New poll raises question: Who are the 1% of Texans who haven’t heard of Whataburger?

A new poll of likely Texas voters found a tight race in the presidential election — and two San Antonio-based brands blowing away the competition.

Donald Trump leads Joe Biden 49 percent to 46 percent, according to the UMass Lowell poll. In the U.S. Senate race, Republican incumbent John Cornyn leads Democratic challenger MJ Hegar 50 percent to 40 percent.

“Trump is hanging onto a lead in Texas, but Republicans shouldn’t be celebrating,” said Joshua Dyck, director of the UMass Lowell Center for Public Opinion, in a statement. “Once a stronghold, statewide races continue to tighten and a loss in Texas would not only guarantee a Biden presidency, it would signal a landslide.”

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The poll, fielded by YouGov from Sept. 18 through Sept. 25, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percent.

While the electoral results will generate headlines, the poll’s final two questions drew answers that may interest San Antonians.

Respondents were asked how they felt about a number of national political figures, then whether they had a favorable or unfavorable impression of other people or brands. They could also select “no opinion” or “never heard of.”

Julián Castro, the elder twin by one minute, edged his brother Joaquín by a narrow margin in the poll as well. Twenty-six percent of respondents had a favorable view of the former San Antonio mayor versus 24 percent for Joaquín.

Both Castros twins had negative net favorability ratings, with 36 percent saying they had a an unfavorable impression of Julián and 34 percent saying the same about Joaquín.

There were no such qualms about local favorites H-E-B and Whataburger.

A stunning 84 percent of respondents had a favorable view of Whataburger. Eight percent had an unfavorable view, eight percent were undecided, and one percent somehow had never heard of the famed A-framed chain.

Whataburger’s out-of-state rival, In-N-Out Burger, had 49 percent in favor and 16 percent not.

When it came to H-E-B, 81 percent of respondents viewed the grocer favorably. Only two percent had an unfavorable impression of H-E-B, with 15 percent undecided and two percent who had never heard of the company.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban had the highest unfavorable impressions among non-politicians, at 33 percent and 27 percent, respectively.

In what seems like an oversight, the pollsters did not ask Texans about Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

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