Brian Birdwell
Brian Birdwell is a Republican member of the Texas State Senate, representing District 22. He was first elected to the chamber in a July 2010 special election to fill the unexpired term of Senator Kip Averitt.
Biography
Birdwell graduated from Lamar University, as the Distinguished Military Graduate of the Army ROTC program. He is also a graduate of Command and General Staff College, and holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Birdwell is a decorated Army veteran, and has received many honors due to his dedicated service to his Country. During his service, Birdwell served in numerous locations around the world, including South Korea, Germany, Central America and the Middle East. In 1990, Birdwell was deployed to Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm during the first Gulf War. He was awarded the Bronze Star for Exceptional Meritorious Achievement. In 2001, Birdwell served as the military aide to the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management. When the Pentagon was attacked on September 11, 2001, Birdwell sustained life threatening burns when he was thrown from his office chair and into the flames. For his wounds at the Pentagon, he was awarded the Purple Heart, and upon retirement received the Legion of Merit Award.
Birdwell attributes his recovery and healing since 9/11 to his Christian faith. Birdwell's experience on 9/11 inspired he and his wife to launch Face The Fire Ministries, a nonprofit organization that supports critical burn survivors and wounded servicemen and women and their families. Birdwell and his wife have also written a book, Refined by Fire: A Family's Triumph of Love and Faith, in which they chronicle their life changing experiences.
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Criminal Justice |
| • Finance |
| • Nominations, Chair |
| • State Affairs |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Birdwell served on the following committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Natural Resources and Economic Development |
| • Nominations, Chair |
| • State Affairs |
| • Veteran Affairs & Military Installations |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Birdwell served on the following committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Economic Development |
| • Government Organization |
| • Higher Education |
| • Veteran Affairs & Military Installations, Vice chair |
| • Joint Committee on Oversight of Higher Ed Governance, Excellence & Transparency |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Birdwell served on the following Texas Senate committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Veteran Affairs & Military Installations, Vice chair |
| • Higher Education, Vice chair |
| • Economic Development |
| • Government Organization |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Birdwell served on the following Texas Senate committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Economic Development |
| • Government Organization |
| • Higher Education |
| • Veteran Affairs & Military Installations |
| • Veterans Health |
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
- See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Texas State Senate 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.[1]
Incumbent Brian Birdwell defeated Michael Collins in the Texas State Senate District 22 general election.[2]
| Texas State Senate, District 22 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Brian Birdwell Incumbent |
70.43% | 211,380 | |
| Democratic | Michael Collins | 29.57% | 88,769 | |
| Total Votes | 300,149 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State | ||||
Michael Collins ran unopposed in the Texas State Senate District 22 Democratic Primary.[3][4]
| Texas State Senate, District 22 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Michael Collins (unopposed) | |
Incumbent Brian Birdwell ran unopposed in the Texas State Senate District 22 Republican Primary.[3][4]
| Texas State Senate, District 22 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Brian Birdwell Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2012
- See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2012
Birdwell won re-election in the 2012 election for Texas State Senate, District 22. Birdwell ran unopposed in the May 29 primary election and defeated Tom Kilbride (L) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[5]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Brian Birdwell |
85.2% | 188,544 | |
| Libertarian | Tom Kilbride | 14.8% | 32,786 | |
| Total Votes | 221,330 | |||
2010
- See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2010
Birdwell won re-election unopposed to the 22nd District seat in 2010.[5] The general election took place on November 6, 2012.
He was originally elected via special election in June 2010 to fill the unexpired term of Kip Averitt.[6]
| Texas State Senate, District 22 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Brian Birdwell (R)
|
134,231 | 100% | ||
Campaign donors
The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent 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, and 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.
| Brian Birdwell campaign contribution history | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Result | Contributions | |
| 2012 | Texas State Senate, District 22 |  |
$549,148 | |
| 2010 | Texas State Senate, District 22 | |
$468,039 | |
| Grand total raised | $1,017,187 | |||
| Source: [[7] Follow the Money] | ||||
2012
Birdwell won re-election to the Texas State Senate in 2012. During that election cycle, Birdwell raised a total of $549,148.
| Texas State Senate 2012 election - campaign contributions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top contributors to Brian Birdwell's campaign in 2012 | ||||
| Heavin, Gary | $25,000 | |||
| Cleveland, Courts | $25,000 | |||
| Cleveland, Sally | $25,000 | |||
| Perry, Bob J | $17,500 | |||
| Texans For Lawsuit Reform | $10,000 | |||
| Total raised in 2012 | $549,148 | |||
| Source: Follow the Money | ||||
2010
Birdwell won election to the Texas State Senate in 2010. During that election cycle, Birdwell raised a total of $468,039.
| Texas State Senate 2010 election - Campaign Contributions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top contributors to Brian Birdwell's campaign in 2010 | ||||
| Texans For Lawsuit Reform | $55,000 | |||
| Perry, Bob J | $30,000 | |||
| Lockwood, Stephen | $25,000 | |||
| Perry, Doylene | $10,000 | |||
| Fraser For Texas Campaign | $10,000 | |||
| Total Raised in 2010 | $468,039 | |||
| Source: Follow the Money | ||||
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.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
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.
2020
In 2020, the Texas State Legislature was not in session.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Texas State Legislature was in its 86th legislative session from January 8 through May 27.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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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.[8] Two additional called sessions were held from July 1 through July 30 and July 30 through August 5.[9]
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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.[9]
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Empower Texans Fiscal Responsibility Index
- See also: Empower Texans Fiscal Responsibility Index and Empower Texans
Empower Texans describes its mission as the following: "Through multiple media formats, we educate and inspire Texans to exercise effective citizenship. Using research, reporting, and advocacy, we empower taxpayers to advocate for good governance and hold their elected officials accountable."[10] The organization 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."[11] Legislators were graded along a 0 through 100 scale in 2013 and on an A through F grading scale in 2011.
2013
Birdwell received a score of 90.8 in the 2013 Fiscal Responsibility Index.
2011
Brian Birdwell received a grade of A+ on the 2011 Fiscal Responsibility Index.
- 2011 Taxpayer Champion. Birdwell was named a "2011 Taxpayer Champion," which is "the top award presented by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility to legislators based on their rating on the most recent Fiscal Responsibility Index."
Personal
Brian and his wife, Mel, have one son, Matt. They reside in Granbury, TX.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Brian + Birdwell + Texas + Senate"
See also
- Texas State Legislature
- Texas State Senate
- Texas Senate Committees
- Texas Joint Committees
- Texas state legislative districts
External links
- Campaign web site
- Official Senate website of Brian Birdwell
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010
- Brian Birdwell on Facebook
- Face the Fire Ministries
Footnotes
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 14, 2015
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election," accessed December 2, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Texas Secretary of State, "2016 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History results," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History," accessed February 17, 2014
- ↑ Corsicana Daily Sun, "Birdwell chosen for November ballot," July 23, 2010
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Birdwell, Brian," accessed August 22, 2013
- ↑ kten.com, "Texas Lawmakers To Tackle Redistricting In Special Session," May 29, 2013
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Legislative reference Library of Texas, "Texas Legislative Sessions and Years," accessed June 13, 2014
- ↑ Empower Texans, "About," accessed December 18, 2017
- ↑ Empower Texans, "Fiscal Responsibility Index," accessed February 22, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kip Averitt |
Texas Senate District 22 2010-present |
Succeeded by NA |
