Texas state legislative Republican primaries, 2018/Factional conflict

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Ballotpedia's series on the Texas state legislative Republican primaries
Overview
Page 1: Election night coverage of primary matchups
Page 2: Races to watch in the 2018 primaries
Page 3: Top 10 races in 2018
Page 4: Factional conflict in the 2018 primaries
Page 5: What was at stake in the 2018 primaries?
Page 6: Campaign activity by influencers and satellite organizations
Page 7: Noteworthy events, timeline, and media coverage of the 2018 primaries
Page 8: Competitiveness in the 2018 primaries
Page 9: Campaign finance in the 2018 primaries
Page 10: May 22 primary runoffs

In the 2018 Texas state legislative Republican primaries there were factions competing against one another for control of the state's power structures. Some observers of Texas politics said there were two factions and some said there were three.

This conflict was primarily taking place in the state House, where candidates differed over support for outgoing House Speaker Joe Straus (R) and his policies. There was also some conflict in the state Senate primaries along the same lines. However, the Senate Republicans' equivalent of the anti-Straus faction held the power in that chamber heading into the 2018 elections.

This page aims to better inform readers about what defines the conflict between the Republican factions. In order to do so, Ballotpedia has reached out to legislators and political organizations to see how they would define their group and the opposing faction or factions.

The following groups' opinions about the factions were taken into account.

Background
Straus was first elected speaker in 2009 by a coalition of his allies in the Republican Party and House Democrats. At that time, the House was nearly evenly divided, allowing all Democrats to vote with a small group of Republicans to elect Straus. By 2017, the Republican majority in the House had grown to 94-56 and Straus remained speaker, which allowed him to appoint members and chairs of committees as well as refer legislation to committees.[1]

Opposition to Straus' leadership grew in 2017, especially after he and his allies attempted to block priorities of Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick (R) in a special session. These priorities included a bill that would regulate bathroom usage in Texas, legislation related to property taxes, and an education funding bill, which eventually passed.[2] With members of his caucus, including the 12 members of the Texas Freedom Caucus, planning a challenge of his leadership following the 2018 elections, Straus announced his retirement in October 2017.

With Straus' leadership position open, his allies and his opponents faced off in the 2018 primaries to see which side would have more influence in the 2019 speaker's election. In December 2017, the House Republican Caucus voted for a rule change being pushed by the Texas Freedom Caucus that would require Republicans to vote for whoever the majority of the caucus prefers when the speaker is elected on the House floor. Following the rule change, House Republicans split on whether to sign a pledge saying they would vote for the caucus' choice on the floor. Straus allies such as John Zerwas, who announced he would run for speaker in 2019, did not sign the pledge while Straus' opponents did.

Outside observers

Mark Jones

In December 2017, Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University, made the following observations about the factional conflict in the state legislature:[3]

“

The December 11 candidate filing deadline marked the official beginning of a set of Republican Party primary battles that are part of a GOP civil war that has been raging across the Lone Star State for over a decade.

In the House, the GOP’s movement conservative wing has launched an all-out offensive in an attempt to decimate the centrist conservative forces. In the Senate, movement conservatives achieved near-complete control of the GOP Caucus over the past few electoral cycles, and in 2018 are focused on a couple of mop-up operations to eliminate the last remaining centrist conservative pockets of resistance in the upper chamber. By comparison, centrist conservatives in the House and Senate are devoting almost all of their resources this cycle to the defense of their current territory, with only a few credible forays against movement conservative legislators.

...

In addition to the biennial goal of expanding their ranks, movement conservatives are especially motivated right now because of the upcoming election of a new speaker for the 2019 legislative session. Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, decided not to seek a record sixth term as speaker. First, movement conservatives want to bolster their strength in hopes of electing a more conservative speaker. Second, the more centrist conservatives they can defeat, the less likely they are to see a repeat of 2009, when a splinter group of Republicans allied with most of the Democrats to elect a centrist conservative speaker — Straus.

