Second Reading Podcast

Jim Henson, Daron Shaw, and Joshua Blank dig into the trial ballot results for the presidential and U.S. Senate races in Texas in the latest University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll.

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank look at different signals transmitted in the Texas Senate’s interim charges. 

Jim Henson and Josh Blank talk about the politics and implications of the “Contract with Texas” recently distributed by a group of far-right Texas Republicans, and take notice of a new polling on the presidential and Senate races in Texas.

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank look at past election returns and UT/Texas Politics Project polling data to assess how competitive the presidential election might be in Texas.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank look at various judicial interventions in politics over the last week, as well as the kick-off of a speaker’s race in the Texas house & the presidential campaign in Texas. Referenced Article Here: https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/why-we-cant-stop-arguing-about-whether-trump-is-a-fascist Referenced Song:  https://open.spotify.com/track/7knlXA2UExr9ibo...

Jim Henson & Josh Blank look at the conflict between Texas and the federal government over border enforcement, and how it’s fed the boom in attention to Texas nationalism (Note: recorded prior to the US Supreme Court lifting the stay on SB 4.)

The Texas Politics Project team look at the outcome of the primary election in Texas and the implications for politics in the legislature and the state’s political system writ large.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank look at evidence of shifts in Texas Democrats’ views of immigration and border issues in the latest UT/Texas Politics Project Poll, and note how the same poll sheds some light on the audience for Trump’s primary endorsements in Texas House races. 

The team behind the latest University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll team – James Henson, Josh Blank, and Daron Shaw – talk about what the just-released February UT/TxP Poll tell us about the 2024 election in Texas.

Jim Henson talks with Ross Ramsey, co-founder and former executive editor of The Texas Tribune, about the reverberations in Texas  of Donald Trump’s presumed return as the Republican presidential nominee in 2024.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank discuss the convergence of national and Texas politics in the current national focus on immigration and border security.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank round up the flood of developments in politics in Texas, including the latest in the GOP presidential primary, the SCOTUS ruling against Texas, the DOJ’s report on Uvalde, and more.

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank look at Donald Trump’s standing in Texas after his win in Iowa – and the long term roots of support for him among Texas Republicans.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank look at how voters’ assessments of the long 2023 legislative session provide part of the context of the 2024 Republican primary in Texas.  

Jim Henson and Josh Blank look the state of play in the final days of the special session, and discuss how to assess the overall performance of the 88th Legislature.

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank look at results from the off-year election in Texas and the U.S., and ponder legislative politics as yet another special session gets underway.

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank look at Texans’ views of vouchers as the legislature remains at an impasse on the issue, and discuss what the latest UT/Texas Politics Project Poll reveals about views of Ken Paxton as his securities fraud trial begins in Houston.

 The UT/Texas Politics Project polling team – Jim Henson, Daron Shaw, and Josh Blank – discuss results related to the 2024 election in Texas from the just-released October UT/Texas Politics Project Poll.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank discuss how intraparty fights among Republicans in the US Congress and the Texas Legislature reveals the multiple axes of conflict in the GOP, and the shifting ideological terrain of the party both nationally and in Texas.

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank discuss how Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s special session agenda taps into the GOP primary electorate, and look at the latest hostilities between Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Speaker of the House Dade Phelan.

Jim and Josh look at the internecine politics of the Texas GOP and the calculations of the Big Three with the legislature set to begin the long-awaited “voucher session” – and consider the GOP meltdown in the US House as context for the #txlege.

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank talk about Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s signal on Fox News that he would add border security to his impending call for another special session of the legislature.

Jim Henson & Josh Blank look at the multiple factors that shaped the decision of (most) Republicans in the Texas Senate’s to reject the House’s impeachment charges against Ken Paxton – and the fallout.

Jim Henson, Joshua Blank & Daron Shaw talk over results from the latest UT/Texas Politics Project Poll related to the 2024 election.