Research Library

House Bill 12, the "sanctuary cities" bill that would have effectively banned cities providing safe have to illegal immigrants in Texas, died in the Senate's Transportation and Homeland Security Committee in May of 2011. Political science fellow Mark P. Jones explains how Gov. Rick Perry managed to promote the agenda of the conservative wing of the Republican Party without diminishing his support among Hispanics.

On Jan. 11 the Texas House of Representatives will elect a new Texas House speaker. Political science fellow Mark Jones compares prospective candidates along an ideological liberal-conservative spectrum.

This blog post examines how the Republican wave that swept Texas in November has altered the composition of the Democratic electoral base.

In 2003 and 2009, the Texas House of Representatives had a Republican majority and a Republican speaker. In this blog post, political science fellow Mark P. Jones presents critical distinctions between the 2003 and 2009 House leadership.

In this blog post, political science fellow Mark P. Jones documents the widening ideological gap between members of the Democratic and Republican delegations in the Texas House of Representatives over the past four decades.

The political institutions that established Venezuela's democracy in the 1960s were deliberately set up to generate a cooperative equilibrium with low stakes of power. The recent political reforms, increasing the stakes of power, have stimulated a complete breakdown in cooperation and a highly polarized political system.