Creating Diverse Political Analysis in Texas

We encourage our state's media outlets to explore new voices offering quality insights.

Last month we released a report on the state of the media's political coverage in Texas. The findings showed that seven men dominated the political analysis in our state, having been quoted 1,331 times over the course of the election (the next closest person was quoted fewer than 20 times).

Since releasing that report, the Texas Observer has written about it and we have received suggestions of other political academics that are equally qualified to offer expert independent analysis to our state's political dialogue.

One person in particular, Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, caught our attention because she is an Austin-based professor who frequently contributes political analysis at the national level – but not as much at the state level. Her insights are a valuable asset that the Texas media is missing out on.

Below is a list of the most intriguing suggestions offered to us over the course of the past month, and we are in turn making that list available to the media via this article. There may also be other academics qualified to be quoted in political analysis pieces, and we encourage our state's media outlets to explore new voices offering quality insights.

 
 
  1. Dr. Victoria Defrancesco Soto, UT Austin. Campaigns and elections, women, race and ethnic politics, and immigration.
  2. Dr. Rebecca Dean, UT Arlington. Chair of the Department of Political Science. Expertise in the U.S. Presidency, women in the political process.
  3. Dr. Emily Farris, TCU. Studies racial and ethnic politics. 
  4. Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, UT Brownsville. Chair of the government department and specializes in Mexico-US relations, energy, border security, immigration, and organized crime, and American Hispanic politics.
  5. Dr. Jessica Lavariega Monforti, UT Pan American. Professor with a focus on Latina/o politics, immigration, and gender politics and political behavior.
  6. Dr. Abraham Benevides, University of North Texas. Urban governance, culture, ethics.
  7. Lorenzo Cano, University of Houston. Latino/Chicano/Tejano politics.
  8. Dr. Patricia D. Lopez, Various schools. Latino politics, women's rights, civil rights.
  9. Dr. Robert Bullard, Dean, Texas Southern University. Specializes in environmental justice, environmental racism, housing, and sustainable development. Author of 18 books.
  10. Dr. Hassan Tajalli, Texas State. Methodology, statistics, public policy and foreign policy. He also prepares racial profiling reports for the San Marcos Police Dept.