The plurality of Texas voters (47%) support Governor Rick Perry’s opposition to accepting the state’s $17 billion share of the national economic stimulus package.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 40% think the governor should accept the money, and 13% are undecided.

Perry is one of several Republican governors who don’t want the money, primarily because he believes it will create new programs that state taxpayers will later have to finance to keep going. Democrats in the state are urging the governor to take the federal money.

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of Texas Republicans agree with the governor, as do 16% of Democrats. The majority (53%) of unaffiliated voters also support the governor’s decision. Seventy-three percent (73%) of Democratic voters disagree with Perry.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of voters approve of the job Perry is doing as governor, including 14% who strongly approve. Forty-one percent (41%) disapprove of his performance, with 21% who strongly disapprove.

Last October, just before the election, Perry earned good or excellent ratings from 42% of Texas voters, while 19% rated his job performance as poor.

Significantly for Perry, 75% of Republicans now approve of the job he is doing, including 18% who strongly approve. He is expected to face a Republican Primary challenge from U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison if he seeks an unprecedented third term as governor next year.
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If Perry were to decide to accept the federal money, 30% of Texas voters say health care is where it is needed the most, while 25% say the money should be spent on education. Fourteen percent (14%) say transportation is the priority, and 12% believe most of the money should go towards benefits for the state’s unemployed citizens.

Voters in Texas were not happy with the stimulus bill, with the majority (61%) saying the final plan is more likely to make things worse instead of better. Just 31% disagree. Those numbers show voters in the Lone Star State are more critical of the plan than those on the national level.

The plurality (43%) believes the bill will hurt the economy, while 33% say it will help the current situation. Just 23% say the plan will have no impact on the economy. Voters nationwide are more evenly divided.

Forty-six percent (46%) of voters in Texas say they would be less likely to vote for their congressional representative if he or she voted for the stimulus package, while 28% say they would be more likely to vote for that individual. Twenty-three percent (23%) say their representative’s stimulus vote has no impact on their choice. Those numbers differ only slightly from those found on the national level.

Most Texans (63%) agree with the idea that no matter how bad things are, Congress can always find a way to make them worse. Just 22% disagree, and another 15% are not sure. The majority (69%) also believes the federal government is not the solution to the nation’s problems; rather, it is the problem. On the national level, 59% of voters agree.

Texas voters favor a free market economy over a government-run economy by a 80% to 12% margin.

Voters in Texas are evenly divided on how Obama is doing as president. Half (50%) approve of the president’s job performance, with 37% who strongly approve. Forty-nine percent (49%) disapprove, including (40%) who strongly disapprove. This is well below how the president performs nationally in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

Voters in Texas also are divided on legalizing casino gambling in the state to deal with the economic crisis. While 48% support the idea, 45% are against it. Seven percent (7%) are undecided.

Last summer, a fire nearly demolished the Texas Governor’s Mansion. Most voters in the state (65%) think the mansion should be repaired rather than torn down. Just 14% think the historic building should be torn down and a new one be constructed in its place. Another 22% are not sure what should be done.

Forty-four percent (44%) believe the funds used to rebuild the mansion should come from a partnership of public and private donations, while 42% think funds should only come from private donations. Only six percent (6%) say tax money should go into rebuilding the mansion.

Due to the recent increase in drug violence along the Mexican border, schools and parents nationwide have been warning students against traveling to the country for spring break for safety reasons. Most Texans (85%) agree that students should avoid vacationing in Mexico at this time, and only 11% believe the schools and parents are overreacting. A national survey conducted in January found more Americans are concerned about the recent escalation of drug violence along the border in Mexico than they are about illegal immigration.

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