...

The 2012 to 2016 period witnessed an exodus of centrist conservative Republicans from the Senate as a host of centrists either resigned to pursue other career opportunities (Robert Duncan of Lubbock, Tommy Williams of The Woodlands), opted to not seek re-election (Kevin Eltife of Tyler, Mike Jackson of Pasadena, Steve Ogden of Bryan), or were defeated in the primary (John Carona of Dallas, Bob Deuell of Greenville). Combined with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s victory over former Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the 2014 Republican primary, the Texas Senate was under the near absolute control of the GOP’s movement conservative wing by the start of the 2017 legislative session.

In 2017, Craig Estes of Wichita Falls and Kel Seliger of Amarillo held the two remaining pockets of centrist GOP resistance in the Senate. Both senators face serious primary challenges this cycle from movement conservative candidates. [4]

”

Brandon Rottinghaus

In January 2018, Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston, made the following observations about the factional conflict in the state legislature:[5]

“

The internecine warfare between the establishment conservatives (read: Texas House Speaker Joe Straus and lieutenants) and movement conservatives (read: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the Freedom Caucus) has divided the Republican Party’s politics and legislative agenda. Divergences of tactics and topics have split Texas Republicans on issues of school vouchers, vaccinations, local control and property tax reform. Several high-profile primary elections feature challenges to incumbent Republicans, underscoring the ideological separation. [4]

”

Ross Ramsey

In January 2018, Ross Ramsey, the executive editor of the Texas Tribune, made the following observations about the factional conflict in the state legislature:[6]

“

The “establishment,” in political shorthand, often refers to the boring elders — and the people carrying their ideas forward — who have traditionally run big institutions and long-lasting political factions.

But it’s a sloppy label. Look at Texas Republicans, split into factions like the Democrats who dominated state government 40 years ago, and the names that have been tagged to them: movement conservatives, mainline or mainstream Republicans, social conservatives, establishment Republicans, moderates, the Tea Party, RINOs (Republicans in name only) and so on.

Those groups are distinct, but the labels overlap considerably. In particular, the establishment is arguably not the group you think it is. It’s certainly not what it was. A reader noticed this in a recent column that pointed to “contests between social conservatives and establishment Republicans, or some variations of that GOP duality.”

Mea culpa. The Republicans who made up the establishment in Texas in the first part of this century aren’t in most of the highest offices today.

...

The moderates — Republicans hate being called moderates, by the way — used to be the establishment, back in the day of Gov. George W. Bush. Straus, who ultimately won the credit and blame for killing that bathroom bill last year, has been their champion, though he contends he’s presided over a historically conservative Texas House.

The more conservative Republicans have made a strong run for that establishment flag, and they’re trying to strengthen their position in this year’s elections.

...

If you go with one dictionary definition of the establishment — “a group of social, economic and political leaders who form a ruling class,” according to Merriam Webster’s — you have to at least give the social and movement conservatives their due.

Whatever you call them, they’re no longer fighting for a seat at the table. In many of the state’s top offices, the establishment table is theirs. [4]

”

Transparency Texas

In July 2017, Transparency Texas, a website with campaign finance information on statewide candidates, published an article called "The Four Political Tribes that Run Texas." Here are excerpts from that article.[7]

“

The Texas political scene is influenced by more than just the usual two political parties (Democrats and Republicans). It is influenced by four voting blocs or political tribes: Democrats and three groups of Republicans: Liberal Republicans, Moderate Republicans, and Conservative Republicans.

...

Liberal Republicans:

This political tribe is the most powerful faction in the Texas House as it boasts the Speaker of the House and important members of House leadership. This tribe wields its considerable power by fast-tracking favored legislation and running out the clock on disfavored bills. This tribe is able to expand its already formidable power by coercing cooperation from moderate Republicans and by making alliances with Democrats.

...

