Blogs: Texas Politics Project

In a new podcast, James Henson talks with Bayliss Wagner of the Austin American-Statesman and Hearst Newspapers about her reporting on the scandals that led to Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales' exit from the U.S. House, including the role of non-traditional and social media in the emergence of the story in mainstream media.

In a new Second Reading podcast, James Henson and Joshua Blank check into the latest twist the GOP run-off election for the U.S. Senate, then turn to what public opinion polling in Texas might tell us about the impact of the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran given the current path of the conflict.

James Henson and Joshua Blank look at key results of the long-anticipated Texas primary elections, and talk over some of the implications moving forward and the trajectory of polling in the Democratic race.

James Henson and Joshua Blank look at three big stories in Texas that generated national attention as election season heats up in the state: the special election for Senate District 9, Colin Allred's surprising re-emergence in the Democratic Senate nomination race, and Donald Trump's public musings about endorsing in the Republican Senate race.

James Henson and Joshua Blank look at how the shooting deaths of protesters by federal immigration authorities in Minneapolis activate a complex interplay among attitudes on immigration, gun rights, and the First Amendment.

In the latest Second Reading podcast, James Henson and Joshua Blank use Texas polling to compare and contrast the issues at play in the Republican and Democratic primaries in Texas. Plus, some brief discussion of the latest NYT/Sienna national poll and the coverage of polling conducted by campaigns.

James Henson and Joshua Blank look at the polling results on health care, immigration, and the 2026 U.S. Senate race in the final UT/Texas Politics Poll of 2025, and what those results portend for the 2026 election year.

James Henson & Joshua Blank consider the politics of the federal court decision throwing out the recently redrawn Texas Congressional map, and the MAGA crack-up trope in the political press.

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. 

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.