Blogs: 2026 election

Just how State Representative James Talarico's progressive Christian theology lands with the primary electorate he needs to win over to gain the nomination is an open question - a question not as straightforward as it might seem.

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.

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.

The final University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll of 2025 found Texas voters' attention to high prices pivoting towards health care costs as the 2026 election moves to the center of state politics.

James Henson and Joshua Blank dig up some highlights from UT/Texas Politics Project polling in 2025 on subjects including property taxes, speech rights, views of the legislature, healthcare, vaccines, and more.

James Henson and Joshua Blank look at how Donald Trump’s pardon of Henry Cuellar, and Jasmine Crockett’s likely entrance in the race to replace John Cornyn, have complicated the 2026 election in Texas – and maybe the U.S.

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.

The Texas Politics Project Poll team – Daron Shaw, James Henson, and Joshua Blank – discuss what their latest poll tells us about the current Texas landscape for the 2026 election.

Amidst a prolonged federal government shutdown and one year away from the 2026 election, the October 2025 Texas Politics Project poll finds Texas voters reporting worsening personal economic conditions, with increasingly pessimistic views of the wider economy and the direction of the state and country.