Blog
Is all forgiven? Texas public opinion and the “prior term doctrine” in Ken Paxton's impeachment trial
Setting aside for the moment the logic and legalisms of both the Paxton legal team’s invocation of the prior-term doctrine and the House managers’ response, public opinion polling suggests that relatively small shares of Texas voters have heard “a lot” about Paxton’s legal problems, including in the run-up to the 2022 election.
Second Reading Podcast: Why Abbott is buoyed by his border policies + Texas GOP responses to the latest Trump indictment
In a new Second Reading Podcast, Jim Henson and Josh Blank discuss the politics of Greg Abbott’s latest testing of the boundaries of support for his border policies, and look at the impact in Texas, or lack thereof, of the latest Trump indictments.
Second Reading Podcast: A conversation with The Dallas Morning News' Lauren McGaughy about the Paxton trial
In a new Second Reading Podcast, Jim Henson talks with The Dallas Morning News' Lauren McGaughy about the latest in the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton.
As GOP preemption bill steers power to the state, most Texans still express positive views of locals
While stifling the autonomy of state governments has been an ongoing project of the state’s Republican elected officials for several years, the latest University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll found Texas voters much more positively inclined toward their local government than toward state government.
The (very) early public opinion context for the 2024 US Senate Race in Texas
Texas state senator Roland Gutierrez’s widely-expected announcement that he will join U.S. Congressman Colin Allred in seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Ted Cruz in 2024 sets the stage for a long campaign in what could shape up to be one of the marquee Senate races in the next election.
Public Opinion and Texas Republicans’ Property Tax Problem
June 2023 poll ing suggests that campaign promises by Republicans to cut property taxes, followed by the Republican victors’ failure to deliver in the extended legislative session (so far), has likely exacerbated Texas voters’ dissatisfaction with legislative performance on the issue – and fed their low expectations of ever seeing their property taxes go down.
Second Reading Podcast: Unpacking Texans' reviews of legislative action on policy in the latest UT/Texas Politics Project Poll
In a new Second Reading Podcast, Jim Henson and Josh Blank take a closer look at Texans' reviews of the legislature's action on policies in the state, and ways of interpreting reviews of the 88th Legislature (so far).
Second Reading Podcast: The Paxton impeachment & assessments of the Texas Legislature in the June 2023 UT/Texas Politics Project Poll
In a new Second Reading Podcast, Jim Henson talks with fellow members of the Texas Politics Project Poll Daron Shaw and Joshua Blank about Texanss' attitudes toward the impeachment of suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and how the Texas legislature has handled major issues, including grid reliabillity, school safety, property taxes, and more.
After a surplus-fueled session, Texans give mixed reviews to legislative policy making
After an active legislative session fueled by a historic budget surplus, the latest University of Texas/Texas Politics project poll finds Texans giving legislative policy efforts mixed reviews amidst complex cross-currents in attitudes about policies, politics, and government.
New University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll finds little confidence in the legislature’s efforts to address key issues
After a regular legislative session that found lawmakers attempting to use a historic budget surplus to address major fiscal issues and infrastructure needs while also pushing some cultural hot buttons, the latest University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll found Texas voters with low expectations of the impact of their actions, and dim views of the legislature’s responsiveness.
When asked in general terms about their confidence in legislative efforts to address areas deemed critical by voters in Texas Politics Project polling conducted earlier in the session, most Texas voters lacked confidence in lawmakers’ efforts. Fewer than one in five voters was willing to say they were ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ confident that the legislature had increased the reliability of the electric grid or the water supply, improved the safety of Texas’ public schools, or improved security along the Texas-Mexico border.