Blogs: The economy

In a new Second Reading podcast, James Henson and Josh Blank look at the quasi-normal looking polling on the general election matchups for Texas Governor and Lt. Governor, and assess macrolevel indicators of the political mood in Texas.

After a brief post-election honeymoon in Texas, President Donald J. Trump’s job approval ratings have fallen back to levels found during his first term in office, as Texans’ widespread economic concerns persist amidst the President’s ongoing trade war, according to a new University of Texas / Texas Politics project Poll. With 47% of Texas voters approving of the job he is doing as President and 46% disapproving, Trump barely remains in net-positive territory in Texas, though.

Daron Shaw, Josh Blank, and James Henson discuss news highs for Donald Trump amidst persistent economic concerns along with other new findings from the just-released February 2025 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll.

A new University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll finds Texas voters broadly aligned with the overall agenda outlined by the governor, legislative leaders, and lawmakers, though there are stark, if familiar, differences between Republicans and Democrats over which issues lawmakers should prioritize in the ongoing legislative session.

With early voting about to kick off in Texas, the latest 2024 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll finds former president Donald Trump leading Vice-President Kamala Harris 51% to 46% among likely voters in the presidential race in Texas. Green Party candidate Jill Stein was the choice of 2%, while Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver received 1%. In the U.S. Senate race, incumbent Republican Ted Cruz holds a 7-point lead among likely voters over his Democratic challenger, Congressman Colin Allred, 51% to 44%, with Libertarian Ted Brown the choice of 4%.