PRRI

As of 2024, 31% of Texans identify as Republicans, 24% as independents, and 27% as Democrats.
Former Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has won the Texas Republican nomination for U.S. Senate and will face Democratic nominee James Talarico in the November midterm election.

Paxton’s Texas Victory Opens a New Front in the Battle for the Senate (Gift Article) Many Democrats and some Republicans said the scandal-plagued Ken Paxton’s victory could turn Texas into a battleground state that will determine Senate control.

Discussing lawsuits creating hurdles for IVF access, PRRI Public Fellow, Risa Cromer, Ph.D., says "These kinds of lawsuits… (are) completely out of step with what most Americans — religious Americans — want for themselves, their families and their neighbors.” Read more:

Lawsuits challenging embryo disposal could hinder IVF • Stateline An anti-abortion group last month sued seven Utah fertility clinics, claiming their disposal of embryos as part of the in vitro fertilization process violates the state’s wrongful death law. The ministry Voice for the Voiceless believes it has a strong case because Utah is one of four states — A...

📢 Calling all mid-career scholars studying religion, politics, and culture! The 2026-2027 PRRI Public Fellows application is now live. Be sure to apply by Friday, June 19, 2026.

Learn more at PRRI.org.

From yesterday's Morning Buzz newsletter.

Read more & subscribe: https://open.substack.com/pub/prri/p/national-mall-prayer-event-sparks?r=55igcc&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

PRRI President and Founder Robert P. Jones explains, “[Trump's] speaking to a group that knows they’re in decline, knows their grip on power demographically speaking has been slipping for decades, and he has made the big promise that he’s going to bring them back into power.” Read more:

A year of Trump is backfiring on the religious right Americans don’t really want “Christian nationalism.”

The speaker lineup for "Rededicate 250" features mostly evangelical Protestant leaders, including many who embrace the claim that America’s founders wanted the country to be explicitly Christian. Describing the country’s religious makeup today, PRRI President and Founder Robert P. Jones, Ph.D., said, “America is more religiously diverse than ever, with about a third of Americans saying they have no religious affiliation.”

More:

White House to host 9-hour prayer festival focused on Christian roots of U.S. Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio and Mike Johnson will speak at the event, which centers on the idea that the founders wanted the U.S. to be explicitly Christian.

Professor Sam Perry, Ph.D., explains, "Every article that mentions the nation having more kids as a nation seems to imply or explicitly requires that women walk back their gains in the workforce... that they voluntarily or perhaps to some degree, involuntarily, stay home.”
Watch the conversation:

'Insecure Masculinity,' Pronatalism, and Christian Nationalism: Q&A with Sam Perry, Ph.D. Why has pronatalism become such a prominent theme in American politics and who's supporting this idea?

Republican Trump supporters are more likely to identify as ideologically conservative than Republican Trump opponents (81% vs. 52%), as well as being more likely to identify as white Christian (70% vs. 57%), and qualify as Christian nationalism Adherents (28% vs. 8%).
Read more:

Which Republicans Are Most Loyal to Trump? A Comparison of Pro-Trump and Anti-Trump Republicans PRRI data collected in February 2026 finds that 81% of Republicans view President Donald Trump favorably, while 18% view Trump unfavorably. This Spotlight Analysis profiles Republicans who view Trump…

67% of Americans believe that political leaders failing to condemn the violent rhetoric of their own followers contributes a lot to violent actions in society, with Republicans less likely than Democrats to agree (46% vs. 66%).

Are Democrats growing more accepting of political violence? With three assassination attempts on Donald Trump in less than two years, data shows some Democrats growing more comfortable with the use of violence for political ends. But most Americans, regardless of party, are not.