Blog Posts

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank talk about polling and other context in the U.S. Senate race in Texas between incumbent Republican Ted Cruz, and Democratic challenger Colin Allred.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank look at Texas Politics Project polling related to Speaker of the House Dade Phelan, and what it contributes (and doesn’t) to understanding the dynamics of the current challenges to Phelan’s efforts to continue as Speaker amidst opposition from within the Texas GOP.

The vice presidential candidates – Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Tim Walz – will get their evening to shine next week as they participate in what is likely to be their only debate of the 2024 campaign at 8:00 PM Central Time on Tuesday evening, October 1. The August 2024 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll was fielded after the announcement of both vice presidential picks, and included items assessing the extent to which Texas voters hold favorable, or unfavorable opinions of each.

A new round of interventions in the voting process by Texas state officials coincides with the reemergence of widespread doubts about elections and voting among Republican voters in the most recent statewide polling by the Texas Politics Project. The latest actions of state officials and new evidence of the persistence of doubts about the conduct of elections among Republican voters emerge from the rhetoric and policy of elected officials that have shaped public attitudes since the turn of the 21st century. These latest manifestations of declining trust in the electoral process, inflamed by Donald Trump's insistent propagation of the fiction that elections are being corrupted by the votes of undocumented immigrants, suggest that Texans are approaching the Rubicon in terms of their ability to maintain shared trust in the state's deployment of democracy.

The Texas Politics Project polling team talks about results in the latest University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll.

The much-anticipated, lone presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is one of the rare occasions where the breathless coverage leading up to the Tuesday evening event probably isn’t grossly over-hyped. It’s a lot, to be sure; but given the impact of the first presidential debate, it’s hard to argue that the stakes aren’t high, whether or not the debate lives up to the anticipation

The latest University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll finds former president Donald Trump leading Vice-President Kamala Harris 49% to 44% in a head-to-head match-up in the presidential race in Texas. Nine percent chose an unspecified “someone else,” and 6% were undecided. This result follows a June UT/Texas Politics Project Poll in which then-candidate Joe Biden trailed Trump by 7 points, 46% to 39%.

Jim Henson talks with veteran observer of Texas politics Harvey Kronberg about the impact of the rebooted presidential race in Texas, and simmering politics in Texas over legislative elections, the grid and vouchers, and relations among Texas' big three.

Jim Henson talks with veteran observer of Texas politics Harvey Kronberg about the impact of the rebooted presidential race in Texas, and simmering politics in Texas over legislative elections, the grid and vouchers, and relations among Texas' big three.

Whatever the mix of factors — a lack of awareness of the specifics of what the legislature has tried to do, the extreme complexity of the issues involved, or a general lack of trust in political institutions — polling throughout the two sessions has shown a consistent a lack of confidence in what the state’s political leadership is doing to increase the reliability and resilience of the grid.