Ross Ramsey joins James Henson and Joshua Blank to assess to consider the nature and durability of changes in Texas politics and institutions evident during the 89th Texas Legislature, including the partisan hostility recently on display in the lege, the strengthening of the governor’s office, and the influence of national politics on Texas politics.

In the wake of Texas House Democrats return to the legislature and the passage of the hotly contested new Congressional map by the reconvened House, James Henson and Joshua Blank talk over some of the political and institutional implications of the mid-decade redistricting in Texas.

James Henson and Joshua Blank discuss the uncertainty around Texas House Democrats’ quorum break over mid-decade redistricting, and what the ensuing politics reveal about Texas politics. While the podcast was being recorded, Democrats announced their intention to return to Texas “to take this fight to the courts.” So it goes. Note: in a rushed update, […]

With adopting the new Congressional maps ordered by Donald Trump and response to the July 4 floods at the top of the agenda, James Henson and Joshua Blank talk about the politics of agenda management as the Texas Legislature prepares to return to the Capitol next week for a politically-fraught special session.

In a webinar hosted June 26 by the Professional Advocacy Association of Texas, James Henson and Johsua Blank look at attitudes on issues and actors in the regular session of the 89th Texas Legislature in a special video edition of the podcast.

The UT/Texas Politics Project Poll team – James Henson, Joshua Blank, and Daron Shaw – look at the much-noted decline in President Trump’s job approval numbers in their June pol and how Trump’s standing intersects attitudes on the economy and immigration, as well as what can be read into the current positions of Senator John […]

James Henson and Joshua Blank talk about how immigration protests, the Trump administration’s push for redistricting in Texas, and the short-lived in-state tuition lawsuit have disturbed the post session lull in the Lone Star State.

From ESA’s to property taxes to hurled hemp, James Henson and Joshua Blank take a day-after look at the 89th Texas Legislature and what lawmakers did and didn’t do over the last 140 days.

James Henson and Joshua Blank talk about the progress made on major legislation this week and where the legislative leadership stands as the end of the regular session looms.

James Henson and Joshua Blank look at the big issues still pending in the Texas Legislature, including property taxes, education funding, water, the budget, bail, THC products, and more as legislative deadlines start killing bills.