Blog
Second Reading Podcast: Policy and politics in the Texas Senate interim charges
Jim Henson and Joshua Blank look at different signals transmitted in the Texas Senate's interim charges.
Early soundings of the 2024 Presidential election in Texas
However contingent the outcome of the presidential election, with the primaries behind us and the summer and fall campaigns yet to unfold, the Texas Politics Project offers a deep archive of data to assess the public opinion context as the current presidential election moves to center stage.
Second Reading Podcast: What to make of the "contract with Texas"?
Jim Henson and Josh Blank talk about the politics and implications of the "Contract with Texas" recently distributed by a group of far-right Texas Republicans, and take notice of a new polling on the presidential and Senate races in Texas from the Texas Hispanic Policy Institute.
Texas 2024 Presidential Poll Tracker
Check back for updates on all non-partisan polling of the presidential race in Texas. Most recently updated with results from April 5-10 Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation poll.
Texas 2024 U.S. Senate Poll Tracker
Check back for updates on all non-partisan polling of the US Senate race race between incumbent U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and Democratic challenger Colin Allred.
Second Reading Podcast: How competitive will Texas be in the 2024 presidential election?
Jim Henson and Joshua Blank look at past election returns and UT/Texas Politics Project polling data to assess how competitive the presidential election might be in Texas.
Second Reading Podcast: Court rulings, a Speaker's race, and the presidential context in Texas
Jim Henson and Josh Blank look at actions in the courts that influenced politics in Texas this week involving SB 4, abortion, and Ken Paxton, as well as the emerging Speaker's race signaled by Rep. Tom Oliverson's candidacy.
Second Reading Podcast: Federalism and the border in the spotlight (and the strange case of Texas Nationalism)
Jim Henson & Josh Blank look at the conflict between Texas and the federal government over border enforcement, and how it's fed the boom in attention to Texas nationalism (Note: recorded prior to the US Supreme Court lifting the stay on SB 4.)
Second Reading Podcast: The Texas Primaries deliver some drama
In a new Second Reading podcast, Jim Henson and Josh Blank look at the implications of the results of primary elections in Texas.
The Presidents Come to the Texas Border
National and state politics converge this week with the simultaneous visits of President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump to the Texas-Mexico border on Thursday. Trump will appear in Eagle Pass, the site of ongoing tension between state and federal law enforcement agencies deployed to manage the increased flow of migrants into the U.S., while Biden will visit Brownsville.