The results are in for the 2019 Amarillo Pioneer State of Government Survey! In total, 184 responses were recorded as our readers made their voices heard again this year. Here’s some key takeaways from the survey.
1). Pioneer Readers Prefer Warren in Democratic Primary
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren was the preferred 2020 candidate of Pioneer readers who identify as Democrats in this year’s survey. Warren won roughly 21 percent of measured support, followed by Pete Buttigieg, Beto O’Rourke, Julian Castro, and Kamala Harris, all at 11 percent each. Andrew Yang, Joe Biden, John Delaney, and Bernie Sanders were the only remaining candidates to have any measurable support in the survey.
2). Pioneer Dems Want O’Rourke Out of Presidential Race
Pioneer readers identifying as Democrats want Beto O’Rourke to drop out of the presidential race and run for Senator in 2020, according to the survey results. 63 percent of measured support on the question encouraged O’Rourke to drop his presidential bid, while 16 percent said O’Rourke should continue running for president. However, if O’Rourke was to run for U.S. Senate, 69 percent of Democratic-identifying readers say they would back him in the primary election.
3). Pioneer Readers Overwhelmingly Back Trump in Republican Primary
In a head-to-head match-up, Pioneer readers picked President Trump to crush his only announced primary challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, with Trump winning 95 percent of measured support. Weld received no measurable support, with the renaming 5 percent going either toward “Undecided” or “Somebody Else” votes. Trump also received 90 percent of support against former Ohio Gov. John Kasich in a hypothetical match-up.
4). Abbott, Cruz Support Nearly Steady
After each winning hotly contested races in 2018, Governor Greg Abbott and Senator Ted Cruz saw a relatively even level of support since the 2018 State of Government Survey. Since the 2018 survey, Cruz’s support among Pioneer readers has dropped just two points, while Governor Abbott’s popularity has dropped about six points.
5). Pioneer Readers Historically Like Sisemore as Mayor
A new addition to this year’s survey included a question on who our readers’ favorite mayor of the past fifty years has been. Our readers overwhelmingly picked Trent Sisemore, who served as mayor from 2001 through 2005, as the best mayor of Amarillo in the past fifty years, with Sisemore earning about 24 percent of support. Mayor Debra McCartt came in second with 7 percent, while Kel Seliger rounded out the top three with 6 percent.
6). Local Government Transparency Top of Mind for Readers
Local government transparency was chosen as the most important issue facing Amarillo today according to the Pioneer readers, with roughly 35 percent of respondents selecting that answer. Tax and budget issues came in second at 20 percent, with neighborhood development and animal management coming in tied for fourth at 7 percent each.
For full results, please see below:
Please note: due to rounding, some totals may not equal 100%; Answers receiving no measurable support will not be reported below.
Party Identification: Republican (43.5%), Democratic (17.4%), Independent (25%), Libertarian (8.7%), Other (5.4%) | Among Independents: Republican Leaning (73.9%), Democratic Leaning (13%), Neither Party (13%)
Democratic Primary
Q: If the primary were held for U.S. President today and your choices were as follows, who would you vote for?
Elizabeth Warren - 21%
Beto O’Rourke - 11%
Kamala Harris - 11%
Julian Castro - 11%
Pete Buttigieg - 11%
Somebody Else - 10%
Bernie Sanders - 5%
Andrew Yang - 5%
Joe Biden - 5%
John Delaney - 5%
Undecided 5%
Q: If the primary were held for U.S. Senator today, and your choices were as follows, who would you support?
MJ Hegar - 37%
Royce West - 5%
Somebody Else - 11%
Undecided - 47%
Q: In your opinion, should Beto O'Rourke remain in the race for President or should he run for U.S. Senator in 2020?
O'Rourke should drop out of the presidential race and run for Senate - 63%
O'Rourke should continue running for President - 16%
Unsure - 21%
Q: If Beto O'Rourke were to run for the U.S. Senate in 2020, and your choices for the Senate race were as follows, who would you support?
Beto O’Rourke - 79%
Undecided - 11%
Somebody Else - 11%
Q: In your opinion, how likely is the Democratic nominee for President to win the White House in 2020?
Very Likely - 21%
Somewhat Likely - 26%
Tossup - 16%
Somewhat Unlikely - 11%
Very Unlikely - 5%
Unsure - 21%
Republican Primary
Q: If the Republican primary for U.S. President were held today and your choices were as listed below, who would you support (Donald Trump vs. William Weld)?
Donald Trump - 95%
Somebody Else - 2%
Unsure - 4%
Q: If former Ohio Governor John Kasich were to enter the race for U.S. President, who you would vote for in the Republican primary?
Donald Trump - 90%
John Kasich - 2%
Somebody Else - 2%
Unsure - 7%
Q: If the Republican primary for U.S. Senator were held today, and your choices were as follows below, who would you support?
Somebody Else - 46%
John Cornyn - 30%
Unsure - 25%
Q: In your opinion, how likely is President Trump to win re-election in 2020?
Very Likely - 70%
Somewhat Likely - 25%
Tossup - 3%
Unsure - 2%
Q: In your opinion, of the Democratic Party's 2020 candidates, which candidate would give President Trump the hardest fight for re-election?
Kamala Harris - 23%
Joe Biden - 16%
Andrew Yang - 4%
Elizabeth Warren - 4%
Bernie Sanders - 4%
Tulsi Gabbard - 4%
Pete Buttigieg - 3%
Julian Castro - 2%
Unsure - 12%
None of the Above - 30%
Libertarian Primary
Q: Among the declared and potential Libertarian candidates for president, which candidate is your first choice in 2020?
