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January 10, 2023 | By:
Texas Politics Project
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.
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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 Glenn Hegar."
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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 Glenn Hegar.". Likely voters were defined as those respondents who indicated that they have voted in every election in the past 2-3 years in response to Q2; or those respondents who rated their likelihood to vote in the November elections on a 10-point scale as a 9 or a 10 in response to Q3B.
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Respondents were asked, "If the 2022 general election for Comptroller were held today, would you vote for [RANDOMIZE “the Republican Glenn Hegar”, “the Democrat Janet Dudding”, “the Libertarian V. Alonzo Echevarria-Garza”] the Republican Glenn Hegar, the Democrat Janet Dudding, the Libertarian V. Alonzo Echevarria-Garza, someone else, or haven’t you thought about it enough to have an opinion? [RANDOMIZE 1-3]". Respondents who said that they hadn’t thought enough about the election to have an opinion were asked a follow-up question: “If you had to make a choice, who would you choose?” Responses to this item were folded into those who initially indicated a preference. Likely voters were defined as those respondents who indicated that they have voted in every election in the past 2-3 years in response to Q2; or those respondents who rated their likelihood to vote in the November eletions on a 10-point scale as a 9 or a 10 in response to Q3B.
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April 20, 2022 | By:
Texas Politics Project
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.
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January 12, 2021 | By:
Jim Henson,
Joshua Blank
After spending a dramatic interim mostly on the sidelines of the policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its ill effects on the economy and the lives of Texans, state legislators now have their chance to respond to the impact of the crises in Texas as the 87th Legislature convenes in Austin this week. While they are empowered to legislate, they do so in conditions not of their own choosing – and those conditions are at best difficult, at worst grim. Below we explore the most important factors forming the context of legislators' attempts to address the problems facing the state, from the big structural factors like the pandemic, the economy, and racism to more mundane political conditions like the images of the state's leadership among the public and the politics of federalism after the election.
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August 07, 2020 | By:
Jim Henson,
Joshua Blank
The week started with the Comptroller releasing revenue numbers that invited cherry picking by the desperate, manipulative, and just plain inattentive. But they weren’t really very sweet if you looked closely. Governor Abbott held events and press conferences on two separate days as he continued his attempts to manage the COVID-19 crisis and the politics surrounding it, which have not gotten any easier, as illustrated by the fact that he got sued this week by five legislators ostensibly on his team. Those legislators are a thorn in the governor’s side, but the whole affair points to the larger question of whether we can expect to see a less obstructionist, more constructive vision of the role of the legislature restore some balance between the two main branches of government in 2021. Part of the answer to this question depends heavily on the outcome of the 2020 election. Speaking of the election, we very seriously doubt that Donald Trump’s efforts to persuade Black voters to take another look at him as a candidate, while claiming that he is more of a civil rights hero than John Lewis, are going to help him move his lopsided numbers among Black Texans.
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March 02, 2018 | By:
Jim Henson,
Joshua Blank
As the party primaries got predictably nasty in the final week of campaigning before the March 6 election, Democratic early voting surged all week, a real phenomena that launched a thousand fundraising emails and at least a few flights of fancy, especially from those who can’t resist trying to turn a good thing into a fantastic thing. Donald Trump and Robert Mueller continued to make headlines, likely deepening the partisan divides in perceptions of their respective endeavors. Continue on for data on public opinion related to the torrent of political events this week, much of it freshly gathered in the latest University of Texas / Texas Tribune Poll.
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October 16, 2016 | By:
Jim Henson
We've now posted the entire conversation from Glenn Hegar's appearance in the Texas Politics Speaker Series on October 12. Topics include: the biennial revenue estimate' the breakfasts he attended last session with the Governor, Lt. Governor, and the Speaker of the House; state and local government; taxes and revenue; room in the budget for tax cutting; Medicaid; the 2016 presidential race; and more. Also included are his responses in the Q & A portion of the event,
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October 13, 2016 | By:
Jim Henson
The Texas Politics Project hosted Comptroller Glenn Hegar as part of the Texas Politics Speaker Series at the University of Texas at Austin yesterday. We'll publish the whole interview soon, but in the meantime here are two brief excerpts. The first clip, about the 2016 election, came in response to a question from the Austin American Statesman's Sean Walsh, who wrote about Hegar's response. The second clip finds the Comptroller channeling his legislative experience in response a question about the ongoing discussions about the balance of power between state and local governments. Not to put words in his mouth, but it seems fair to paraphrase his response as "same ole, same ole."
