Texas less conservative than you may think

A new Texas poll shows interesting results . Texas is more balanced or more evenly divided on economic and social issues.

Poll debunks Texas' conservative image
The conservative tilt of Texas is not as steep on some spending and social issues as many believe – with a majority favoring either civil unions or marriage rights for gay couples and almost half endorsing taxpayer money for embryonic stem cell research.

A new poll by the nonpartisan Texas Lyceum, a leadership development group, asked about economic and social issues, and, as expected, found that jobs and finances dominate Texas concerns right now.

The conservative sway was seen in the polling sample's overwhelming rejection of further bailouts for auto and financial companies.

But Texans by even greater numbers favored more government spending for education initiatives and new energy products, even if it meant increasing the deficit.

Those two topics, along with infrastructure spending, were more popular than tax cuts.

Texas' image as a die-hard red state "has always been exaggerated," said Dr. Daron Shaw, a University of Texas political science professor who conducted the poll. "In terms of public policy, it's always been a practical state."

He said he was surprised by the support for gay unions or marriage (57 percent) and embryonic cell research (48 percent).

It's "more balanced than the caricature of Texas would have you believe," he said.

Read the entire Dallas Morning News article HERE