Donald Trump - 38%
John McAfee - 13%
Justin Amash - 13%
Kim Ruff - 13%
None of the Above - 13%
Unsure - 13%
Amarillo Approval Questions
Q: Would you say Amarillo's government is headed in the right direction or the wrong direction?
Right Direction - 11%
Wrong Direction - 82%
Unsure - 7%
Q: Do you approve of the job performance of Mayor Ginger Nelson?
Yes - 6%
No - 85%
Unsure - 9%
Q: Do you approve of the job performance of the Amarillo City Council?
Yes - 6%
No - 87%
Unsure - 7%
Q: Do you approve of the job performance of the Amarillo ISD Board of Trustees?
Yes - 10%
No - 61%
Unsure - 29%
Q: Do you approve of the job performance of the Potter County Commission?
Yes - 20%
No - 33%
Unsure - 47%
Q: Do you approve of the job performance of the Randall County Commission?
Yes - 33%
No - 15%
Unsure - 11%
Q: Do you approve of the job performance of Rep. Four Price?
Yes - 34%
No - 43%
Unsure - 22%
Q: Do you approve of the job performance of Rep. John Smithee?
Yes - 29%
No - 44%
Unsure - 27%
Q: Do you approve of the job performance of U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry?
Yes - 34%
No - 52%
Unsure - 13%
Q: In your opinion, which issue facing Amarillo today is the most important?
Transparency Issues - 35%
Tax and Budget Issues - 20%
Animal Welfare - 7%
Neighborhood Development - 7%
Public Safety - 6%
Economic Development - 5%
Sanitation - 3%
Water Conservation - 3%
Texas Tech Vet School - 1%
Unsure - 1%
Q: Of the past fifty years, which Mayor do you think has done the best job for Amarillo?
Trent Sisemore - 24%
Debra McCartt - 7%
Kel Seliger - 6%
Ray Vahue - 5%
Paul Harpole - 4%
Keith Adams - 4%
Rick Klein - 4%
Jerry Hodge - 4%
John Drummond - 3%
Ernest Stroud - 2%
Ginger Nelson - 1%
Unsure - 25%
None of the Above - 12%
Texas Approval Questions
Q: Do you approve of the job performance of President Donald Trump?
Yes - 67%
No - 27%
Unsure - 5%
Q: Do you approve of the job performance of Governor Greg Abbott?
Yes - 63%
No - 29%
Unsure - 8%
Q: Do you approve of the job performance of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick?
Yes - 49%
No - 39%
Unsure - 12%
Q: Do you approve of the job performance of Speaker Dennis Bonnen?
Yes - 7%
No - 46%
Unsure - 48%
Q: Do you approve of the job performance of Senator John Cornyn?
Yes - 24%
No - 59%
Unsure - 17%
Q: Do you approve of the job performance of Senator Ted Cruz?
Yes - 58%
No - 34%
Unsure - 8%
Q: Do you approve of the job performance of the Texas Legislature?
Yes - 28%
No - 47%
Unsure - 25%
2020 Election Questions
Q: If the choices for U.S. President in 2020 were Republican Donald Trump or generic opponents of each party, who you would vote for?
Donald Trump (Republican) - 61%
Generic Democrat (Democrat) - 21%
Generic Libertarian (Libertarian) - 10%
Unsure - 9%
Q: If the choices for U.S. President in 2020 were as follows, who would you support?
Donald Trump (Republican) - 67%
Joe Biden (Democrat) - 20%
Generic Libertarian (Libertarian) - 7%
Unsure - 4%
Somebody Else - 1%
Q: If the choices for U.S. President in 2020 were as follows, who would you support?
Donald Trump (Republican) - 66%
Bernie Sanders (Democrat) - 17%
Generic Libertarian (Libertarian) - 5%
Howard Schultz (Independent) - 4%
Unsure - 3%
Somebody Else - 3%
Q: If the choices for U.S. President in 2020 were as follows, who would you support?
Donald Trump (Republican) - 66%
Elizabeth Warren (Democrat) - 19%
Generic Libertarian (Libertarian) - 8%
Howard Schultz (Independent) - 3%
Unsure - 2%
Somebody Else - 1%
Q: If the choices for U.S. Senate in 2020 were as follows, who would you support?
John Cornyn (Republican) - 33%
MJ Hegar (Democrat) - 15%
Dwayne Stovall (Independent) - 10%
Generic Libertarian (Libertarian) - 10%
Unsure - 26%
Somebody Else - 7%
Q: If the choices for U.S. Senate in 2020 were as follows, who would you support?
John Cornyn (Republican) - 42%
Beto O’Rourke (Democrat) - 20%
Dwayne Stovall (Independent) - 12%
Generic Libertarian (Libertarian) - 7%
Unsure - 11%
Somebody Else - 8%
Demographics Questions
Q: If you lived in Amarillo at the time of the 2019 mayoral election, who did you vote for?
Claudette Smith - 35%
Kip Billups - 30%
Ginger Nelson - 10%
I didn’t vote/was ineligible to vote/do not live in Amarillo - 25%
Q: Who did you vote for in the 2016 presidential election?
Donald Trump (Republican) - 63%
Hillary Clinton (Democratic) - 21%
Gary Johnson (Libertarian) - 5%
Somebody Else - 2%
Q: Who did you vote for in the 2018 race for Texas' U.S. Senate seat?
Ted Cruz (Republican) - 62%
Beto O’Rourke (Democratic) - 25%
Neal Dikeman (Libertarian) - 6%
Q: Who did you vote for in the 2018 race for Texas Governor?
Greg Abbott (Republican) - 69%
Lupe Valdez (Democratic) - 15%
Mark Tippetts (Libertarian) - 9%