Blog
Job approval trends for Texas statewide incumbents and other trend data from the Texas Politics Project poll data archive (April 2022 UT/Texas Politics Project Poll update)
This page compiles graphics for trends in job approval ratings of the current incumbents (President, Governor, Lt. Governor, U.S. Senators, U.S. President) that Texans assess 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. This version updates the ratings with data from the April 2022 University of Texas / Texas Politics Project Poll.
Texas trend data on attitudes toward the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to curb its impact (April 2022 UT/Texas Politics Project Poll update)
The April 2022 UT/Texas Politics Project Poll adds a tenth 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 and April 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 throughout a year of pandemic conditions in Texas.
Second Reading Podcast: On the structural context of the politics of immigration and border security in Texas
In a new Second Reading Podcast, Jim Henson and Josh Blank consider the broader context of immigration and border security politics _ and why those politics are so persistent.
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.
Second Reading Podcast: The Politics of Abbott Snarling Truck Traffic on the Texas-Mexico Border
In a new Second Reading Podcast, Jim Henson and Joshua Blank talk about Gov. Abbott's response to recent border policy annoucements by the Biden administration, and speculate on how Abbott's recent order increasing truck inspections, and the possible economic fallout, plays into the gubernatorial campaign.
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.
With attention elsewhere, Abbott extends his emergency powers related to COVID and the border
Last week, Governor Abbott quietly issued two little-noticed declarations renewing his emergency powers in two key policy areas – the COVID-19 pandemic and border security. However different the policy problems targeted by the declarations and their respective contexts, Abbott’s declarations reflect two consistent characteristics of his approach to being governor: sustained efforts to strengthen the position of the governor’s office in the state’s political system (especially vis-a-vis the legislature and other statewide elected officials), and a habit of strategic caution at the intersection of politics and governance.
Second Reading Podcast: A Conversation with Perla Trevizo and Andrew Calderón about Operation Lone Star
In a new Second Reading Podcast, Jim Henson talks with journalists Perla Trevizo of The Texas Tribune and ProPublica and Andrew Rodriguez Calderón of the Marshall Project about their team's collaborative reporting on Operation Lone Star.
Second Reading Podcast: A Conversation with Robert Vitalis, author of OIlcraft
In a new Second Reading Podcast, Jim Henson talks with Robert Vitalis, author of Oilcraft: The Myths of Scarcity and Security That Haunt U.S. Energy Policy, bout the reemergence of misconceptions and myths about oil and geopolitics in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Second Reading Podcast: A Conversation with Lauren McGaughy of the Dallas Morning News
In a new Second Reading Podcast, Jim Henson talks with Lauren McGaughy of the Dallas Morning News, where she is an investigative reporter focused on gender, sexuality and politics, about recent clashes in Texas over the governor's order to investigate parents who provide gender affirming care to transgender children.