Blog
From Bang to Whimper: Beto O’Rourke’s Exit and The Specter of What Might Have Been
In an alternate universe envisioned by Beto O’Rourke’s fan base about a year ago, this weekend might have witnessed his breakout performance at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Liberty and Justice Dinner on Friday, followed by the release of a University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll showing him leading the Democratic presidential primary field in his home state, poised to make a strong showing in Iowa and turn Texas blue while on the way to changing the Electoral College map for 2020 and beyond as he rid the country of Donald Trump and swept into the White House.
The real world looks a little different today.
Five takeaways on Texans’ views of the impeachment of Donald Trump from the October 2019 UT/Texas Tribune Poll
The October 2019 University of Texas / Texas Tribune Poll finds Texans polarized along partisan lines, as is much of the country, but also revealed some subtleties in the attitudes toward the major political story of the day.
A Texas Congressional Turnover Tracker for the 116th Congress via The Texas Politics Project
Bookmark this page to track turnover in the Texas delegation to the U.S. Congress during the 2020 election cycle. Downloadable graphics for turnover overall, by party, and by cause of turnover can be used for webpages, teaching, presentations, and more.
An Impeachment, a House Scandal and the 2020 Elections could bedevil Texas GOP
Amidst the historic national implications of the now all-but-certain impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, a renewed focus on questions of corruption and abuse of power in the White House threatens Republican Texas incumbents’ near-monoply of the state’s political system.
Tracking Congressional Change in Texas as the Republican Retirement Rush Continues
Republican Congressman Bill Flores' (CD-17) announcement that he won't seek re-election brings the number of GOP retirements to five, further fueling speculation about the extent and implications of increasing partisan competition in Texas. These graphics look at congressional turnover in the last several sessions overall, by cause of exit, and by party. The Texas Politics Project will keep these current, so bookmark the page.
Attitudes in Texas Toward Mueller and His Investigation via the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll
With Robert Mueller testifying before two different House Committees about his report on the Russian interference in the 2016 election and related matters, we’re reminded that Texans' views of Mueller’s conduct of the investigation have been polarized along party lines everytime we asked Texans to assess his performance in the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. These polarized views were not limited to Mueller himself; Texans divided along party lines on almost all related matters.
The Tale of Senator Cornyn's Poll Numbers as Democrats Line Up For the Chance To Challenge Him in 2020
The recent addition of two more names to the list of Democratic primary candidates vying to face incumbent U.S. Senator John Cornyn again raises the immediate question of Cornyn’s prospects in 2020. We focus on University of Texas/Texas Tribune Polling data to look at Cornyn’s position among the Texas electorate to assess the position of the U.S. Senator that has held the office since 2002, a political eternity for a Texas Republican Party that took control of the state the same year. Cornyn was there at the beginning of the period of GOP dominance and has risen to one of the top positions in the Republican caucus in the U.S. Senate. Yet his standing in his home state, even through two successful reelection campaigns, has always suffered in comparison both to the political leaders that were his contemporaries and to the more recent generation of GOP elected officials who rose in his shallow wake.
Castro and O’Rourke’s Standing in Texas ahead of First Democratic Debates
At this, admittedly, extremely early stage in the process, let’s take a look at where each stands among Texas voters, and in particular, Texas Democrats and liberals ahead of the first Democratic debates.
The public opinion underpinning of Texas GOP leaders' pivot back to immigration and border security
We wrote earlier this week about the very real possibility that despite a legislative session defined by a concerted effort to focus on "the big issues," it would be difficult for statewide leaders to provide their incumbent members with much insulation from the chaotic national political environment based on legislative acheivements. The public unveiling of another National Guard deployment accompanied by sharp criticism of a national government that includes a Republican President and Senate majority hedges bets on those legislative achievements -- and nods heavily toward the Republican primaries in March 2020.
Below is a quick round-up of some relevant polling data from the June 2019 UT/Texas Tribune Poll.
Texans' Faint Praise for the Legislature could get swamped by National Politics
Judgments about the actual policy achievements of the 86th necessarily await their implementation and evidence of sustainability. In the meantime, legislative incumbents will hope to bask in the faint praise they earned in 2019, while worrying that they might well be drowned out in another election year defined by the deafening volume of chaotic national politics.