrats would vote against Trump, and 9 percent say they would “probably” vote against him.
When it comes to Independent voters, 61 percent say they would vote for someone other than Trump. Overall, 50 percent of Texans would support Trump, and 49 percent would vote against him. This appears to be a bad sign for Biden. As The Texas Tribune notes, “It’s only when you add Biden to the mix that Trump pulls ahead.”
According to co-director of the poll, Daron Shaw, the 2020 presidential election is starting to look like a referendum on Trump’s performance in the White House.
“The reality nationally is that, for the first time in a long time, the incumbent isn’t going to be able to make it a comparison. It’s going to be a referendum election about how the president is doing. First of all, it’s Trump, Trump, Trump all the time. And all the news is about coronavirus.”
Overall, Texans do not seem to like Biden. Only 35 percent of voters hold a favorable opinion of the former vice president. Fifty-one percent view Biden unfavorably. Of those who hold that view, 40 percent say they hold a “very unfavorable” opinion of the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee.
The federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic could be one of the defining issues of the upcoming election. Trump seems to be doing reasonably well in this regard in the state, with 48 percent of Texas voters saying they approve of the way he is handling the issue, and 45 percent saying they do not.
When it comes to the economy, 49 percent of Texans approve of the job the president is doing and 42 percent disapprove. Of those who approve, 89 percent are Republicans. Of those who think Trump is doing a bad job, 82 percent are Democrats.
A traditionally red state, Texas is increasingly being thought of as a potential general election battleground. In key swing states, Trump is trailing Biden, per latest polling. According to an Ipsos poll released earlier this week, Biden is beating Trump in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
