BROWNSVILLE, Texas – The majority of voters likely to vote in the Democratic primary in Texas Senate District 27 – made up of the southern Texas Counties of Kleberg, Kenedy, Willacy, Cameron, and part of Hidalgo County – support policies protecting access to abortion and expanding protections for LGBTQ Texans, according to a recent poll.
In a new poll sponsored by the ACLU of Texas and conducted by Public Policy Polling, 56 percent of respondents believe state lawmakers should make it easier for people to access abortion care, and 71 percent of respondents think state lawmakers should provide more protections for LGBTQ+ Texans.
Thirty-four percent of the respondents are currently undecided on who they will vote for in the upcoming Democratic primary , in which four people, including incumbent Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr., are running for the Senate seat in District 27. The challengers are: Sara Stapleton-Barrera, Ruben Cortez Jr.,Vanessa Tijerina. Early voting in the primary begins Tuesday, February 18.
“This poll demonstrates that the majority of Texans in this community support policies that protect civil rights and civil liberties,” said Sarah Labowitz, policy director for the ACLU of Texas. “Our state senators have the power to support legislation that decides if you have access to local healthcare options, if you have protection from discrimination, or if your right to vote is being safeguarded. We want all of the candidates in this race to know that the people of the district believe in these protections.”
An executive summary of the results of the poll were shared with the candidates running for Senate District 27, to make the candidates aware of the interests of their constituents.
The ACLU of Texas also hosted a candidate forum in Brownsville in January, in which the candidates for the seat were given an opportunity to answer questions from the community about reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and other civil liberties issues important to the community.
The ACLU of Texas poll had a margin of error of+/- 3.8%. Half of the interviews were conducted by telephone and half were by text message.
