Blog Posts

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.

James Henson and Joshua Blank look at the latest Texas Politics Project poll results on redistricting, marijuana, property taxes, and other priorities in the recently-concluded special legislative sessions.

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.

Gromer Jeffers, Jr., Brad Johnson, Mark Jones, and Harvey Kronberg joined James Henson for a roundtable hosted by the Professional Advocacy association of Texas on the second special session of the Texas Legislature – plus a sneak peak at new Texas Politics Project polling data on the same subject.

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

James Henson and Joshua Blank talk over some of the political and institutional implications of the mid-decade redistricting in Texas In the wake of Texas House Democrats' return to the Capitol and the passage of the hotly contested new Congressional map by the reconvened House.

James Henson and Joshua Blank discuss the uncertainty around Texas House Democrats' quorum break over mid-decade redistricting, and what the ensuing politics reveal about Texas politics.

Legislators face the usual obstacles to holding the public's attention during the just-commenced special session – a loud news environment likely, as usual to crowd out state legislative happenings, and what has historically been a consistently low level of pubic attention to the legislature, even during times of crisis. But whether or not most Texans are attentive to what some of us find the best game in town, public opinion shapes the incentives, priorities, and strategies of the participants in the process. We have gathered relevant public opinion data from University of Texas/Texas Politics Project polling.

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.

In a webinar hosted June 26 by the Professional Advocacy Association of Texas, James Henson and Johsua Blank look at attitudes on issues and actors in the regular session of the 89th Texas Legislature in a special video edition of the podcast.