From The Texas Credit Union League:

Texas Elected Official Job Approval. The poll tested the overall job approval ratings of various statewide political figures. On the federal level, US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison scored the highest with a 66% to 18% net positive job approval rating.

Senator John Cornyn scored 47% to 22% net positive, and Texas voters give President Barack Obama a 49% to 40% net positive job approval rating.

Statewide, Governor Rick Perry scored a 52% to 40% net positive job approval rating. Lt. Governor David Dewhurst scored a 37% to 18% net positive, followed by Attorney General Greg Abbott at 44% to 11% and State Comptroller Susan Combs at 44% to 9% net positive job approval scores.

Interestingly, in anticipation of the possible 2010 March Republican primary between incumbent Governor Rick Perry and Senate Kay Bailey Hutchison, their job approval scores are virtually identical among self-identified Republican primary voters, Republican voter subgroups by ideology, and even regular “Rush Limbaugh” talk radio show listeners.

Who is To Blame for National Financial Crisis? When asked an open-ended question on “who is most to blame for causing the current national financial crisis,” interestingly Texas voters seem to point more fingers at an aspect of federal government than at the private sector.

Sixteen percent of Texas voters (16%) volunteer former President George W. Bush as most to blame, followed by 14% volunteering Congress, 10% naming the federal government, 3% naming President Barack Obama, and 1% blaming the Federal Reserve. Fourteen percent (14%) volunteer “banks,” tied with 14% volunteering “greed/people spending too much” as most to blame, followed by 6% saying mortgage companies/lending institutions, 4% Wall Street, 4% large corporations, 2% con artists like Bernie Madoff. Credit unions are not viewed as being part of the problem.

Overall Bank Image and Popularity Suffers; Credit Unions Popularity Remains Very High. The image and popularity of banks with voters has taken a negative hit since 2004, with banks being rated 55% favorable to 39% unfavorable (compared to 69% to 17% in 2004). The image of credit unions has remained virtually unchanged at 75% favorable to 8% unfavorable, statistically the same as the 2004 finding of 77% favorable to 9% unfavorable. What remarkable is how popular credit unions are far beyond their own membership levels — almost half (45%) of all Texas voters are members of a Texas credit union, up slightly from 42% in 2004.

Public Policy: Texas Voters Allowing Credit Unions to Make More Small Business Loans to Their Members. Voters favor the elimination of the 12.25% of assets “cap” on member business loans Congress placed on credit unions eleven years ago as a viable way to help get credit into entrepreneur’s hands as other financial institutions pull back on lending during the recession.

Poll Background. TCUL regularly monitors public opinion on political and public policy issues that may affect credit unions and the financial services marketplace, and this April 2009 survey of registered voters represents our fourth such commissioned poll since 2004.