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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.
When the Legislature decamped from Austin in July, there was a sense of order in Texas politics. And yet, as Rick Perry returns a mere seven months later, conditions on the ground in Texas border on the chaotic. Full Story
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Lame duck or not, Rick Perry is still the Republican governor of a strongly Republican state. In Texas, he controls the levers of government, muzzles the news media and has no meaningful political opposition. Full Story
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The underlying fundamentals that buttressed Gov. Rick Perry's political power in the state are not much changed, and they suggest that the governor will reassert his powerful presence in Texas politics now that he is back. Full Story
The new UT/Texas Tribune poll found Texans in a lukewarm mood about Gov. Rick Perry’s presidential bid, but the Inside Intelligence survey has found Texas insiders edging into downright cranky territory in their assessments of the governor. Full Story
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If the October 2011 University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll captured Texans in a lukewarm mood about Gov. Rick Perry’s presidential bid, the Texas Tribune/Texas Weekly Inside Intelligence survey found Texas insiders edging into downright cranky territory in their assessments of the governor. Full Story
One of the oddest moments of the GOP presidential primary debate occurred when the audience burst into applause in response to a recap of Gov. Rick Perry’s record of presiding over 234 executions. Should anyone be surprised by the reaction? Full Story
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It's not that Tea Party self-identifiers have different positions on immigration than regular old Republicans. They just feel more strongly about it. Full Story
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Whatever Gov. Rick Perry's place in the party and his political future, immigration politics are built into the coalition of interests in the Texas GOP. Full Story
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In the latest edition of our unscientific poll of Texas insiders, we turn to a pollster to tease out some differences in how the insiders and the voting public answer the same questions. Spoiler alert: They disagree. Full Story
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Some critics of the state budget process, including here at the Tribune, argue the Legislature suffers from a lack of leadership in the face of a confused public that doesn't understand. But check the poll numbers: Republicans are giving voters what they seem to want. Full Story