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July 16, 2020 | By:
Jim Henson,
Joshua Blank
Bereft of a candidate with statewide stature and drowned out by the roar of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related economic calamity, the statewide run-off election to choose a Democratic nominee to challenge John Cornyn’s bid for a fourth term in the U.S. Senate limped to a conclusion Tuesday night, when self-declared outsider M.J. Hegar defeated longtime State Senator Royce West of Dallas by about 4 percentage points. The Texas-politics-as usual feel of this likely evasion, amplified by such a radically changed political environment – the renewed confrontation with racism, the pandemic, the associated economic crash – raise a question: Do fundamental assumptions about both candidates’ positioning made in the early stages of the campaign last year still work for them?
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October 09, 2015 | By:
James Henson, PhD
This week in politics started with American politics' version of the Fall Classic with the beginning of the US Supreme Court's session. Over in the legislative branch, the leading candidate for the Speaker of the House dropped out unexpected Thursday, a reflection of just how miserable divisions in the GOP caucus have made the party's leadership. Also on the national stage, Joe Biden's decision to enter the presidential fray draws ever closer-- or not. In Texas politics, we got a double blast from the recent past with news when David Dewhurst and Rick Perry were back in the news.
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Respondents were asked, "If Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison resigns from the U.S. Senate and there is a special election to fill her senate seat, which of the following candidates would you vote for, or haven't you thought enough about it to have an opinion?"
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Respondents were asked, "If the election for Texas Lieutenant Governor were held today, would you vote for:"
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Respondents were first asked, "If the election for Texas Lieutenant Governor were held today, would you vote for:" If they initially answered that they were undecided, they were then asked a follow-up question: If you had to make a choice, who would you choose? Responses to the follow-up questions were folded into the results found below. Only respondents who indicated that they were undecided in the original question and then skipped the follow-up question are categorized as undecideds for these results.
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Respondents indicating that they would vote in the Republican primary were asked, "If the 2012 Republican primary election for U.S. Senator were held today, which of the following possible candidates would you vote for, or haven't you thought about it enough to have an opinion?" The order of the response options were randomized.
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Likely voters were asked," If the 2014 Republican primary election for lieutenant governor were held today, which of the following possible candidates would you vote for, or haven't you thought about it enough to have an opinion? " "Likely Voters" were defined as those who indicated that they were either "Extremely" or "Somewhat" interested in politics in Q2 AND either voted in "Every" or "Almost every" election in Q3.
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Respondents were asked, "Please tell us whether you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, neither favorable nor unfavorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable opinion of David Dewhurst."
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Respondents who indicated that they will be voting in the Republican Primary election were asked, "If the 2014 Republican primary election for lieutenant governor were held today, which of the following possible candidates would you vote for, or haven’t you thought about it enough to have an opinion?"
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Respondents who indicated that they will be voting in the Republican Primary election were asked, "If the 2014 Republican primary election for lieutenant governor were held today, which of the following possible candidates would you vote for, or haven’t you thought about it enough to have an opinion?"
