Gov. Greg Abbott’s proposal to build a wall between Texas and Mexico taps into a lasting preoccupation with immigration and border security among Texas Republican voters — and one of former President Donald Trump’s favorite issues.
Jim Henson
Jim Henson directs the Texas Politics Project and teaches in the Department of Government at The University of Texas, where he also received a doctorate. He helped design public interest multimedia for the Benton Foundation in Washington, D.C., in the late 1990s and has written about politics in general-interest and academic publications. He also serves as associate director of the College of Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services unit at UT, where he has helped produce several award-winning instructional media projects. In 2008, he and Daron Shaw, a fellow UT government professor, established the first statewide, publicly available internet survey of public opinion in Texas using matched random sampling. He lives in Austin, where he also serves as a member of the City of Austin Ethics Review Commission.
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University of Texas/Texas Tribune Polls
Analysis: Those Texans ignoring social distancing guidelines? They’re probably not vaccinated
Polling suggests that along with an increasing number of vaccinated people without masks, there will be many others who are unmasked but unvaccinated — posing a public health hazard to themselves and to other unvaccinated people with whom they come into contact.
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University of Texas/Texas Tribune Polls
Analysis: How Gov. Greg Abbott’s attack on “defunding the police” has divided Texas Democrats
The governor’s pivot from a focus on racism and policing after protests last summer to an emphasis on police funding and public safety, creates cross-pressures for Texans of color — particularly those who are Democrats, our pollsters write.
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COVID-19 Recession in Texas
Analysis: A reality check for the myth of the Texas miracle
University of Texas/Texas Tribune polling showed the decade-long economic expansion widely lauded by state leaders and by most voters as “the Texas Miracle” has not affected all Texans equally, two of our pollsters write.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Analysis: The coronavirus hits Texans of color harder. You can see it in public opinion polling.
The coronavirus disproportionately affects people of color. And judging by what voters said in the last University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll, it’s evident that Texans of color express greater concern about it.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Analysis: A governor balancing noisy resistance to staying at home with the rest of his political base
Gov. Greg Abbott faces pushback toward stay-at-home policy within his own party, but a larger number of Republicans are willing to take measures to protect public health.
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University of Texas/Texas Tribune Polls
Analysis: As the Democratic old guard frets, Bernie Sanders finds a Texas foothold
Sanders’ success in Texas is an expression of a real change that, given the very demographics Democrats have been anticipating for years, will continue to shape the party’s electoral fortunes.
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Texas 2020 Elections
Analysis: Health care and its discontents loom over Texas Democrats in 2020
Texas Democrats, like Democrats elsewhere, put health care at or near the top of their lists of most important problems. But they have significant disagreements among themselves over what to do about it.
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Texas 2020 Elections
Analysis: Cornyn’s expected vote against impeachment is in tune with Republican voters in Texas
Whatever the reason is for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s support for the president, it puts him tightly in sync with Republican voters in Texas.
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University of Texas/Texas Tribune Polls
Analysis: Texas Catholic bishops are critical, but in the pews, immigration views are split
Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to opt out of the federal refugee program is unpopular with Catholic bishops, but might find more favor among Republicans in Catholic congregations.