Blogs: April 2025
Second Reading Podcast: The State of Play in the Texas Legislature with Harvey Kronberg
| By:
Texas Politics Project
James Henson talks with Harvey Kronberg, publisher and of Harvey Kronberg’s Quorum Report, about the vibes in the legislature as well as the longer trajectory of politics in the state, and the place of Quorum Report in the Texas media universe.
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Second Reading Podcast: ESA's Triumph in the Texas House
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James Henson & Joshua Blank discuss the passage of an ESA bill by the Texas House, the vibe in the legislature ahead of the informal Easter break, and check in on how 2026 is shaping up.
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If at first you don’t succeed…ESA’s are back in the House
| By:
Joshua Blank,
James Henson
The basic configuration of public opinion before, during, and now in the wake of millions spent on advocacy and campaigning has been fairly apparent in University of Texas/Texas Politics Project polling over the last few years.
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Second Reading Podcast: National Economic Upheaval and the Texas Budget
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James Henson and Joshua Blank look at Texas public opinion on tariffs and the economy, and how economic upheaval might upend core assumptions about the state budget for the next biennium.
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Public Opinion Notes for Budget Day in the Texas House
| By:
Jim Henson,
Joshua Blank
With the Texas House of Representatives scheduled to debate their budget bills (SB 1 and HB 500, the supplemental appropriations bill) Thursday, April 10, the December 2024 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll asked Texas voters about their views of the state’s commitment to a dozen spending areas.
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Second Reading Podcast: A Conversation with The Texan's Brad Johnson about Policy & Politics in the Texas Legislature, the Texas Media Environment, and More
| By:
Texas Politics Project
James Henson talks with Brad Johnson, political reporter and managing editor of The Texan, about recent happenings in the Texas Legislature, including the ESA bill voted out of the House Education Committee, the failed attempt to depose Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows, and Dan Patrick's presser this week. They also talk about The Texan's place in the Texas media universe, and other changes in the Texas media business.
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Texas Tariff Believers' Faith Being Tested by Trump
| By:
Joshua Blank,
Jim Henson
However much (and how) Texas voters’ attitudes about tariffs are likely to be shaped by their direct experience of the effects, and by partisan attempts to shape those views, the widespread concern they express about prices is likely to continue to dominate their economic views.
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Comparing Views of John Cornyn and Ken Paxton in Texas with 2026 on the Horizon
| By:
Joshua Blank
Texas Senator John Cornyn officially announced his re-election intentions this week in a race that is expected to include a vigorous primary contest in 2026.
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Will Trump's Latest Immigration Offensive Test The Limits Of Texas Republicans’ Support For Mass Deportation?
| By:
Jim Henson,
Joshua Blank
While pluralities of Republican voters approved of several of the specific tactics the Trump administration has threatened to use to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants, the poll revealed reservations among significant shares of the same partisans who profess to support the immediate deportation of anyone in the country illegally.
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