Texas voters are upbeat about the economy, UT/TT Poll finds

More than three-quarters of the state’s voters said their family finances — and the national and state economies — are the same or better than they were a year ago, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.

More than a third of the voters — 39 percent — said their families are economically “a lot” or “somewhat” better off than they were a year ago. Another 39 percent said their family finances are “about the same” as they were at this time last year.

The national economy is “a lot” better than it was a year ago, according to 32 percent of Texas voters. Another 19 percent said it’s “somewhat” better and 26 percent said things are about the same.

Voters are similarly upbeat about the state economy, with 49 percent saying it’s better than a year ago and 31 percent saying it’s about the same. Only 14 percent said things are worse than they were last year.

Texas voters continue to be more generous about the direction of the state than about the direction of the country. While 50 percent said the state of Texas is on the right track, only 42 percent said the country is on the right track. And while 49 percent said the United States is on the wrong track, only 35 percent said that about the direction of the state.

The partisan cheering sections came alive on the economic questions. Among Republican voters, 84 percent said the national economy is doing better than it was a year ago, while only 16 percent of Democrats said so. And while 38 percent of Democrats said the national economy is worse off than a year ago, only 3 percent of Republicans agreed. Most of the Democrats — 51 percent — said the state economy is about where it was a year ago. Most Republicans — 59 percent — said it’s better.

The University of Texas/Texas Tribune internet survey of 1,200 registered voters was conducted from October 15 to October 21 and has an overall margin of error of +/- 2.83 percentage points. Numbers in charts might not add up to 100 percent because of rounding.

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