Blogs: February 2025

James Henson talks with Greg Cox about his recently launched Texas politics newsletter, and the state of play in the legislature, where he finds people generally getting along better after the heated 2023-2024 sequence in Texas.

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.

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank talk about how politics are shaping up as the House makes committee assignments and the current Big Three position themselves as the session shifts into a higher gear.

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.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank talk about how to think about how national politics shape politics in Texas, and consider the feedback loops at work in sorting out the reciprocal effects of Texas and national politics.

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank talk over the public opinion context of Gov. Abbott's emergency items.

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.