Joshua Blank, PhD

The same voters who responded well to George W. Bush's education policies oppose one of its main components: the standardized tests introduced to make schools more accountable.

Education policy is usually a winner for Democratic candidates, but in Texas, things are more nuanced, especially when it comes to education spending. This year's race for governor race is a great example. 

To the extent that Wednesday's Fort Hood shooting prompts a renewed discussion of guns in Texas, discussion will almost certainly be dominated by talk of increasing access to guns, not curtailing it. 

When we asked Texans whether they considered themselves Texans first and Americans second, most said no. But the grandkids were more likely than their grandparents to say yes.

Only 28 percent of Texans say they are opposed to legalization of marijuana for any reason. Most would OK it for medicinal use, and nearly half would approve it for recreational use. But the state's most conservative voters are not likely to go along.

It might be tempting to romanticize the Tea Party as something distinct from the Republican Party, but poll data suggests that Tea Party voters would support using government power to enact unquestionably conservative policies.

In several races, Tuesday's election results didn't match the findings of the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll two weeks earlier. What happened?

Reporting of this week’s UT/TT Poll can’t help but present a simple story: Davis is down, Abbott is up. But these latest results reflect factors that are much more deeply rooted than the low-hanging fruit making headlines and feeding campaign emails. 

In the short run, the GOP appears to be embarking on a winning strategy to mobilize a reliable and larger electorate using the rhetoric that motivates its voters. 

The Republican lieutenant governor candidates' views on abortion after rape, displayed prominently in Monday night’s debate, may have edged farther right than the Texas GOP’s comfort zone.