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In the last ten years, Texas has seen a lot of change: THC was legalized, almost all abortions were banned and the state became the new Mecca for California relocations. Our great state, where everything is bigger, will seemingly continue to change and churn under the guidance of the same politicians representing a changing constituency.
The Texas Lyceum is the authoritative voice for annually tracking the state’s opinions on relevant issues. Border safety and control, the decriminalization of marijuana, LGBTQ+ rights, and a multitude of emerging concerns have captured the attention of Texans, new and old. The Texas Lyceum surveyed 1,000 Texans by randomized telephone survey between May 28 and April 4, 2025. Ten years ago, the survey covered many of the same issues, but changing attitudes are apparent, and some politicians in charge may be behind the curve of what matters to their voters now.
“Bitter partisanship has become normal. But our leaders in both political parties set the tone for all Americans and all Texans…,” said President of The Texas Lyceum Crayton Webb in a press release announcing the 2025 results. “The poll gives us evidence – this is how Texans want politics to take shape. It’s time to rededicate ourselves to the timeless Texas traditions of civility and respect, even when we disagree.”
Here’s how Texans feel:
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Politicians
The same couple of guys have been running the state since 2015. Gov. Greg Abbott, Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, and Attorney General Ken Paxton have all been in office for the last decade. While a shakeup of sorts looks to be possible soon, with Paxton and Cornyn facing off in the upcoming Republican primary for the U.S. Senate, the other two politicians sit comfortably in their seats for now.
In 2015, 20% of the surveyed sample “strongly approved” of Abbott’s work as governor. At the polling time, he had just taken office and had yet to make any major moves. Since then, his approval has increased, with 25% of the surveyed sample speaking more favorably of the governor’s job this year. Animosity towards Abbott peaked during COVID, when only 18% of the surveyed party “strongly approved” of his work representing Texans in 2021 and 2022.
The 2025 survey was much more comprehensive than in 2015, asking about more politicians than the governor and the president. According to the study, 42% of Texans generally approved of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, 42% generally approved of Paxton and 33% generally approved of the policy-making of the entire legislature.
Intriguingly enough, 52% of Texans approved of Barack Obama’s presidency in 2015. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump had 54% of respondents approve of the job he’s doing in 2025.
Immigration
Trump promised one of the most extensive deportation efforts in history throughout his 2024 campaign, but Texans have prioritized immigration reform much longer than that. In fact, Texans seemed to care about immigration reform more 10 years ago than they do now.
In 2015, 24% of Texans listed immigration as their primary concern; in 2025’s results, the number has dropped to 14%.
“Texas culture is alive and well,” said Joshua Blank, PhD, research director for The Texas Lyceum in a 2025 press release. “Despite decades of migration and a fundamentally shifting culture demographically, Texans’ embrace of their state remains a core feature of Texas identity through the first quarter of the twenty-first century – even if there are signs of shifts underfoot.”
The governor, following Trump’s lead, continues to pour billions of dollars into Operation Lone Star, his initiative to increase border security through troopers, barrier construction, and expanded detainment facilities.
Illegal border crossings grind to a halt because of President Trump’s border policies.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 20, 2025
Now, we must maintain this control of our border. https://t.co/MdCWNyRGku
Abortion
In 2015, Texans still had full access to abortion as allowed by federal law. But in 2021, things changed when Abbott signed the Heartbeat Act, effectively ending wide accessibility to abortions in Texas.
Ten years ago, constituents weren’t too worried about abortion. For many, a land where conservative Republicans successfully outlawed the medical procedure seemed far off. Only 1% of Texans polled in 2015 listed the procedure as a priority, but the number increased to 4% this year. Regardless of the slight increase, the topic isn’t at the top of many Texans’ minds. That much was arguably evident in Novemeber when Democratic Senate challenger Colin Allred, who made restoring abortion access in Texas the leading issue of his campaign, was soundly defeated by incumbent Cruz.
“I guess in Texas, I don’t believe that they will go that far,” Southern Methodist University law professor Joanna Grossman said to the Observer in March when discussing penalizing women who obtain now illegal abortions. “But I actually didn’t believe we would get where we are now either.”
Economy
Texas’ ample supply of jobs and positioning as an economic powerhouse are frequent bragging points for our politicians. The state, built on a history of oil and crop money, has been able to pivot to the tech sector and continuously attracts Fortune 500 companies looking for a new home with lower taxes.
However, the economy and the affordability of calling Texas home have been pressure points for Texas over the last decade. The economy was the premier issue for the 2015 Texans, which is still the case today. In 2025, 19% of Texans listed the economy as their biggest worry, 18% listed inflation, and 8% listed another Trump presidency.
As prices continue to rise due to Trump’s tariff plan, Texans’ economic concerns are unlikely to go away anytime soon.
“It always gets back to kitchen table issues. Texans care deeply about how the economy is affecting their families and their futures,” said Frank Ward, the chair of this year’s Texas Lyceum poll, in a press release. “And while it is clear that immigration and border security concerns remain at the forefront for many Texans, those policy matters are also being seen through the lens of the economic impact.”
New Issues For 2025
In 2015, the Texas Lyceum focused on legalizing marijuana, stricter gun control, and overall moral decline. This year, new issues were brought to the forefront, specifically artificial intelligence and concerns surrounding the presidency.
“While artificial intelligence continues to grow in its prominence in business and culture, the technology itself has yet to be widely adopted by Texans,” reads the analysis in the 2025 survey.
The Texas Lyceum found that only one in five Texas adults use artificial intelligence software often, but 39% generally approve of it.
All in all, according to the Lyceum, Texans, though shifting in priority and expressing worries about the economy and the actions of our politicians, seem to be more optimistic about the state now than before, if they aren’t as sunny about the country as a whole.
“After years of overwhelming pessimism, the most recent Texas Lyceum poll finds Texans ambivalent about the direction of the country, with a slight majority saying the country is on the wrong track, but a near equal share, 49%, saying things are headed in the right direction,” reads the 2025 report. “This result represents a remarkable turnaround, given 63% of Texas adults who said that the country was on the wrong track in 2024, a result itself largely unchanged from polling conducted since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.”
