The Texas Education Divide: Class in the Lone Star State and the 2024 Election

Exploring the growing educational divide at the ballot box in Texas

Hey y’all, welcome back! In today’s TPOR installment, we’re diving into the latest findings from our post-election poll on the Senate and Presidential races in Texas. This time, we’re zeroing in on how the growing divide along education and class lines shaped voter attitudes and electoral outcomes across the state.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

The Education Divide is Reshaping Texas Politics: Trump and Cruz dominated among non-college voters, while Harris and Allred secured the support of college-educated Texans.

Working-Class Voters Prioritize Economics and the Border: Cost of living and immigration ranked as top concerns for non-college voters, while college-educated Texans focused more on abortion and democracy.

Voters of Color Showed Distinct Priorities: Cost of living was the top issue for both Black and Latino non-college voters, but their second-tier concerns differed: Latino non-college voters prioritized immigration, while Black non-college voters focused more on democracy, racism, and abortion.

Presidential Election: The Education-Class Divide

TPOR’s latest findings following the 2024 Presidential race point to a stark divide between voters on the basis of education. Donald Trump won out with non-college voters in Texas by 30 points, as 64% of these voters reported voting for Donald Trump, while just 34% of these respondents reported casting their ballots for Kamala Harris. Trump’s advantage was even more pronounced among white non-college voters in Texas, registering a substantial 61-point advantage where 80% of these voters reported support for him, compared to 18% of white non-college voters who reported support for Harris. However, among college educated Texans, Harris held a 5-point advantage over Trump, where 51% of these voters reported support for the former Vice President, while 46% reported casting their ballots for Donald Trump.

This divide along education and class lines was also evident in Texans’ presidential trait preferences. While both non-college (42%) and college-educated (39%) voters ranked leadership as the most important trait, their second and third priorities diverged—morals (25%) and patriotism (23%) were more valued by non-college voters, while college-educated voters’ secondary preferences were respect for the rule of law (36%) and integrity (26%). One notable finding in our data was the striking gender gap among non-college voters on the importance of morals—while 32% of non-college women prioritized it, only 18% of non-college men did.

Senate Election: The Education-Class Divide

In the Texas Senate Race, the education divide was slightly more marked than in the presidential contest, with a 39-point swing overall. According to TPOR’s latest findings, Cruz led Allred by 26 points with working class Texans—63% of non-college educated voters reported voting for Cruz, while 36% said they supported Allred at the ballot box. On the other side of the educational divide however, Allred led Cruz with college educated Texans by 13 points. 56% of these voters reported supporting Allred while 43% said they voted for Cruz.

The education divide in the Texas Senate race was clear in voters’ trait preferences. Integrity was the top trait for both non-college (33%) and college-educated (42%) voters, but beyond that, differences emerged. Non-college voters prioritized respect for the rule of law (32%), leadership (26%), and morals (26%), while college-educated voters placed greater emphasis on morals (36%) and bipartisanship (20%). Notably, non-college voters placed a higher premium on leadership compared to their college educated counterparts (19%).

Issue Prioritization:

Across the electorate, immigration and the border and cost of living ranked as top priorities, but these concerns were even more pronounced among non-college voters. In the Senate race, non-college voters were 11% more likely to prioritize immigration and border security than their college-educated counterparts, and 9% more likely in the presidential race. The economic divide was even sharper—non-college voters were 23% more likely to cite cost of living and inflation as a key issue in the Senate race.

Meanwhile, abortion rights saw the opposite trend, with college-educated voters 18% more likely to prioritize the issue in the Senate race. This divide was especially notable among college-educated women, who emphasized abortion rights at a significantly higher rate than college-educated men (+8 points).

A closer look at our data on non-college voters shows that, for voters of color in the presidential race, cost of living was the top concern with 51% citing it as a key issue. For Black non-college voters in Texas, anxiety regarding cost of living was heightened with 63% identifying it as their most pressing priority. Latino non-college voters followed suit with 48% citing cost of living as their top concern. Notably, working class Latino voters identified as their second highest priority (48%), whereas working class Black voters ranked democracy (30%), racism (28%) and abortion (25%) ahead of immigration and the border.

Among non-college voters of color in the Texas Senate race, cost of living and inflation was the top concern, with 52% prioritizing it—rising to 54% among Latino non-college voters and 52% among Black non-college voters. However, issue priorities diverged beyond economics. Latino non-college voters ranked immigration and the border (39%) as their second-highest concern, while Black non-college voters (13%) placed greater emphasis on abortion (28%), democracy (23%), and job growth and security (22%). Racism (21%) was also a key issue for Black non-college voters but did not rank as a top concern for Latino non-college voters.

The growing educational divide that shaped national electoral outcomes in 2024 was also a critical factor in Texas, manifesting in voter preferences and priorities across both the Senate and Presidential races.

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