Emerson College Poll shows how Texas voters feel about redistricting, Senate race

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas voters have mixed opinions on the state’s attempt to redraw congressional maps, according to new poll data from Emerson College on Friday.

Pollsters asked 1,000 voters “Do you support or oppose the proposal to redraw Texas’ congressional map ahead of the 2026 Midterm Elections?” In total, 36% of respondents support the plan while 38% oppose it. The remaining (26%) said they were unsure.

A majority of the 491 Republican respondents (58%) said they support the move. Just 12% said they opposed the attempt. Between the two, nearly a third of respondents said they were unsure.

Democrats who responded to the poll said they largely oppose redistricting (70%), but 15% of Democratic respondents said they support it. The “unsure” margin was approximately 16%.

Respondents who weren’t registered with either party had mixed responses — 43% opposed, 33% weren’t sure, and 24% supported.

Republican voters appear split between Sen. John Cornyn (30%) and primary challenger Ken Paxton (29%), with most saying they’re still undecided (37%).

“Ballot tests” in the poll compared support for both candidates against Democratic candidate Colin Allred. Against Allred, both had around 45% support; however, a higher share of respondents said they would vote for Allred if Paxton were the candidate.

As for voters’ top issues, 30% said the economy, 20% said immigration and 15% said “threats to democracy.” By party, Democrats were the most concerned about those “threats” (31%) while a small minority of Republican respondents (3%, within the poll’s margin of error) were.