It’s one poll, yadda yadda yadda, but here you go.
A crook any way you look
As the Texas Senate begins the historically unprecedented process of trying the suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton on 31 articles of impeachment, a majority of Texas’ registered voters think the House was justified in impeaching the three-term incumbent, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll.
Asked whether they thought the Texas House of Representatives was justified in impeaching Attorney General Ken Paxton, 50% said it was justified, 17% said it was not, and a third (33%) had no opinion.
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The poll, conducted June 2-12, found Republicans closely divided: 31% said the impeachment was justified, 30% though it was not, with the plurality, 39%, currently holding no opinion. Democratic views were more lopsided in support of the House’s action: nearly three quarters (73%) thought the House was justified in impeaching Paxton, 6% thought the impeachment wasn’t justified, and 21% had no opinion. Independents were characteristically less opinionated, though leaned substantially toward thinking the impeachment was justified (40%), while only 15% thought it was unjustified and the plurality, 44%, holding no opinion.
Paxton’s job approval ratings declined since polling conducted by the Texas Politics Project in April before the impeachment. In April, Paxton received approval for his job performance from 39% of Texas voters and disapproval from 35% (net +4). Since his impeachment, June polling finds 30% approving (a 5 point decline) and 41% disapproving (net -11). These are Paxton’s worst overall job approval ratings in Texas Politics Project polling going back to June 2021.
As Paxton looks for public support from his fellow partisans, his job approval among Republicans decreased sharply between April and June, from 65% approving and 13% disapproving (net +52) in April to 51% approving and 19% disapproving (net +32) in June. His job approvals dropped similarly among self identified conservatives.
This was a poll of registered voters, and you can find poll data here. I like those Republican numbers – stay divided, y’all! Beyond that, this is mostly a conversation item. If Ken Paxton beats the rap, his approval rating will likely tick back up at least a little, and we’re more than three years from the next time he could be on a ballot anyway. If he gets convicted, his approval rating won’t matter. What does matter is that there’s enough here to counter the argument that this was a partisan hit job, even with it being initiated by Republicans and a majority of Republicans in the House voting to impeach. The dead-enders won’t hear it, but there it is anyway. The Trib has more.