Blogs: Joshua Blank | The Texas Politics Project

About | Subscribe

Blogs: Joshua Blank

If at first you don’t succeed…ESA’s are back in the House

April 15, 2025 | By: James Henson, Joshua Blank

The basic configuration of public opinion before, during, and now in the wake of millions spent on advocacy and campaigning has been fairly apparent in University of Texas/Texas Politics Project polling over the last few years.

89th Legislature, Public Education, Vouchers

Read more...

Public Opinion Notes for Budget Day in the Texas House

April 08, 2025 | By: Jim Henson, Joshua Blank

With the Texas House of Representatives scheduled to debate their budget bills (SB 1 and HB 500, the supplemental appropriations bill) Thursday, April 10, the December 2024 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll asked Texas voters about their views of the state’s commitment to a dozen spending areas.

89th Legislature, Budget and Taxes, Texas Legislature

Read more...

Texas Tariff Believers' Faith Being Tested by Trump

April 04, 2025 | By: Joshua Blank, Jim Henson

However much (and how) Texas voters’ attitudes about tariffs are likely to be shaped by their direct experience of the effects, and by partisan attempts to shape those views, the widespread concern they express about prices is likely to continue to dominate their economic views.

Economy, Foreign Policy, Tariff, Trade

Read more...

Comparing Views of John Cornyn and Ken Paxton in Texas with 2026 on the Horizon

April 02, 2025 | By: Joshua Blank

Texas Senator John Cornyn officially announced his re-election intentions this week in a race that is expected to include a vigorous primary contest in 2026.

2026 election, Republican Primary

Read more...

Will Trump's Latest Immigration Offensive Test The Limits Of Texas Republicans’ Support For Mass Deportation?

April 01, 2025 | By: Jim Henson, Joshua Blank

While pluralities of Republican voters approved of several of the specific tactics the Trump administration has threatened to use to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants, the poll revealed reservations among significant shares of the same partisans who profess to support the immediate deportation of anyone in the country illegally.

2026 election, Border Security, Immigration, Texas Legislature

Read more...

Why Texas Leaders Can’t Escape The Politics of Property Taxes

March 12, 2025 | By: Joshua Blank, James Henson

The February University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll illustrated, not for the first time, that the latest battle in Texas Republican leaders’ forever war on property taxes is fueled in part by many voters’ views that those taxes have a burdensome effect on their finances – and that lawmakers’ past efforts have done little to relieve those burdens.

89th Legislature, Property Tax

Read more...

Texans Divided on GOP Legislative Priorities, Remain Concerned about Prices in New University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll

March 05, 2025 | By: Joshua Blank, Jim Henson

A new University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll finds Texas voters broadly aligned with the overall agenda outlined by the governor, legislative leaders, and lawmakers, though there are stark, if familiar, differences between Republicans and Democrats over which issues lawmakers should prioritize in the ongoing legislative session.

89th Legislature, Border Security, Budget and Taxes, Discrimination, Immigration, Property Tax, Public Education, The economy, Vouchers

Read more...

Thinking about attitudes toward taxes among renters as the Legislature once again chases property tax cuts

February 25, 2025 | By: Jim Henson, Joshua Blank

The plurality of renters, 42%, said that property taxes had no impact on their finances. But renters don’t appear to be completely oblivious about the impact of property taxes on housing costs: a majority, 58%, said that property taxes had either a major impact on their finances (34%), or at least a minor impact (24%). Twice as many homeowners as renters, 68%, said property taxes had a major impact on their finances, with only 10% feeling no impact at all.

89th Legislature, Property Tax

Read more...

Texas Views of RFK Jr. and vaccines as the U.S. Senate confirms Kennedy as HHS secretary

February 14, 2025 | By: James Henson, Joshua Blank

UT/TxPP polling suggests that while Kennedy himself has achieved a degree of favorable reviews among a non-trivial share of Texas voters (though a declining share over time), views of the safety and efficacy of vaccines remain significantly less widespread than the mainstreaming of RFK, Jr. as a public figure might suggest.

vaccination, vaccines

Read more...

The public opinion context of Governor Abbott's legislative agenda

February 03, 2025 | By: Jim Henson, Joshua Blank

Governor Abbott’s State of the State Address rolled out seven emergency items as well as a host of tone-setting policy signals. Below is a selection of polling results about each of Governor Abbott's emergency items and Lieutenant Governor Patrick's corresponding priority bills.

89th Legislature

Read more...

1
...

Post Date:

Selected Keywords:

Republishing Guidelines

We encourage you to republish our content, but ask that you follow these guidelines.

1. Publish the author or authors' name(s) and the title as written on the original column, and give credit to the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin (and, if possible, a link back to texaspolitics.utexas.edu, or to the specific subpage where the content resides).

2. Don't change the column in any way.

3. You can republish any multimedia (including, photos, videos, audio, or graphics) as long as you give proper attribution (either to the Texas Politics Project, if not already included in the media, and to the media's author).

4. Don't resell the column

5. Feel free to publish it on a page surrounded by ads you've already sold, but don't sell ads against the column.

6. If we send you a request to change or remove our content from your site, you must agree to do so immediately.

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at texaspolitics@laits.utexas.edu