Joshua Blank, PhD

The regular Texas legislative session was notable for bipartisan coalitions and harmony. The special sessions have been notable for partisan battles and stalemates. To understand what's going on, just look at the voters.

Republican voters in Texas still have immigration and border security atop their lists of most important problems facing the state, and their sway over members of the Texas delegation will be noted by political colleagues and potential opponents alike.

A look at electoral returns and public opinion data helps explain why Democratic exuberance in the days after the Wendy Davis filibuster has been replaced with more measured analyses.

Texas voters are concerned about public ethics, and about some of the issues that have attached to the governor over the last 12 years — but they're partisan about it, and that has made all the difference for Rick Perry.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst currently enjoys the unenviable status of being the least popular of the major statewide Republican elected officials in Texas, according to an analysis of his approval numbers and standing in election matchups. 

A trend of increasing support for some sort of legal recognition of same-sex relationships in both Texas and the country presents Republican politicians with a familiar dilemma.

While much attention has been paid to the political conflict on the floor of the Texas Senate last week, the subtleties of public opinion on abortion in Texas framed the clash in the upper chamber.

While Gov. Rick Perry’s standing among Texans remains stronger than most of his “oops”-focused critics recognize, he can no longer count on the level of support he enjoyed among the state's conservatives four years ago.

The public doesn't closely follow legislative debates over the budget, but sometimes those budget debates line up pretty accurately with public opinion.

Texas provides a looking-glass view of the national picture on the issue of guns — though with its own Texas flavor, of course.