TEXAS, USA — Many Texas will soon head to the polls, with early voting for the primary election scheduled from Feb. 20 through March 1 and Election Day set for March 5.
Ahead of the upcoming election, the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin worked to collect 1,200 voters' thoughts on the state's border security, abortion and gun laws, among other issues.
The February poll revealed 59% of voters, including 71% Republicans and 48% Democrats, "support making it harder for migrants fleeing violence in their home country to seek asylum" in the U.S.
On Feb. 16, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Texas will build an 80-acre base camp for the Texas Military Department near the Mexico border. But even before that announcement, border control had already become an increasingly popular subject, not just across the state, but throughout the country.
The Texas Politics Project poll also revealed some 48% of Texas voters feel the border situation should be considered a "crisis," including 74% Republicans and 20% Democrats.
Most Republicans support the addition of barriers and increased police presence across the U.S.-Mexico border.
According to the poll, some 66% of Texas voters want the military at the border, while 65% support building borders and 60% want undocumented immigrants to be charged with a crime if they enter the country.
Additionally, more than half of voters think undocumented immigrants shouldn't just be charged with a crime – they think they should also be deported if they are currently living in the U.S.
As for the U.S. Senate race, likely candidate Ted Cruz received 73% favorability from the poll's Republican participants.
On the Democratic side, Congressman Colin Allred took the lead, with 52% of voters supporting him over other candidates like State Sen. Roland Gutierrez and Mark Gonzalez.
The poll didn't just look at border laws and the Senate race though. There was also a focus on other hot topics like abortion and gun rights.
Some 45% of Texas who participated in the survey believe abortion laws in the state should become less strict, compared to 32% of Republicans and 25% of Democrats who said current regulations should become even tighter.
When it comes to gun laws, the poll showed a majority of Texas voters, 73%, want to raise the age of accessibility from 18 to 21. At the same time, more than half of Democrats feel the country is less safe with guns, while more than half of Republicans believe the opposite.
Although the poll only makes up a slight percent of voters' opinions, the upcoming primary election will provide a better insight into Texans' thoughts.