Partisan Polarization in Texas

Continuing in the same vein as the last post, consider the following information, which I drafted as the beginning of an article on partisan polarization in Texas. In these tables, I have divided independents into pure independents and leaners. I'll have more to say about leaners in a future post.

In their recent book entitled Unconventional Wisdom: Facts and Myths About American Voters, Karen Kaufmann, John Petrocik, and Daron Shaw argue that “On balance, most partisans have centrist views; Republicans are more conservative than Democrats on most political issues, but neither party’s mass base holds extreme viewpoints. If anything, . . . partisans were still fairly moderate and . . . they agreed more than they disagreed.”  If this is true for most Americans (which I don’t believe), is it also true for partisan Texans?

The following results from an August 2008 Texas Politics Poll allow us to examine this question. Several normative questions from the survey allow us to compare the views of Democratic and Republican partisan Texans with all Texans.

First, what is the most important issue facing the state of Texas today? The results from the survey, shown below, indicate that the top three issues are the economy (25 percent), immigration (23 percent), and gas prices (16 percent). But an important follow-up question is: Do Texas Democrats and Republicans adopt different views or the same view on the most important issue facing the state of Texas? For Democrats, a large plurality (40 percent) believes that the economy is the most important issue. For Republicans, a similarly large plurality (42 percent) believes that immigration and border security is the most important problem. The similar percentage of partisans that believe that gas prices, oil dependence, and energy is the most important issue facing the state illustrates a consensus. However, the seeming consensus masks the distinct partisan differences in ranking the importance of these issues. Obviously, there is little consensus between Republicans and Democrats on the most important issue facing the state of Texas.  

Q7. What do you think is the most important issue facing the state of Texas today? [OPEN ENDED]

25% Economy

23% Immigration/Border Security

16% Gas Prices/Oil Dependence/Energy

5% Health Care

5% Education

2% Taxes (including property taxes)

1% Problems with Texas Political System (i.e. corruption, incompetence, etc.)

1% Social Issues (including abortion, gay marriage, societal moral decline, etc.)

1% Crime

1% Environment

10% Miscellaneous

8% Don’t Know/NA

Issue/Party ID	SD	WD	DLI	I	RLI	WR	SR
Most Important Issue Facing Texas:
Economy	40	34	44	35	13	17	15
Gas prices/oil/Energy	17	19	14	17	8	17	21
Immigration/Borders	8	18	1	19	57	36	42

Second, who should run state government? Should the executive and legislative branches be unified, with the same party controlling both branches? Or should control be split so that one party holds the executive authority and the other party holds the legislative power? The results are not surprising. Strong partisans, whether Democrat or Republican, agree that unified government under their party’s control is best, with Republicans slightly more adamant than Democrats. An overwhelming percentage of independents (nearly 80 percent) don’t know which is best or favor split control.

Q23. In terms of who runs state government, which of the following options do you prefer?

30% A Republican governor and a Republican-controlled legislature

28% A Democratic governor and a Democrat-controlled legislature

12% Split control, with a Republican governor and Democrat-controlled legislature.

9% Split control, with a Democratic governor and Republican-controlled legislature.

21% Don’t know/refused/NA

Issue/Party ID	SD	WD	DLI	I	RLI	WR	SR
Control of Executive and Legislature:
Unified Republican	1	2	0	5	68	54	87
Unified Democratic	79	40	47	15	0	2	0
Split Control	13	42	37	37	19	27	6
Don’t Know	7	16	16	42	13	17	6

Third, how should public education be improved in Texas? The majority of Texans favor demanding accountability from educators over spending more money. But the partisan divide is deep. Nearly eight of ten Republicans—whether strong Republicans, weak Republicans, or Republican leaners—favor accountability. A majority of strong Democrats and Democratic leaners, on the other hand, favor spending more money for more teachers and better facilities.

Q25. Some people think the best way to improve the quality of K-12 public school education in Texas is to increase public funding so that we have more teachers and better facilities. Others say we are spending enough money, and that the best way to improve the public schools is to demand accountability. Which is closer to your view?

37% Increase funding.

56% Demand accountability.

7% Don’t know/Refused/NA

Issue/Party ID	SD	WD	DLI	I	RLI	WR	SR
Improve K-12 Public Education:
Increase Funds	57	41	53	42	16	27	15
Demand Accountability	40	54	43	46	78	69	78
Don’t Know	3	5	4	12	6	4	7

Fourth, how should transportation issues be addressed in Texas? A plurality of Texans favors private solutions over government programs. Again, however, there is a partisan split with a majority of Republicans favoring private solutions, and a majority of Democrats favoring government programs.

Q27. Some people believe that transportation issues are best addressed by government. Other people think that these issues can be best handled by relying on the private sector to provide transportation solutions. Which of these positions is closest to your own position?

36% Government

40% Private sector

25% Don’t know/Refused/NA

Issue/Party ID	SD	WD	DLI	I	RLI	WR	SR
Government vs. Private Sector Solutions
Government	52	39	57	44	19	28	24
Private	27	37	24	27	63	53	55
Don’t Know	23	18	29	19	19	19	21

The question, then, is how different are partisan Texans on these issues? Is there, as some maintain, a consensus that reaches across partisan cleavages and indicates that most Texans hold moderate views on these issues? Or do the differences between Republicans and Democrats, especially strong partisans in both parties, on these issues indicate a deep and widening party divide, reflecting fundamental disagreements on the two basic political questions: how much government should there be and what role should government play? For me, the answer is a deep and widening party divide, symptomatic of political polarization. What do you think?