Feb.-March 2009

Gambling

Given the conventional wisdom about Texas as a conservative red state, one might expect significant opposition to gambling or the expansion of gambling within the Lone Star state. Instead, we find that 40% of Texans favor allowing full casino gambling in Texas, compared with 6% who prefer expanding gambling but only on Indian reservations, 13% who prefer limiting gambling expansion to existing locations, 17% who prefer leaving gambling laws unchanged, and 12% who prefer banning all gambling in Texas.

Redistricting

After the redistricting controversies of 2002-2004, there is support for handing the task of re-drawing lines to an independent, appointed commission. Forty percent support such a move, while 23% oppose it. The relatively high level of undecided respondents (38%) shows that ambivalence and lack of knowledge remain important features of opinion on this issue, which were also present when we asked this question in July, 2008.