Texas Politics Project: Blogs: Joshua Blank

Texas Politics Project Time Series: Job Approvals

Joshua Blank — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 08:35:50 -0600

The University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll regularly asks Texas voters to provide their assessment of national and statewide political leaders. This post presents the trend graphics for those views updated with each survey.

Competition Remains Fierce in Both U.S. Senate Primaries in Texas, According to Latest UT/Texas Politics Project Poll.

James Henson, Joshua Blank — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 09:01:20 -0600

The latest UT/Texas Politics Project Poll finds the three-way Republican race remains likely headed to a run-off, while Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett maintains her advantage in the Democratic contest, even as State Representative James Talarico continues making inroads among a Democratic electorate to whom he was largely unknown prior to his first statewide campaign

Texas Republicans Remain Loyal to Trump While His Job Approval Sags Among Other Groups

James Henson, Joshua Blank — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 08:20:37 -0600

With President Donald Trump delivering his State of the Union Address Tuesday night, the latest University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll finds the president hanging on to his support among Texas Republicans even as he struggles with stubbornly low ratings from Texans outside his base, and with slipping approval of his performance on key economic areas of concern to most Texans.

Texas Politics Project Time Series: Texans' Views of the Economy

Joshua Blank — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 10:39:31 -0600

The University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll regularly asks Texas voters to provide their assessment of national, state, and personal economic conditions. In this post, trend graphics for those views are presented and updated with each survey.

Texas Politics Project Time Series: Texas Election Results

Joshua Blank — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 10:47:23 -0600

The Texas Politics Project compiles the results of Texas elections for various statewide offices and elections.

The Audience(s) for James Talarico’s Progressive Christianity in the Democratic Primary

James Henson, Joshua Blank — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 10:28:55 -0600

Just how State Representative James Talarico's progressive Christian theology lands with the primary electorate he needs to win over to gain the nomination is an open question - a question not as straightforward as it might seem.

Skepticism About Texas Efforts to Improve Grid Resilience Adds to Winter Weather Worries

James Henson, Joshua Blank — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 17:22:28 -0600

If the anxiety about winter weather is a more or less rational response to both a credible threat and widely shared experience of just how bad things can be during such weather events, many Texans’ fear of the impact of weather reflects post-Uri patterns in public opinion about the reliability of the Texas grid, expectations that state government should be acting to make the grid more reliant than it was in 2021, and a lack of confidence in what political leadership of the state had done to prepare for the next crisis.

Health care prices top Texans voters’ economic worries on eve of critical midterm election year

Jim Henson, Joshua Blank — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 10:27:34 -0600

The final University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll of 2025 found Texas voters' attention to high prices pivoting towards health care costs as the 2026 election moves to the center of state politics.

With 2026 elections just over the horizon, economic concerns deepen in new UT/Texas Politics Project Poll

James Henson, Joshua Blank — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 18:14:27 -0600

Amidst a prolonged federal government shutdown and one year away from the 2026 election, the October 2025 Texas Politics Project poll finds Texas voters reporting worsening personal economic conditions, with increasingly pessimistic views of the wider economy and the direction of the state and country.

Texas voters give mixed reviews to the special session agenda while worries about the economy and prices persist in latest UT/Texas Politics Project Poll

James Henson, Joshua Blank — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 13:24:03 -0500

The August 2025 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll finds Texas voters in broad agreement with the call to respond to issues related to flooding and more reductions in property taxes, but show significant partisan divisions in response to the drawing of new maps and most other issues on the special session agenda – and finds voters still worried about the economy.

June 2025 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll: Economic concerns drag Trump’s job approval underwater in Texas, while most Texans oppose ban on THC products dividing GOP leadership

Jim Henson, Joshua Blank — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 09:57:29 -0500

A new University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll finds President Donald Trump’s job approval falling into net-negative territory for the first time in his second term, with 44% approving and 51% disapproving. Texans’ views of the performance of state political leaders also took a negative turn as economic concerns persist in the Lone Star State.

Texas Public Opinion and the 89th Legislature Endgame

Joshua Blank, James Henson — Tue, 13 May 2025 12:22:48 -0500

The April 2025 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll contained many items probing Texans' attitudes about policy and spending priorities, as well as attitudes about more specific policy proposals invested in bills now being discussed in the legislature.

Latest UT/Texas Politics Project Poll: Economic Uncertainty Hurts Trump Ratings in Texas, Looms Over the Legislature

James Henson, Joshua Blank — Thu, 15 May 2025 17:48:44 -0500

After a brief post-election honeymoon in Texas, President Donald J. Trump’s job approval ratings have fallen back to levels found during his first term in office, as Texans’ widespread economic concerns persist amidst the President’s ongoing trade war, according to a new University of Texas / Texas Politics project Poll. With 47% of Texas voters approving of the job he is doing as President and 46% disapproving, Trump barely remains in net-positive territory in Texas, though.

