Keyword: Public Education
Recoding School Choice as a Parental Right
Results from the February 2023 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll provides evidence of how the pandemic, the wide propagation of the trope of “woke education,” and the patterns in the state’s rapid population growth have converged to sharpen the terms of long-fought battles, while also shifting the terrain upon which these battles are being fought. The current surge in rhetoric and political action based on notions like “parental rights” and the prevalence of “woke education” have provided potential means for overcoming the resistance of a sizable faction of Republican legislators and the demonstrated ambivalence of voters toward state support for private education that “school choice” advocates have historically been unable to overcome in the legislature.
The public opinion context for Gov. Abbott’s emergency items for the 88th Legislature
While there is plenty of subtext to Gov. Greg Abbott’s state of the state address, the topline takeaways are the items designated as emergencies by the governor, qualifying them for consideration prior to the constitutional prohibition on passing bills during the first 60 days of the legislative session. We posted a lot of public opinion data as broad context going into the governor’s speech, but the unveiling of the much-anticipated emergency items enables a closer look at the public opinion context of the governor’s priorities in his efforts to shape the legislative agenda.
Second Reading Podcast: The 2022 election in Texas through the lens of issue attitudes in the latest UT/Texas Politics Project Poll
In a new Second Reading Podcast, Jim Henson and Josh Blank discuss results from the recent University of Texas/Texas Politics Poll on issues in the Texas gubernatorial election in November, including abortion, border security, the economy, gun safety and the Robb Elementary shooting, and more.
New UT/Texas Politics Project Poll: Abbott maintains 45%-40% lead over O’Rourke; 52% support busing migrants out of Texas
The latest University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll finds Gov. Greg Abbott sustaining a polling lead over Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke, 45%-40%, albeit one that has narrowed as the gubernatorial campaign enters its final and most public phase. Beyond the top lines of the gubernatorial trial ballot, the poll results illuminate an election environment in which the gubernatorial contest between Abbott and O’Rourke is the most competitive race for the office Texas has seen in decades. Yet the results also reveal the advantages Abbott still enjoys among the Texas electorate, and the significant obstacles O’Rourke still faces in putting together a coalition of voters capable of overcoming the advantages, political and structural, that Abbott enjoys.
Second Reading Podcast: Public opinion and politics in Texas in the aftermath of the Uvalde shooting
In a new Second Reading Podcast, Jim Henson and Josh Blank discuss public opinion about guns in Texas, and the implication for politics in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Uvalde.
Second Reading Podcast: On the emerging politics of public education in Texas (and elsewhere)
In a new Second Reading Podcast, Jim Henson and Josh Blank talk about public education attitudes captured in the latest UT/Texas Politics Project Poll in the context of recent school board elections and Gov. Greg Abbott's signals about private school vouchers.
New UT/Texas Politics Project Poll: Texans’ attitudes on population growth and the state’s future take a negative turn amidst economic troubles
In an election year marked by economic disruption, the unprecedented direction of state resources and public attention to the Texas-Mexico border, and signs of moving on from the fight against COVID-19, Texans’ legendary bullishness about the future of the state has turned bearish, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll.
Second Reading Podcast: A conversation with Ross Ramsey about the big issues facing Texas
In a new Second Reading Podcast, Jim Henson talks with Ross Ramsey about how Texas is tackling the fundamental issues facing the state, and how he's thinking about them as he writes his last set of regular columns as Executive Editor of The Texas Tribune.
Public Opinion Context for Partisan Efforts to Shape the 2022 Election Agenda in Texas
Public opinion data from University of Texas/Texas Politics Project polling provides ample opportunity to assess which issues and themes might resonate with voters in the upcoming 2022 general election campaigns. Results from the latest poll and other recent surveys in our polling archive suggest that the public opinion landscape – at least barring unexpected, major events that bring new issues to the fore or shift the attitudes of large blocs of voters, which is rare – adds yet another advantage to an already long list of Republican assets going into the 2022 general election.
Second Reading Podcast: The GOP reboot of public education
In a new Second Reading Podcast, Jim Henson and Josh Blank look at GOP efforts to refocus the public education debate in Texas.