The Texas Politics Project
Approval of Congress
27%of Texas voters approve of the job Congress is doing – 53% disapprove (August 2025)
Federal spending and Texas
36%of Texas voters say reducing federal spending would be good for Texas; 46% say it would be bad (August 2025)
Property Taxes
47%of Texas voters expect the property taxes Texans pay to increase in the next few years, while 18% expect them to decrease (August 2025)
Latest Analysis
Second Reading Podcast: Gov. Abbott Deploys the National Guard to Illinois
After catching up on the federal shutdown, James Henson and Joshua Blank look at the political dynamics around Gov. Greg Abbott's fast deployment of Texas National Guard troops to Illinois at the order of President Trump, including a look at Texas attitudes toward Abbott's response to Operation Jade Helm a decade ago.
Second Reading Podcast: Shutdown politics and public opinion in Texas
James Henson and Joshua Blank dig into what UT/Texas Politics Project polling can tell us about the public opinion context for the government shutdown in Texas.
Second Reading: Economic concerns pressure Trump's rating in Texas, and approaches to early election polling
James Henson and Joshua Blank look at the arc of the President's standing in Texas and how his ratings intersect persistent economic concerns in the state. Plus, they consider approaches to (very) early polling in the 2026 U.S. Senate race.
Governor Abbott’s Job Approval Ratings Slip Through Two Special Sessions
See details...
Texans Expectations about the Economy Souring
See details...
Events
Special Session Review
The Professional Advocacy Association of Texas (PAAT) hosted an online review of the second special session of the 89th Texas Legislature on Wednesday, September 3, featuring a discussion with Gromer Jeffers, Jr., political writer for the Dallas Morning-News, Brad Johnson of The Texan, Mrk Jones of the Baker Institute at Rice University, and Harvey Kronberg, CEO and publisher of Harvey Kronberg's Quorum Report, moderated by Texas Politics Project Executive Director James Henson. You can hear a recording on the September 4 Second Reading podcast.
Internships
News Media
Greg Abbott Has Taken Texas to the Top
Allen Greenblatt writes that Gov. Abbott has his critics but there's no denying Texas' economic success during his time in office.
12 New GOP seats out of thin air? Republicans are halfway there
Zachary B. Wolf draw on Texas Politics Project polling in an assessment of expectations of potential GOP gains as a result of mid-decade redistricting.
Paxton has higher approval rating than Cornyn, Hunt in Texas: Poll
The Hill reports on favorability ratings in the August 2025 UT/Texas Politics Project Poll.
Texas voters have mixed views on redistricting and Trump’s megabill, poll finds
Marijke Friedman reports that the August 2025 UT/Texas Politics Project Poll found that more voters disapprove of the mid-decade redraw than support it, fueled by overwhelming opposition from independent and Democratic voters.
Sign up for the Texas Politics Newsletter
Stay up to date on the latest polling results, analysis, events, and more from the Texas Politics Project.