Moderate Republicans:

By far the largest faction of Republicans, this group consists of the middle-of-the-road, go-along-to-get-along types. This tribe has more conservative instincts that the liberal leadership tribe, but often votes with the liberals to avoid being shut out of committee chairmanships and to avoid having their legislation ignored. This group typically boasts of strong conservative principles on the campaign trail, but allows themselves to get bullied by leadership into more liberal votes.

...

Conservative Republicans:

This group, self-described as the Texas Freedom Caucus, inhabits the opposite end of the political spectrum from Democrats and frequently opposes the liberal Republican House leadership as well. While fewer in number than the other political tribes, this faction is often able to exhibit out-sized influence by its sheer willingness to fight and its alliance with grassroots voters. [4]

”

Pro-Straus Republicans

If you have any on-the-record quotes about the pro-Straus faction please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Dee Margo

In February 2018, Dee Margo, the mayor of El Paso, Texas, told Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith that he was a pro-Straus Republican rather than a pro-Dan Patrick Republican because "I'm for balanced pragmatism and I'm pro-business."[8]

Anti-Straus Republicans

If you have any on-the-record quotes about the anti-Straus faction please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Empower Texans

Cary Cheshire of the organization Empower Texans sent Ballotpedia the following answer when asked to describe the factional conflict in the Texas state House. The scorecard he refers to can be seen in our factional analyses section below.

“

The central conflict among Republican state legislators in this Republican primary is whether or not voters will retain lawmakers who fail to deliver on the conservative reforms that they promised. Across the state we’ve seen a groundswell of conservative candidates file against establishment lawmakers who failed to deliver—forcing them to answer for their record in the Republican primary.

The competing groups in the Texas GOP are the liberal Republicans, the inertia Republicans, and the movement conservatives.

The liberal Republican wing is composed of truly liberal lawmakers like pro-abortion State Rep. Sarah Davis, anti-gun State Rep. JD Sheffield, pro-illegal immigrant State Sen. Kel Seliger, and others.

These are the Republican lawmakers who score in the lower 25% on our Index in the Texas House, and are limited to State Sens. Kel Seliger and Craig Estes in the Texas Senate.

The Inertia Republicans are those who are relatively unmoored to a particular ideology and are willing to follow either wing of the party depending on who is in power. This is roughly the middle half of the GOP caucus and is comprised of most the Texas Senate’s Republican delegation and roughly everyone with a score of 50-75 in the Texas House.

A [good example of this group is] State Sen. Charles Perry in the Texas Senate.

Movement conservatives are roughly the “Taxpayer Champions”—lawmakers who have earned a 90 or above on our Index. [4]

”

C.J. Grisham

C.J. Grisham, a candidate for state House District 55, sent Ballotpedia the following answer when asked to describe the factional conflict in the Texas state House.

“

I think the biggest conflict among Republicans this election has to do with the failure of taxpayer protections as it relates to property taxes. There is a conservative ideal that property taxes should be abolished and a new system of collecting taxes to fund the legitimate functions of government should be established, specifically a consumption or sales tax. There is also a division about the number and scope of government agencies and entities in the state that continue to undermine our open records act for transparency and accountability.

I think the two competing groups in the Republican Party are the freedom caucus on one end and the moderate/liberal Straus loyalists on the other.

Since I believe that the entire purpose of government is to protect and ensure individual liberty, I think that the freedom caucus wing of the Republican party is more in line with constitutional principles then those that are not members. [4]

”

Factional affiliations

To determine whether candidates leaned toward the pro-Straus or the anti-Straus faction of the Texas Republican Party, Ballotpedia examined endorsements from the following organizations that support candidates from one of the factions. The names of the organizations are abbreviated in the charts. To learn more about these organizations and the endorsements they made in the 2018 cycle, visit our section on satellite organizations.

