ALEXANDRIA, VA (January 31, 2024) — CPAC Foundation’s analysis reveals a substantial divide in the conservatism of Texas’ House of Representatives and Senate. Senate Republicans were about 10% more conservative than House Republicans. Overall scores between both chambers also diverged by about 9%. These substantial disparities are in no small part attributable to a relatively more liberal party leadership in the House.

SEE SCORECARD HERE

“Texas conservatives face two major challenges: President Biden’s open border crisis and horrendous House leadership,” said CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp. “Thankfully, conservatives and clear-thinking Republicans pulled through with Gov. Greg Abbott and passed several border security bills and defeated Republican Speaker Dade Phelan’s (CPAC Lifetime Rating 76%) vindictive crusade against AG Ken Paxton.”

CPAC recognizes several Texas state legislators for their conservative voting records. The following members of the Texas State Legislature earned CPAC’s Award for Conservative Excellence for voting with the conservative position at least 90% of the time during the 2023 session:

Senate:

Bryan Hughes (100%)

Mayes Middleton (100%)

Bob Hall (92%)

Lois Kolkhorst (92%)

Charles Schwertner (92%)

House:

Brian Harrison (100%)

Carrie Isaac (100%)

Matt Schaefer (100%)

Shelby Slawson (100%)

Valoree Swanson (100%)

Tony Tinderholt (100%)

Steve Toth (100%)

Terry Wilson (100%)

Briscoe Cain (95%)

Cody Vasut (95%)

Nate Schatzline (95%)

Matt Shaheen (94%)

Terri Leo-Wilson (90%)

Additionally, some lawmakers in the Texas State Legislature earned CPAC’s Award for Conservative Achievement for voting with the conservative position at least 80% of the time during the 2023 session. Their names can be found highlighted in gray on the scorecard.

The bills featured in CPAC’s 2023 Ratings of Texas address illegal immigration, radical gender ideology, and election integrity. These issues, coupled with our mission to protect life, liberty, property and uphold the American family, created the basis by which the CPAC Foundation rated the Texas legislature.

The Center for Legislative Accountability (CLA), an initiative of the CPAC Foundation, is the premier organization for holding lawmakers accountable. The CLA produces the longest-running conservative congressional scorecard and our state program is the only one in the nation that scores all 8,000 lawmakers in the 50 states across every policy area.