I concluded my annual Back to School tour last week. This year we went to 11 regions of the state, presenting the program in Austin, Fort Worth, Kilgore, Mt. Pleasant, Midland, Houston, San Antonio, Lubbock, Wichita Falls, Corpus Christi and Richardson. We always like to have some fun along the way by taking an opinion poll of the participants. This year’s poll question was a no-brainer: who ya gonna vote for?
Giving people just two options in the vote would be boring. Besides that, we read the newspapers and are well aware of the fact that a lot of people this year are dissatisfied with both of the major party candidates. So our ballot provided six options:
1. I WILL VOTE FOR HILLARY
2. I WILL VOTE FOR DONALD
3. I WILL VOTE FOR HILLARY, BUT MOSTLY BECAUSE OF DONALD
4. I WILL VOTE FOR DONALD, BUT MOSTLY BECAUSE OF HILLARY
5. I WILL VOTE FOR SOMEONE ELSE
6. I WILL NOT VOTE
The results:
REGION 13 (Austin): The People’s Republic of Austin showed its liberal roots by supporting Mrs. Clinton 31-17. The biggest single category of votes was a simple “for Hillary”—19 of those. Then she had 12 who were voting anti-Trump, which gave her the total of 31. This was our first stop on the tour. As we traveled elsewhere, Hillary’s lead evaporated quickly.
REGION 11 (Ft. Worth): Cowtown went for The Donald, but it was pretty close: 49-41. This is where the overall trend first showed up—there were more “anti-Hillary” votes than anything else. 36 of Trump’s 49 supporters were more anti-Hillary than pro-Donald. Hillary’s unpopularity in Texas became more pronounced as we headed east.
REGION 7 (Kilgore): Our friends behind the Pine Cone Curtain voted strongly for Trump—39-15. There were 37 “anti” votes and only 17 “for” someone. Of the 37 “antis” 29 of them were anti-Mrs. Clinton.
REGION 8 (Mt. Pleasant/Pittsburg): Even worse for the Dems: 40-9 for Trump. Only 6 of those were for Mr. Trump. His other 34 supporters just don’t like Hillary.
REGION 18 (Midland): The trend continues: Trump wins here 34-12.
HARRIS COUNTY DOE (Houston): Hillary scores her first victory since Austin—winning this one 37-30.
REGION 20 (San Antonio): Clinton’s winning streak continues with a narrow 40-37 victory. We also notice another trend. This is the third place where Hillary’s support came more from the people who were actually for her, as opposed to those who were anti-Trump. That never happened for Trump.
REGION 17 (Lubbock): 69-14 for Trump. Surprised? Me neither.
REGION 9 (Wichita Falls): 30-6 for Trump, and not a single voter actually in favor of Hillary. All six of those who will vote for Hillary will do so because of Trump.
REGION 2 (Corpus Christi): 31-21 for Clinton.
REGION 10 (Richardson/Dallas): Deadlock! It was a tie: 37-37.
STATEWIDE TOTALS:
For Hillary: 122
For Donald: 93
For Hillary Because of Donald: 151
For Donald Because of Hillary: 310
Total for Hillary: 273
Total for Donald: 403
Someone Else: 101
This included Rick Perry (before Dancing with the Stars), Shane Buechele (after UT beat Notre Dame, but before the subsequent losses), Jose Altuve, Les Miles, Alicia Florrick, Mickey Mouse, Big Foot, Jesus, God, Jill Stein, Gary Johnson, Roger Staubach, a shot of tequila, Darth Vader, Ty Duncan, Alice Cooper, Colin Powell, Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz, Peyton Manning and Pedro.
No Vote: 25
People Voting FOR someone: 215
People Voting AGAINST someone: 461
DAWG BONE: THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION! NOW GET OUT THERE AND VOTE ON NOVEMBER 8!!
Tomorrow: Can we fire the coach NOW?