After a week in which Texas Republicans circled the wagons for legislative elections and national Democrats announced #txlege targets, James Henson and Joshua Blank look at the landscape for legislative races, and compare differences and similarities in public opinion in 2018 and 2026.
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.
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.
James Henson and Joshua Blank look at highlights from the just-released UT/Texas Politics Project poll, including resurgent concerns about prices and the economy, the sharp partisan differences fueling overall opposition to the U.S. war with Iran, and some interesting underlying numbers in the U.S. Senate race and the Cornyn/Paxton/Talarico triangle
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: James Talarico."
Respondents were asked, "If the 2026 U.S. senate election in Texas were held today, and the candidates were Ken Paxton and James Talarico, who would you vote for, or haven’t you thought enough about it to have an opinion?"
Respondents were asked, "If the 2026 U.S. senate election in Texas were held today, and the candidates were John Cornyn and James Talarico, who would you vote for, or haven’t you thought enough about it to have an opinion?"
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.
James Henson and Joshua Blank look at key results of the long-anticipated Texas primary elections, and talk over some of the implications moving forward and the trajectory of polling in the Democratic race.
