In the wake of run-off wins by GOP candidates like Ken Paxton, Mayes Middleton, and Bo French, James Henson and Joshua Blank talk about dynamics in both parties, and what’s comes next in the general election and in governing circles in Texas.
James Henson and Joshua Blank join the response to the much-discussed memo from Ragnar Research's Chris Perkins on signs of sagging participation among Republican primary voters in Texas, and make some connections with the shifting politics of immigration and border security in the Texas GOP.
The main takeaway from hypothetical head-to-heads in the U.S. Senate race in Texas isn’t that Talarico is “ahead” – it’s that voter mobilization may be the main challenge to Republican success in the 2026 general election.
In a new Second Reading podcast, James Henson and Josh Blank look at the quasi-normal looking polling on the general election matchups for Texas Governor and Lt. Governor, and assess macrolevel indicators of the political mood in Texas.
The April University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll finds Texans feeling the pain from a sharp rise in gas prices fueled by war in the Middle East, with 61% of Texas voters “very concerned” about the price of gasoline and energy amidst renewed worries about the economy and prices overall.
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 each of the following: Greg Abbott."
Respondents were asked, "If the 2026 election for Governor were held today, and the candidates were Greg Abbott and Gina Hinojosa, who would you vote for, or haven’t you thought enough about it to have an opinion?"
James Henson and Joshua Blank check in on Gov. Abbott’s pressure on Houston, Dallas, and Austin to change immigration enforcement politics and planned spending by both parties on Texas Congressional races, then go deep on the Texas Lyceum Poll’s look at Texans’ views of the quality of life in Texas.
James Henson and Joshua Blank survey the early signs of the developing general election campaign in Texas as well as lingering primary dynamics in both parties. Topics include the early Republican attacks on James Talarico, the rock throwing between Acting Comptroller Hancock and AG Paxton, and efforts to test the issue environment in the general election.