Pro-Straus organizations

  • Associated Republicans of Texas (ART)
  • Texas Association of Business (TAB)
  • Texas Medical Association (TMA)
  • Texas Parent PAC (TPP)

Anti-Straus organizations

  • Empower Texans (ET)
  • Texas Right to Life (TRL)
  • Texas Values (TV)[9]
  • Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT)

Methodology
A candidate's factional alliance was determined using the following criteria:

  • Did two or more groups aligned with a faction endorse the candidate? If a candidate was endorsed by the Texas Parent PAC or Empower Texans (both of which have clear ideological and policy leanings), one endorsement was enough to determine their alliance. If organizations from both factions endorsed a candidate, she or he was declared unknown.
  • Did the candidate receive any non-organizational endorsement from a political actor tied to a faction such as Speaker Straus or the Texas Freedom Caucus? Any such endorsement is footnoted.

State Senate

Factional alliances in the Texas State Senate Republican primaries
Primary contests Pro-Straus organizations Anti-Straus organizations
District Candidate Faction Election result ART TAB TMA TPP ET TRL YCT
District 2
Cindy Burkett Pro-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔ ✔
Bob Hall (i) Anti-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔
District 5
Harold Ramm Pro-Straus Defeated ✔
Charles Schwertner (i) Unknown Won ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
District 8
Phillip Huffines Unknown Defeated ✔
Angela Paxton Unknown Won ✔
District 17
Joan Huffman (i) Unknown[10] Won ✔ ✔
Kristin Tassin Pro-Straus Defeated ✔
District 25
Donna Campbell (i) Unknown Won ✔ ✔ ✔
Shannon McClendon Pro-Straus Defeated ✔
District 30
Craig Estes (i) Pro-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔
Pat Fallon Anti-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔
District 31
Mike Canon Anti-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔ ✔
Victor Leal Unknown Defeated ✔
Kel Seliger (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

