A recent poll showed that Texas Governor Greg Abbott has an approval rating that many political leaders can only dream of and to be honest, it’s not at all surprising.
Texans, and indeed all Americans, have watched as Abbott made Texas a more free and prosperous state. Abbott made it fun as he would post himself signing bills into law that did things such as ban red-light cameras throughout the state and protecting free speech on college campuses. He even made it so that you can have alchohol delivered to your home like a pizza would.
(READ: Gregg Abbott Is Making It Fun to Watch Authoritarianism Die)
Now, a new poll shows us that when it comes to job approval, Abbott sits at a 65 percent job approval rating. This comes even after his controversial move of seeing to it that Texas will not be a state that resettles refugees in 2020, and only 34 percent of those surveyed were of the GOP.
Thank you Texas.
In a poll taken this week you gave me the highest job approval rating since I’ve been Governor.
65% approve of the job I’m doing.
I’ll continue working for 100% of you.
I’ll put you & your families first & I’ll emphasize Texas First Policies.#txlege https://t.co/2XMizNtGDr
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 17, 2020
This is all great news, but there’s an overlooked thing to consider when viewing these numbers.
For years, Texas has been the epicenter of national migration. People from all over the country have been flocking to the Lone Star State as companies abandon their previous states to live in the more business-friendly environment that Texas provides. Many of these businesses originated from coastal areas like California and New York, and as more and more people move here, there were fears that the influx of blue state transplants would turn Texas from bright red to purple, or God forbid, blue.
However, it would appear that while Texas may see something of a growth in the Democrat vote, a lot of former blue state residents are coming here in hopes to change absolutely nothing according to the Associated Press.
“The business is here, the work is here, the schools are growing so that creates jobs. People want a better way of life so they come here,” said Kelly Geissler, who moved from Wisconsin.
“Why would you want to make it like where it was not so good?”
In November of 2019, polls were taken that show that when it comes to the 2020 presidential election, Texas residents are overwhelmingly in support of President Donald Trump, too.
(READ: If Democrats Were Hoping Texas Would Turn Purple, the Latest News May Disappoint Them)
This isn’t to say that Texas isn’t in danger and that Republican voters should rest easy on election day. The fort still needs to be defended, and rest assured, Democrats are going to do a lot in their effort to take it. Old and new Texans should remember that “come and take it” wasn’t an invitation, it was a dare.
But that said, if Democrats were hoping that the migration of blue state residents was going to swing the state more to the left, they should be highly disappointed. Polls continue to show a strong lean to the right, and while Republicans lost congressional districts to the Democrats in the 2018 midterms, it seems that it’s not likely to get much better for them, especially if the former blue staters like the way their new state does things.
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