Blogs: James Henson

Amidst a prolonged federal government shutdown and one year away from the 2026 election, the October 2025 Texas Politics Project poll finds Texas voters reporting worsening personal economic conditions, with increasingly pessimistic views of the wider economy and the direction of the state and country.

Comparative constitutional scholar Zachary Elkins of UT Austin joins James Henson to discuss the state of Constitutional features like the separation of powers and checks and balances during the norms-challenging Trump presidency.

The August 2025 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll finds Texas voters in broad agreement with the call to respond to issues related to flooding and more reductions in property taxes, but show significant partisan divisions in response to the drawing of new maps and most other issues on the special session agenda – and finds voters still worried about the economy.

Ross Ramsey, co-founder and former executive editor of The Texas Tribune, joins James Henson and Joshua Blank to assess to consider the nature and durability of changes in Texas politics and institutions evident during the 89th Texas Legislature

With adopting the new Congressional maps ordered by Donald Trump and response to the July 4 floods at the top of the agenda, James Henson and Joshua Blank talk about the politics of agenda management as the Texas Legislature prepares to return to the Capitol next week for a politically-fraught special session.

James Henson and Joshua Blank look at the big issues still pending in the Texas Legislature, including property taxes, education funding, water, the budget, bail, THC products, and more as deadline pressures suffocate House bills. Also: #txlege theme songs.

The April 2025 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll contained many items probing Texans' attitudes about policy and spending priorities, as well as attitudes about more specific policy proposals invested in bills now being discussed in the legislature.

After a brief post-election honeymoon in Texas, President Donald J. Trump’s job approval ratings have fallen back to levels found during his first term in office, as Texans’ widespread economic concerns persist amidst the President’s ongoing trade war, according to a new University of Texas / Texas Politics project Poll. With 47% of Texas voters approving of the job he is doing as President and 46% disapproving, Trump barely remains in net-positive territory in Texas, though.

For the first time, the Texas Politics Project is joining other UT entities and organizations in the 40 Hours for the Forty Acres campaign. You can support our efforts to fund more undergraduate research assistants, who learn about working with polling data and other primary research materials as part of close collaboration with Texas Politics Project researchers.

As legal challenges to the Trump administration's deportation tactics mount, Texas Politics Project polling reveals the sources of support in Texas for immigration enforcement at churches, schools, and hospitals – and its limits.