State House

Factional alliances in the Texas House of Representatives Republican primaries
Primary contests Pro-Straus organizations Anti-Straus organizations
District Candidate Faction Election result ART TAB TMA TPP ET TRL TV YCT
District 2
Dan Flynn (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔
Bryan Slaton Anti-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔
District 4
Keith Bell Pro-Straus Runoff ✔
Earl Brunner Unknown Defeated
Ashley McKee Pro-Straus Defeated ✔
Stuart Spitzer Anti-Straus Runoff ✔ ✔ ✔
District 6
Ted Kamel Pro-Straus Defeated ✔
Matt Schaefer (i) Anti-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔
District 8
Cody Harris Pro-Straus Runoff ✔ ✔
Thomas McNutt Anti-Straus Runoff ✔ ✔ ✔
Linda Timmerman Pro-Straus Defeated ✔
District 9
Garrett Boersma Anti-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔ ✔
Chris Paddie (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
District 11
Travis Clardy (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔
Danny Ward Anti-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔
District 13
Ben Leman Pro-Straus Runoff ✔
Daniel McCarthy Unknown Defeated
David Stall Pro-Straus Defeated ✔
Jill Wolfskill Anti-Straus Runoff ✔ ✔
Marc Young Unknown Defeated
District 14
Rick Davis Unknown Defeated
Sarah Laningham Unknown Defeated ✔
John Raney (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Jeston Texeira Unknown Defeated
District 15
Steve Toth Anti-Straus Won ✔ ✔
Jackie Waters Pro-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔
District 18
Ernest Bailes (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Emily Kebodeaux Cook Anti-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔ ✔
District 23
Wayne Faircloth (i) Pro-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔ ✔
Mayes Middleton Anti-Straus Won ✔ ✔
District 25
Dennis Bonnen (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔
Damon Rambo Anti-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔
District 45
Amy Akers Unknown Defeated
Naomi Narvaiz Unknown Defeated ✔
Amber Pearce Unknown Defeated ✔
Ken Strange Pro-Straus Won ✔
Austin Talley Unknown Defeated
District 47
Patty Vredevelt Unknown Defeated
Jay Wiley Anti-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔ ✔
Paul Workman (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔
District 52
Cynthia Flores Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔
Jeremy Story Unknown Defeated ✔
Christopher Ward Unknown Defeated
District 54
Brad Buckley Unknown Runoff
Scott Cosper (i) Pro-Straus Runoff ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Christopher Ward Unknown Defeated
District 55
C.J. Grisham Anti-Straus Defeated ✔
Brandon Hall Unknown Defeated ✔
Hugh Shine (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔
District 59
Chris Evans Unknown Defeated ✔
J.D. Sheffield (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
District 60
Mike Lang (i) Anti-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔
Jim Largent Pro-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔
District 62
Kevin Couch Unknown Defeated
Brent Lawson Anti-Straus Runoff ✔ ✔
Reggie Smith Pro-Straus Runoff ✔ ✔ ✔
District 64
Mark Roy Anti-Straus Defeated ✔
Lynn Stucky (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
District 65
Kevin Simmons Unknown Defeated
Ron Simmons (i) Unknown Won ✔
District 73
Kyle Biedermann (i) Anti-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔
Dave Campbell Pro-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔ ✔
District 87
Drew Brassfield Anti-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔ ✔
Four Price (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
District 88
Richard Beyea Unknown Defeated
Jason Huddleston Anti-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔
Ken King (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
District 89
Candy Noble Unknown Won ✔
John Payton Unknown Defeated
District 98
Giovanni Capriglione (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔
Armin Mizani Anti-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
District 99
Bo French Anti-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔ ✔
Charlie Geren (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔
District 102
Chad Carnahan Unknown Defeated ✔
Scott Kilgore Unknown Defeated
Linda Koop (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔
District 105
Rodney Anderson (i) Unknown Won ✔ ✔ ✔
Dinesh Mali Unknown Defeated
District 106
Clint Bedsole Pro-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔ ✔
Jared Patterson Anti-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
District 107
Deanna Maria Metzger Anti-Straus Runoff ✔ ✔ ✔
Brad Perry Pro-Straus[11] Defeated
Joe Ruzicka Unknown Runoff
District 113
Jonathan Boos Anti-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔
Jim Phaup Pro-Straus Defeated ✔
Charlie Lauersdorf Unknown Defeated
District 114
Lisa Luby Ryan Anti-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔
Jason Villalba (i) Pro-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔ ✔
District 117
Michael Berlanga Unknown Won
Carlos Antonio Raymond Unknown Defeated
District 121
Steve Allison Pro-Straus Runoff ✔
Matt Beebe Anti-Straus Runoff ✔ ✔ ✔
Carlton Soules Unknown Defeated
Adrian Spears Unknown Defeated
Charlotte Williamson Unknown Defeated
Marc Whyte Unknown Defeated
District 122
Chris Fails Anti-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔ ✔
Lyle Larson (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔
District 126
Kevin Fulton Anti-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔
E. Sam Harless Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔
Gail Stanart Unknown Defeated
District 134
Sarah Davis (i) Pro-Straus Won ✔ ✔ ✔
Susanna Dokupil Anti-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔ ✔
District 144
Gilbert Pena Unknown Defeated
Ruben Villarreal Unknown Won
District 150
Valoree Swanson (i) Anti-Straus Won ✔ ✔
James Wilson Pro-Straus Defeated ✔ ✔


Factional analyses

Generally, the factions in the state House consist of members allied with House Speaker Joe Straus (R) and those opposed to him, including members of the Texas Freedom Caucus. The following members have been identified as Straus allies and Freedom Caucus members, respectively.

Straus allies[12]


Freedom Caucus members[13]

In the sections below, we use analyses from Mark Jones at Rice University and the organizations Empower Texans and the Texas Association of Business to detail which factions members leaned toward, how the conflict was different in the separate chambers, and how the conflict played out in the primary elections.

Mark Jones analysis

State House

According to Mark Jones of Rice University, the central conflict in the 2018 Texas state House Republican primaries was between the party's movement conservative wing and more centrist conservative members allied with House Speaker Joe Straus (R).[14] Jones argued that the movement conservatives tried to run primary challengers against centrist conservatives to order to decrease the chances that a coalition of centrist Republicans and Democrats elect the House speaker in 2019, which is the way that Joe Straus came to power in 2009.

