Blogs: Marijuana

James Henson and Joshua Blank look at the latest Texas Politics Project poll results on redistricting, marijuana, property taxes, and other priorities in the recently-concluded special legislative sessions.

Gromer Jeffers, Jr., Brad Johnson, Mark Jones, and Harvey Kronberg joined James Henson for a roundtable hosted by the Professional Advocacy association of Texas on the second special session of the Texas Legislature – plus a sneak peak at new Texas Politics Project polling data on the same subject.

Legislators face the usual obstacles to holding the public's attention during the just-commenced special session – a loud news environment likely, as usual to crowd out state legislative happenings, and what has historically been a consistently low level of pubic attention to the legislature, even during times of crisis. But whether or not most Texans are attentive to what some of us find the best game in town, public opinion shapes the incentives, priorities, and strategies of the participants in the process. We have gathered relevant public opinion data from University of Texas/Texas Politics Project polling.

In a webinar hosted June 26 by the Professional Advocacy Association of Texas, James Henson and Johsua Blank look at attitudes on issues and actors in the regular session of the 89th Texas Legislature in a special video edition of the podcast.

The UT/Texas Politics Project Poll team – – Joshua Blank, Daron Shaw, and James Henson – look at results the much-noted decline in President Trump's job approval numbers in their June poll, and how Trump's standing intersects attitudes on the economy and immigration, as well as what can be read into the current positions of Senator John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton in anticipation of Paxton's challenge to Cornyn in the 2026 GOP primary.

James Henson and Joshua Blank talk about the progress made on major legislation this week and where the legislative leadership stands as the end of the regular session looms.

The House’s passage of Senate Bill 3 may rightly be understood as yet another example of the current Lieutenant Governor’s historic power over the Senate, and how he has extended it into the affairs of the House.

James Henson and Joshua Blank look at the big issues still pending in the Texas Legislature, including property taxes, education funding, water, the budget, bail, THC products, and more as deadline pressures suffocate House bills. Also: #txlege theme songs.

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.

James Henson talks with Jasper Scherer, reporter and incoming politics editor at The Texas Tribune about political maneuvering at the legislature as the pace of the session picks up, and about the evolution of the Tribune's position in the media ecosystem in Texas.