Ahead of Texas rally, poll shows Donald Trump popular with Lone Star State Republicans

Donald Trump is headed to Waco, Texas for a rally Saturday evening. And new polling shows Republicans receptive to his latest Presidential campaign.

A survey released this week by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin shows the former President is regarded favorably by 79% of Lone Star State Republicans, against just 12% who hold an unfavorable view. Naturally, that approval doesn’t translate across party lines: just 28% of Democrats have favorable views of Trump.

The approval of Trump extends to perhaps his most infamous lie: the canard that the 2020 Presidential election was illegitimate. A full 69% of Texas Republicans share that view.

More Republicans believe the election was stolen than believe Trump should run again, however, with just 56% wanting this third campaign from the former President.

Close behind Trump in favorability: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, of whom 75% of Texas Republicans approve.

In announcing his rally, the former President promulgated via press release a narrative of momentum: “It is undisputed that Texas is Trump Country after electing 37 Trump Endorsed Candidates and recent polling among Texas primary voters.”

The “recent polling” referred to comes from CWS Research and shows DeSantis losing ground over previous months against Trump.

The former President commanded 43% support, 16 points ahead of DeSantis’ 27%. Undecided voters made up 13% of the sample, with former United Nations envoy Nikki Haley at 5% and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and former Vice President Mike Pence at 4%.

The poll represents a marked decline for DeSantis against Trump. In the January poll, Trump led 36% to 35%. The current poll suggests Trump could be peeling support away from the Florida Governor.

The same pollster had DeSantis leading Trump back in November, with 43% support being good for an 11-point lead over Trump. That represented the high point of a surge; back in July 2022, Trump held a 19-point lead over DeSantis in the same survey.

DeSantis recently spoke in Texas as well, passing up the Conservative Political Action Conference to do so.

“They know you don’t mess with Texas — and you don’t tread on Florida,” DeSantis said in Houston. “I really believe if it hadn’t been for Texas and Florida playing the role we have in this country in recent history, our entire country would be one big, woke, neo-Marxist dumpster fire.”