Using the roll call votes they cast in 2017, Jones assigned members of the 2017-2018 Texas state House scores that estimated their ideological positions relative to other members. For Republicans, the scores range from -0.75 (most liberal Republican) to 0.75 (most conservative Republican). The scores for Democrats range from -1.07 (most conservative Democrat) to -1.97 (most liberal Democrat).[15]

The following four charts show the 94 members of the Republican caucus divided into quartiles from most conservative to least conservative according to their ideological score.[16] The four charts show the quartiles with the most conservative Republicans (24 members), the conservative-leaning Republicans (23 members), the centrist-leaning Republicans (24 members), and the centrist (or least conservative) Republicans (23 members). The charts also include information on the primary challenges that specific members faced as well as key endorsements and other relevant information. Click [Show] to see the charts.

Analysis

An analysis of the four quartiles of the House Republican caucus shows the following:

  • Twelve of the 26 incumbent primary challenges (46.2 percent) were against members in the least conservative quartile.
  • With Straus excluded, only one member from the least conservative quartile retired. There were 10 retirements from the other three quartiles.
  • Six of the 24 members in the most conservative quartile (25 percent) faced primary challenges, including four of the 12 members (33.3 percent) of the Texas Freedom Caucus.
  • Of the 17 members identified as allies of Joe Straus, 13 (76.4 percent) faced primary challenges and one did not file for re-election.
  • As of January 2018, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) had endorsed three members of the conservative-leaning quartile, two members of the centrist-leaning quartile, and one member of the least conservative quartile. He had also endorsed a primary challenger of a member of the least conservative quartile (Sarah Davis, the least conservative Republican in the caucus) and a primary challenge of a Straus ally in the conservative-leaning quartile (Wayne Faircloth).

State Senate

According to Mark Jones of Rice University, movement conservatives had almost completely replaced centrist conservatives in the state Senate Republican caucus prior to the 2018 primaries, pointing to the period from 2012 to 2016 as when most centrists were either defeated or retired from the Senate. He also points to Dan Patrick's (R) defeat of David Dewhurst (R) in the 2014 lieutenant gubernatorial Republican primary as a sign that the state Senate was moving toward the conservatives.[14] The lieutenant governor serves as the president of the Texas State Senate.

Jones said that in 2018 conservatives would focus on defeating the remaining centrists.[14] As he did for the state House, Jones used roll call votes to assign members of the 2017-2018 Texas state Senate scores that estimated their ideological position relative to other members. For Republicans, the scores range from 0 (most liberal Republican) to 0.85 (most conservative Republican). The scores for Democrats ranged from -0.69 (most conservative Democrat) to -2.86 (most liberal Democrat).[15]

The chart below shows all 21 Senate Republicans, even if they did not have an election in 2018. They are arranged from most conservative to least conservative according to their ideological score. The chart also includes information on the primary challenges that specific members faced as well as key endorsements and other relevant information. Click [Show] to see the chart.

Analysis

An analysis of the Texas State Senate shows the following:

  • Three of the six primary challenges in 2018 (50 percent) targeted three of the four least conservative members of the Senate Republican caucus.
  • Most of the members up for election in 2018 were among either the most conservative or the least conservative Senate Republicans. Four of the six most conservative members did not face a primary and one did not file for re-election.

Empower Texans analysis

The organization Empower Texans computes a score they call the Fiscal Responsibility Index based on members' roll call votes on issues the organization says relate to "core budget and free enterprise issues that demonstrate legislators’ governing philosophy." The scores reflect the percentage of votes a member cast in favor of the position supported by Empower Texans in the 2017 session. A higher score indicates that a member more frequently aligned with the position supported by Empower Texans.

