Second Reading Podcast

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/

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.