A trend of increasing support for some sort of legal recognition of same-sex relationships in both Texas and the country presents Republican politicians with a familiar dilemma.
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.
Posted in
Politics
Polling Center: How Public Opinion Fueled Abortion Fight
While much attention has been paid to the political conflict on the floor of the Texas Senate last week, the subtleties of public opinion on abortion in Texas framed the clash in the upper chamber.
Posted in
Politics
The Polling Center: Does Texas Still Burn for Perry?
While Gov. Rick Perry’s standing among Texans remains stronger than most of his “oops”-focused critics recognize, he can no longer count on the level of support he enjoyed among the state’s conservatives four years ago.
Posted in
State Government
Polling Center: Budget Endgames and Public Opinion
The public doesn’t closely follow legislative debates over the budget, but sometimes those budget debates line up pretty accurately with public opinion.
Posted inState Government
The Polling Center: Texans’ Dueling Attitudes About Guns
Texas provides a looking-glass view of the national picture on the issue of guns — though with its own Texas flavor, of course.
Posted in
Demographics
The Polling Center: Texas’ Date With Immigration Reform
As many GOP leaders argue that passing comprehensive immigration reform is in the GOP’s best interest, some data suggests that the long-term interest of party strategists and the short-term self-interest of members of Congress are not necessarily in sync.
Posted in
Health care
The Polling Center: Planned Parenthood and the Women’s Health “Equation”
The marginalization of Planned Parenthood probably makes the discussion of women’s health care less contentious — among Republicans, anyway.
Posted in
Energy
The Polling Center: Public Opinion Creates Rough Sailing for Water Policy
The rough seas that sank the Texas House’s attempt to fund the state water plan on Monday night with a $2 billion draw on the Rainy Day Fund highlighted the limits of consensus on both how to pay for water development and whether it’s a top priority.
Posted in
Politics
The Polling Center: A Seat for the Tea Party
Sentiment for the Tea Party remains strong within the GOP, but what started as an insurgent group is becoming just another — albeit important — part of the Republican Party in Texas.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
The Polling Center: Cruz Registers Tea Party Embrace of Gun Rights
Attitudes about gun control proposals among Texas Republicans provide a foundation for understanding Sen. Ted Cruz’s resistance to the apparent compromise taking shape in the U.S. Senate.