The average score for the entire Texas State Legislature for the 2017 session was 51. The legislature received a 60 for the 2015 session and a 49 for the 2013 session. Learn more about the score from Empower Texans by visiting their website.

State House

State representatives received an average score of 47 for the 2017 legislative session. Scores for Republicans ranged from 100 to 33. Scores for Democrats ranged from 36 to 15.

The following four charts show the 94 members of the Republican caucus divided into quartiles from highest scores to lowest scores.[16] The four charts show the quartiles with the highest scoring Republicans (24 members), second-highest scoring Republicans (23 members), third-highest scoring Republicans (24 members), and fourth-highest scoring Republicans (23 members). The charts also include information on the primary challenges that specific members are facing as well as key endorsements and other relevant information. Click [Show] to see the charts.

State Senate

State senators received an average score of 51 for the 2017 legislative session. Scores for Republicans ranged from 100 to 75. Scores for Democrats ranged from 56 to 28. The chart below shows all 21 Senate Republicans, even if they did not have an election in 2018. They are arranged from the highest scoring member to the lowest scoring member. The chart also includes information on the primary challenges that specific members are facing as well as key endorsements and other relevant information. Click [Show] to see the chart.

Texas Association of Business analysis

The Texas Association of Business computes a score it says measures members' support for business. The scores reflect the percentage of votes a member cast in favor of the position supported by the Texas Association of Business in the 2017 session. A higher score indicates that a member more frequently aligned with the position supported by the Texas Association of Business. The scores are listed from lowest to highest to provide consistency with the other scores detailed in this section.

Learn more about the score from the Texas Association of Business by visiting their webpage.

State House

Scores for House Republicans ranged from 94 to 41. The following four charts show the 94 members of the Republican caucus divided into quartiles from lowest scores to highest scores.[16] The four charts show the quartiles with the lowest scoring Republicans (24 members), second-lowest scoring Republicans (23 members), third-lowest scoring Republicans (24 members), and fourth-lowest scoring Republicans (23 members). The charts also include information on the primary challenges that specific members are facing as well as key endorsements and other relevant information. Click [Show] to see the charts.

State Senate

Scores for Republicans ranged from 87 to 53. The chart below shows all 21 Senate Republicans, even if they did not have an election in 2018. They are arranged from the lowest scoring member to the highest scoring member. The chart also includes information on the primary challenges that specific members are facing as well as key endorsements and other relevant information. Click [Show] to see the chart.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Texas House of Representatives, "Texas House Rules," accessed January 29, 2018
  2. ↑ Texas Tribune, ""Disappointed" House accepts Senate's changes to school finance bill," August 15, 2017
  3. ↑ Trib Talk, "Upcoming battles in the ongoing Texas GOP civil war," December 19, 2017
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  5. ↑ Trib Talk, "What’s an endorsement worth?," January 22, 2018
  6. ↑ Texas Tribune, "Analysis: Who’s the establishment, anyway?," January 10, 2018
  7. ↑ Transparency Texas, "The Four Political Tribes that Run Texas," July 12, 2017
  8. ↑ Twitter, "Regina Mack," February 7, 2018
  9. ↑ Only endorsed in House races
  10. ↑ Huffman is not included as a Pro-Straus candidate because Straus previously spoke favorably of her opponent and suggested she should run for Senate.
  11. ↑ Designated a Pro-Straus candidate due to statements he made to the Dallas Morning News in support of Straus
  12. ↑ This members were identified as Straus allies through media coverage by the Texas Monitor, affiliation with the House Leadership Fund, and Straus' endorsements in 2018.
  13. ↑ All members publicly affiliate with the Texas Freedom Caucus
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named TRIBTALK1
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 TribTalk, "The 2017 Texas House & Senate, from left to right: Post special-session edition," November 20, 2017
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 There were 95 Republicans in the 2017 Texas state House, but, because the speaker does not traditionally take votes, Joe Straus is not included.
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Texas Republican primaries to watch, 2018
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