Post Date: April 2014

Dewhurst's Fortunes Track Party Changes

| By: Jim Henson, PhD and Joshua Blank, PhD

David Dewhurst’s predicament — abandoned first by most Republican primary voters and then by one of the bellwethers of the Texas big business establishment — reveals how the Texas GOP has changed since he first became lieutenant governor in 2003.

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Leaving Tests Behind

| By: Jim Henson, PhD and Joshua Blank, PhD

The same voters who responded well to George W. Bush's education policies oppose one of its main components: the standardized tests introduced to make schools more accountable.

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Threading the Needle on Education

| By: Jim Henson, PhD and Joshua Blank, PhD

Education policy is usually a winner for Democratic candidates, but in Texas, things are more nuanced, especially when it comes to education spending. This year's race for governor race is a great example. 

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Texans Aim for Self-Defense in Gun Control Debate

| By: Jim Henson, PhD and Joshua Blank, PhD

To the extent that Wednesday's Fort Hood shooting prompts a renewed discussion of guns in Texas, discussion will almost certainly be dominated by talk of increasing access to guns, not curtailing it. 

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Keywords: Gun Control

Texan First, American Second

| By: Joshua Blank, PhD and Bethany Albertson

When we asked Texans whether they considered themselves Texans first and Americans second, most said no. But the grandkids were more likely than their grandparents to say yes.

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