Ernest Crain did his graduate work at the University of Texas at Austin, spent 35 years teaching Texas government at San Antonio College and now lives in Montgomery County, Texas. He has co-authored UNDERSTANDING TEXAS POLITICS, POLITICS IN TEXAS: AN INTRODUCTION TO TEXAS POLITICS, THE CHALLENGE OF TEXAS POLITICS: TEXT WITH READINGS and AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS TODAY: TEXAS EDITION. His special areas of interest include party competition, comparative state politics and Texas public policy.