The Texas Politics Project
Healthcare Concerns
67%of Texas voters are “very concerned” about the cost of healthcare (December 2025)
Electric Grid
27%approved of how state leadership handled electric grid reliability in the 89th Legislature – 39% disapproved (December 2025)
Immigration Enforcement
45%of Texans say that the Trump Administration has gone “too far” in enforcing federal immigration laws (December 2025)
Latest Analysis
The Collision of Immigration, Gun Rights, and Free Speech After Another Fatal Shooting by Federal Agents
In a new Second Reading Podcast, James Henson and Joshua Blank look at how the shooting deaths of protesters by federal immigration authorities in Minneapolis activate a complex interplay among attitudes on immigration, gun rights, and the First Amendment.
Skepticism About Texas Efforts to Improve Grid Resilience Adds to Winter Weather Worries
If the anxiety about winter weather is a more or less rational response to both a credible threat and widely shared experience of just how bad things can be during such weather events, many Texans’ fear of the impact of weather reflects post-Uri patterns in public opinion about the reliability of the Texas grid, expectations that state government should be acting to make the grid more reliant than it was in 2021, and a lack of confidence in what political leadership of the state had done to prepare for the next crisis.
A Weather Report on Issues in the 2026 Primaries
In the latest Second Reading podcast, James Henson and Joshua Blank use Texas polling to compare and contrast the issues at play in the Republican and Democratic primaries in Texas. Plus, some brief discussion of the latest NYT/Sienna national poll and the coverage of polling conducted by campaigns.
Texans remain split on their views of international involvement by the U.S.
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Views of state leadership and the legislature’s handling of healthcare underwater
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Events
December 3: PAAT Institute panel, "On the Record: The Texas Political Press Weighs In"
On December 3, 2025, as part of the Professional Advocacy Association of Texas's annual PAAT Institute, James Henson,director of the Texas Politics Project, will moderate a panel with leading members of the Texas political press on the key policy and political issues emerging ahead of the 90th Legislature, and how the 2026 election season could impact the dynamics of the Texas House, Senate, and statewide leadership. More information about the program and registration for the PAAT Instititue is available at the PATT website.
Internships
News Media
What a Democratic upset that sent 'shockwaves' through the Texas GOP could mean for November
In the days since Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipped a state Senate seat in historically red Tarrant County, Texas politicos have been deciphering what this upset victory means for Republicans come November.
Cornyn and Talarico lead in Senate fundraising battle
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and state Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) finished 2025 with far more cash on hand than their party rivals in the race for U.S. Senate in Texas, per campaign finance reports filed over the weekend.
Viral moments: What James Talarico and Jasmine Crockett both get about politics in 2026
The two hopefuls for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate have bolstered their careers and raised their profiles across YouTube, Instagram and other social media platforms.
Williamson County will no longer offer countywide voting sites on primary Election Day
Voters in Williamson County will no longer be able to cast their ballot at any polling location on primary Election Day. Instead, they will only be able to vote at their assigned neighborhood polling place.
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