Does your state lean blue or lean red? Check out our new report, highlighting partisan control of state government from 1992-2013.
Robert Nichols
| Robert Nichols | ||
 | ||
| Texas State Senate, District 3 | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 2007 - Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 13, 2015 | ||
| Years in position | 6 | |
| Party | Republican | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $7,200/year | |
| Per diem | $150/day | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 6, 2012 | |
| First elected | 2006 | |
| Next election | November 4, 2014 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Personal | ||
| Profession | Engineer | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Campaign website | ||
 | ||
Contents |
Nichols graduated with a B.S. in industrial engineering from Lamar University in 1968 and is a board member of the East Texas Medical Center.
In addition to being a senator, Nichols is a plastics manufacturing engineer. Prior to his position in the state senate, Nichols served on the Jacksonville City Council and held the position of Mayor of Jacksonville as well.[1]
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Nichols served on the following committees:
| Texas Committee Assignments, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Health & Human Services | ||||
| • Intergovernmental Relations, Vice-chair | ||||
| • Natural Resources | ||||
| • State Affairs | ||||
| • Transportation, Chair | ||||
2011-2012
Nichols served on the following Texas Senate committees:
| Texas Committee Assignments, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Intergovernmental Relations, Vice-chair | ||||
| • Health & Human Services | ||||
| • Natural Resources | ||||
| • Nominations | ||||
| • Transportation & Homeland Security | ||||
2009-2010
| Texas Committee Assignments, 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Intergovernmental Relations | ||||
| • Health & Human Services | ||||
| • Nominations | ||||
| • Transportation & Homeland Security | ||||
District 3
Robert Nichols represents District 3, which includes the county of Anderson, Texas.[2]
Issues
Campaign themes
Nichols' website highlights the following campaign themes:[3]
Property Rights
- Excerpt:"The government should never intrude upon your rights as a property owner. As state senator, Nichols supported legislation increasing an individuals' right to protect his or her home from invasion, and he filed legislation to limit the use of eminent domain."
Property Taxes
- Excerpt:"The first bill Nichols filed in the Texas Senate cut appraisal caps in half. He also supported successful legislation to extend significant property tax breaks to Texas' senior citizens."
Immigration
- Excerpt:"The protection of our border is the government's first and foremost responsibility, and the federal government has failed. Senator Nichols supports Governor Perry's efforts to improve border security and shut down illegal crossings."
Education
- Excerpt:"Senator Nichols supports increasing accountability, reforming standardized testing, and offering incentives for improved performance. Senator Nichols also helped increase higher education opportunities for Senate District 3 and supported programs that encourage students to pursue a college degree."
Elections
2012
- See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2012
Nichols ran in the 2012 election for Texas State Senate, District 3. Nichols defeated Tammy Blair in the May 29 primary election and was unchallenged in the general election which took place on November 6, 2012.[4][5][6]
| Texas State Senate District 3 Republican Primary, 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Robert Nichols |
74.5% | 59,735 |
| Tammy Blair | 25.5% | 20,410 |
| Total Votes | 80,145 | |
2010
- See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2010
Nichols won re-election to the 3rd District Seat in 2010. The general election took place on November 6, 2012.
Nichols defeated Libertarian opponent David Scott for the District 3 seat on November 2nd.[7]
| Texas State Senate, District 3 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Robert Nichols (R)
|
153,906 | 88.9% | ||
| David Scott (L) | 19,211 | 11.09% | ||
2006
On Nov. 7, 2006, Deuell won election to the 3rd District Seat in the Texas State Senate.[8]
Nichols raised $1,415,750.[9]
| Texas State Senate, District 3 (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Robert Nichols (R)
|
119,629 | 100% | ||
Campaign donors
2012
Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.
2010
Nichols raised a total of $551,023 in 2010. Below are Nichol's top 5 campaign contributors in the 2010 election:[10]
| Contributor | 2010 total |
|---|---|
| Associated General Contractors of Texas | $36,400 |
| Pitcock Jr., James Douglass | $28,420 |
| Perry, Bob J. | $26,000 |
| Texas Spine and Joint Hospital | $25,000 |
| Texas Association of Realtors | $20,000 |
2006
In 2006, a year in which Nichols was up for election, he collected $1,415,750 in donations. [11]
His four largest contributors in 2006 were:
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Robert Nichols | $386,000 |
| James Pitcock Jr | $50,000 |
| Associated General Contractors of Texas | $22,800 |
| Robert Perry | $20,000 |
Scorecards
Empower Texans Fiscal Responsibility Index
Empower Texans produces the Fiscal Responsibility Index as "a measurement of how lawmakers perform on size and role of government issues." The index uses "exemplar votes on core budget and free enterprise issues that demonstrate legislators' governing philosophy."[12] Legislators are graded along a standard grading scale, receiving grades A through F based on their performance during the legislative session.
2011
Robert Nichols received a grade of C on the 2011 Fiscal Responsibility Index.
External links
- Official campaign website
- Official website of Robert Nichols
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2008, 2006
- Robert Nichols on Facebook
References
- ↑ Official website of Robert Nichols
- ↑ Texas Senate Districts by Number
- ↑ nicholsforsenate.com - Issues
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State - 2012 Election and Candidate Information
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State Election History
- ↑ Office of the (Texas) Secretary of State, "Race Summary Report," accessed July 12, 2012
- ↑ Official Texas State Senate Election Results
- ↑ Election Results, Texas State Senate, District 3
- ↑ Election Results, Texas State Senate, District 3
- ↑ Follow the Money - 2010 Campaign contributions
- ↑ 2006 contributions to Robert Nichols
- ↑ Empower Texans, "Fiscal Responsibility Index"
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Todd Staples |
Texas Senate District 3 2007-present |
Succeeded by NA |
| |||||||||||||||||
- State legislative article missing donor information
- Current member, Texas State Senate
- State senators first elected in 2006
- State Senate candidate, 2010
- Texas
- 2010 candidate
- Republican Party
- 2010 incumbent
- 2010 winner
- 2010 unopposed
- 2012 incumbent
- State Senate candidate, 2012
- 2012 primary (winner)
- 2012 general election (winner)
- 2012 unopposed