If at first you don’t succeed…ESA’s are back in the House

James Henson, Joshua Blank — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 10:50:50 -0500

The basic configuration of public opinion before, during, and now in the wake of millions spent on advocacy and campaigning has been fairly apparent in University of Texas/Texas Politics Project polling over the last few years.

Public Opinion Notes for Budget Day in the Texas House

Jim Henson, Joshua Blank — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 21:33:52 -0500

With the Texas House of Representatives scheduled to debate their budget bills (SB 1 and HB 500, the supplemental appropriations bill) Thursday, April 10, the December 2024 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll asked Texas voters about their views of the state’s commitment to a dozen spending areas.

Texas Tariff Believers' Faith Being Tested by Trump

Joshua Blank, Jim Henson — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 07:46:13 -0500

However much (and how) Texas voters’ attitudes about tariffs are likely to be shaped by their direct experience of the effects, and by partisan attempts to shape those views, the widespread concern they express about prices is likely to continue to dominate their economic views.

Comparing Views of John Cornyn and Ken Paxton in Texas with 2026 on the Horizon

Joshua Blank — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 13:44:37 -0500

Texas Senator John Cornyn officially announced his re-election intentions this week in a race that is expected to include a vigorous primary contest in 2026.

Will Trump's Latest Immigration Offensive Test The Limits Of Texas Republicans’ Support For Mass Deportation?

Jim Henson, Joshua Blank — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 13:57:59 -0500

While pluralities of Republican voters approved of several of the specific tactics the Trump administration has threatened to use to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants, the poll revealed reservations among significant shares of the same partisans who profess to support the immediate deportation of anyone in the country illegally.

Why Texas Leaders Can’t Escape The Politics of Property Taxes

Joshua Blank, James Henson — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 16:28:51 -0500

The February University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll illustrated, not for the first time, that the latest battle in Texas Republican leaders’ forever war on property taxes is fueled in part by many voters’ views that those taxes have a burdensome effect on their finances – and that lawmakers’ past efforts have done little to relieve those burdens.

Texans Divided on GOP Legislative Priorities, Remain Concerned about Prices in New University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll

Joshua Blank, Jim Henson — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 08:54:57 -0600

A new University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll finds Texas voters broadly aligned with the overall agenda outlined by the governor, legislative leaders, and lawmakers, though there are stark, if familiar, differences between Republicans and Democrats over which issues lawmakers should prioritize in the ongoing legislative session.

Thinking about attitudes toward taxes among renters as the Legislature once again chases property tax cuts

Jim Henson, Joshua Blank — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 12:06:52 -0600

The plurality of renters, 42%, said that property taxes had no impact on their finances. But renters don’t appear to be completely oblivious about the impact of property taxes on housing costs: a majority, 58%, said that property taxes had either a major impact on their finances (34%), or at least a minor impact (24%). Twice as many homeowners as renters, 68%, said property taxes had a major impact on their finances, with only 10% feeling no impact at all.

Texas Views of RFK Jr. and vaccines as the U.S. Senate confirms Kennedy as HHS secretary

James Henson, Joshua Blank — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 11:28:22 -0600

UT/TxPP polling suggests that while Kennedy himself has achieved a degree of favorable reviews among a non-trivial share of Texas voters (though a declining share over time), views of the safety and efficacy of vaccines remain significantly less widespread than the mainstreaming of RFK, Jr. as a public figure might suggest.

The public opinion context of Governor Abbott's legislative agenda

Jim Henson, Joshua Blank — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 11:27:48 -0600

Governor Abbott’s State of the State Address rolled out seven emergency items as well as a host of tone-setting policy signals. Below is a selection of polling results about each of Governor Abbott's emergency items and Lieutenant Governor Patrick's corresponding priority bills.

Texas Public Opinion and the Emerging Trump Agenda

Joshua Blank, Jim Henson — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 15:39:35 -0600

Republicans remain broadly supportive of many of the Trump administration’s promises, but the relative priorities they assign to specific elements of Trump’s agenda reveal tensions — some inherent, some self-made — present in a body of promises made during the heat of a presidential campaign.

UT/Texas Politics Project Poll finds still-simmering election concerns as the Texas Legislature convenes in Austin

Jim Henson, Joshua Blank — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 09:28:00 -0600

As the Texas Legislature convenes for its 89th session, a University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll reveals that the concerns that prevailed during the 2024 election continue to shape Texas voters’ views of what lawmakers should prioritize in 2025.