Blog
Second Reading Podcast: New Texas Lyceum poll finds more evidence of an unsettled Texas
In the latest Second Reading podcast, Jim Henson talks with Josh Blank about results from the 2023 Texas Lyceum Poll.
Second Reading Podcast: Senate Committee appointments & budget bills as things pick up in the 88th #Txlege
In the latest Second Reading podcast, Jim Henson and Josh Blank discuss the politics of Texas Senate committee assignments and the first draft of each chamber's budget bills as the Texas Legislature continues to get organized.
Second Reading Podcast: Public opinion and the politics of business in Texas
In the latest Second Reading podcast, Jim Henson and Josh Blank look at issues at the intersection of business and state government likely to get attention in the Texas Legislature in 2023.
Second Reading Podcast: Once in a lifetime revenue as the 88th Texas Legislature comes to town
In the first Second Reading podcast of 2023, Jim Henson and Josh Blank look at signals from state leadership as the Comptroller's revised budget revenue estimate lands amidst the kick-of of the 88th Texas Legislature.
Between the election and the looming session, December UT/Texas Politics Project poll finds Texans skeptical of state government
The Texas Politics Project has released the results of the first University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll conducted in the interim between the general election and the kickoff of a Texas legislative session. The poll included a variety of questions about institutions, groups, and actors in Texas as the newly-elected 88th Texas Legislature considers their agenda at a critical time in the state’s history, while also continuing to track trends in Texans’ views of the job performance of elected officials and important problems and issues in the state and country.
Texas trend data on attitudes toward the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to curb its impact (December 2022 UT/Texas Politics Project Poll update)
The December 2022 UT/Texas Politics Project Poll adds an 12th assessment of Texans’ attitudes about the coronavirus pandemic to the Texas Politics Project polling data archive, adding to data collected in batteries from polls conducted in April, June, and October of 2020; February, April, June, August and October of 2021, and February, April, June, August, and October of 2022. The time series allows reporters, researchers, elected leaders, public health officials, and the public a view of how Texans’ concerns about COVID, behaviors during the pandemic, and evaluations of the official responses have changed over the duration of the COVID pandemic.
Job approval trends for Texas statewide incumbents and other trend data from the Texas Politics Project poll data archive (October 2021 UT/Texas Politics Project Poll update)
This page compiles graphics for trends in job approval ratings of the current statewide incumbents (Governor, Lt. Governor, U.S. Senators) that Texans rate on every poll . Bookmark the page for easy reference – we’ve also added similar graphics for trends in Texans’ assessment of conditions in Texas and the U.S., and some archival results for comparison with leaders no longer in office.
Second Reading Podcast: Data points to close out 2022 – and look toward 2023
In the last Second Reading podcast of 2022, Jim Henson and Josh Blank look at several data points from Texas Politics Project polling to wrap up 2022 and anticipate dynamics in Texas politics in 2023. For a taste of what's in the podcast, see the links below the player.
Some Notes on the Political Geography of the 2022 Election in Texas
A look at the geography beneath the status-quo-preserving results of the 2022 Texas election reveal gradual patterns of change that both confirm and confound the received knowledge about the state’s most recent elections and the longer-run trajectory of the state. Looking at the distribution of the vote between the two major parties from among urban, suburban, and rural counties* reveals patterns that are more subtle than the Republican tromping of Democrats in statewide and legislative races might initially suggest.