Byron Cook
Byron Cook was a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing District 8. He was first elected to the chamber in 2002, and he served until January 2019 as he did not file to run for re-election.
On October 25, 2017, Cook announced that he would not run for re-election in 2018. In his announcement, Cook stated that he would be looking to find different ways to serve the state.[1]
Biography
Cook earned his associate degree from Navarro College. When he served as a state representative, his professional experience included working as an investor and a rancher.[2]
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Calendars |
| • State Affairs, Chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Cook served on the following committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Calendars |
| • State Affairs, Chair |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Cook served on the following committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Calendars |
| • State Affairs, Chair |
2011-2012
During the 2011-2012 legislative session, Cook served on the following Texas House of Representatives committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Calendars |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
Elections for the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 14, 2015.[3]
Incumbent Byron Cook ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 8 general election.[4]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 8 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Byron Cook Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 43,240 | |
| Total Votes | 43,240 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Byron Cook defeated Thomas McNutt in the Texas House of Representatives District 8 Republican Primary.[5][6]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 8 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Byron Cook Incumbent |
50.39% | 14,421 | |
| Republican | Thomas McNutt | 49.61% | 14,196 | |
| Total Votes | 28,617 | |||
Primary
- Main article: Notable Texas primaries, 2016
| Did Thomas McNutt want to centralize control of education? | |
| In a February 3 interview with the Palestine Herald-Press, Byron Cook claimed that “my opponent Thomas McNutt and his supporters want to take money and local control away from our rural and small public school districts and then centralize the control of education with a single state agency in Austin.” Was Cook’s claim about McNutt's position true? | |
McNutt, vice president of his family's fruitcake bakery, received the following endorsements:
Cook received the following endorsements:[10]
- National Rifle Association
- Texas State Rifle Association
- Texas Alliance for Life
- Texans for Life
The candidates clashed on immigration and abortion. Competing pro-life organizations supported the two candidates; District 8 was the "most important race for us," the political director for Texas Right to Life told the Texas Tribune.[11]
2014
Elections for all 150 seats in the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on March 4, 2014. Those candidates who did not receive 50 percent or more of the vote in their party primary on March 4 faced an additional May 27 primary runoff. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was December 9, 2013. Incumbent Byron Cook defeated Bobby Vickery and Charles Morgan in the Republican primary. Cook defeated John Wilford (L) in the general election.[12][13][14]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Byron Cook Incumbent |
87.9% | 25,897 | |
| Libertarian | John Wilford | 12.1% | 3,581 | |
| Total Votes | 29,478 | |||
2012
Cook won re-election in the 2012 election for Texas House of Representatives, District 8. Cook defeated Bobby Vickery in the May 29 primary election and defeated Charles E. Morgan (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[15]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Byron Cook Incumbent |
73% | 35,996 | |
| Democratic | Charles Morgan | 27% | 13,339 | |
| Total Votes | 49,335 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Byron Cook Incumbent |
62% | 9,600 |
| Bobby Vickery | 38% | 5,885 |
| Total Votes | 15,485 | |
2010
Cook won re-election to the 8th District seat, defeating Charles Morgan on the Democratic ticket in the general election on November 6, 2012.[15] He had no opposition in the March 2nd primary.
| Texas House of Representatives, District 8 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Byron Cook (R)
|
22,969 | 74.39% | ||
| Charles Morgan (D) | 7,906 | 25.6% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Cook won re-election to the Texas House of Representatives, District 8, unopposed.[15]
Cook raised $287,914 for his campaign.[16]
| Texas State House of Representatives, District 3 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Bryon Cook (R)
|
34,524 | |||
2006
On November 4, 2006, Cook won re-election to the Texas House of Representatives, District 8, defeating opponent Sharon Cade Davis (D).[15]
Cook raised $208,891 for his campaign while Cade raised $38,405.[17]
| Texas State House of Representatives, District 3 (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Byron Cook (R)
|
17,767 | |||
| Sharon Cade Davis (D) | 12,938 | |||
2004
On November 4, 2004, Cook won re-election to the Texas House of Representatives, District 8. He was unopposed in that election.[15]
Cook raised $73,079 for his campaign.[18]
| Texas State House of Representatives, District 3 (2004) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Byron Cook (R)
|
33,181 | |||
2002
On November 4, 2002, Cook won election to the Texas House of Representatives, District 8, defeating opponent George Robinson (D).[15]
Cook raised $309,230 for his campaign while Robinson raised $241,865.[19]
| Texas State House of Representatives, District 3 (2002) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Byron Cook (R)
|
17,411 | |||
| George Robinson (D) | 14,126 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Endorsements
2014
In 2014, Cook's website mirrored his 2012 endorsements.
2012
In 2012, Cook's endorsements included the following:[20]
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Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Texas scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2018
In 2018, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session.
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Texas State Legislature was in its 85th legislative session from January 10 through May 29. A special session was held from July 18 to August 15.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Texas State Legislature was in its 84th legislative session from January 13 through June 1.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Texas State Legislature was in its 83rd legislative session from January 8 through May 27. Thirty minutes after the regular session ended, Governor Rick Perry called legislators back for a special session starting that evening.[21] Two additional called sessions were held from July 1 through July 30 and July 30 through August 5.[22]
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the Texas State Legislature was in its 82nd legislative session from January 11 through May 30. A special session was called for May 31 through June 29.[22]
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See also
- Texas State Legislature
- Texas House of Representatives
- Texas House of Representatives Committees
- Texas Joint Committees
- Texas state legislative districts
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Byron Cook campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Rep. Byron Cook on Facebook
- Official Campaign Contributions
- Follow The Money - Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002
- Freedom Speaks profile (Archived)
- Texas State Directory profile
- Texas Tribune profile & bio
- Vote-TX.org profile
- State Surge profile
- Report Card from Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
Footnotes
- ↑ Corsicana Daily Sun, "State Rep. Byron Cook announces he will not seek reelection," October 25, 2017
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Byron Cook's Biography," accessed February 22, 2014
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 14, 2015
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election," accessed December 2, 2016
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2016 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History results," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Kaufman County Tea Party, "ENDORSED: Candidate for Texas House District 8 – Thomas McNutt Questionnaire," January 31, 2016
- ↑ Texas Right to Life, "Texas Right to Life PAC backs Thomas McNutt for State House District 8," September 22, 2015
- ↑ Empower Texas, "TFR: McNutt For Texas House 8," October 5, 2015
- ↑ Byron Cook, "2016 Primary Endorsements," accessed February 22, 2016
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "Cook Re-election Bid Already Rancorous," November 2, 2015
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current ELECTION HISTORY," accessed December 2, 2014
- ↑ The Libertarian Party of Texas, "2014 Texas Representative Candidate List," accessed July 30, 2014
- ↑ Green Party of Texas, "Greens Release Candidate List," accessed July 30, 2014
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History," accessed February 17, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 Candidate funds," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2006 Candidate funds," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2004 Candidate funds," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2002 Candidate funds," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ Byron Cook for State House Campaign, "Endorsements," accessed May 25, 2012
- ↑ kten.com, "Texas Lawmakers To Tackle Redistricting In Special Session," May 29, 2013
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Legislative reference Library of Texas, "Texas Legislative Sessions and Years," accessed June 13, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
Texas House District 8 2003–2019 |
Succeeded by Cody Harris (R) |
