The 2023 Texas Senate, from right to left: Post-special session – The Texas Tribune
Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribunes daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
The Texas Senates roll-call votes during this years regular legislative session and four special sessions allow us to once again rank the 31 senators from liberal to conservative on that bodys ideological spectrum. (See the methodological note at the end of this article.)
The 19 Republican senators fall into four general groups on the ideological spectrum.
At the most conservative end are three senators: Bryan Hughes of Mineola, Mayes Middleton of Galveston and Bob Hall of Edgewood. Hughes, Middleton and Hall all have Lib-Con Scores that are significantly more conservative than those of the 16 other Republican senators. Within this trio, Hughes and Middleton have Lib-Con Scores that are even more conservative than that of Hall. Lib-Con Scores measure how liberal or conservative lawmakers are.
A second group to the right of the GOP median consists of six senators, ranging from Kelly Hancock of North Richland Hills and Drew Springer of Muenster to Paul Bettencourt of Houston and Phil King of Weatherford. Hancock and Springers respective Lib-Con Scores are each significantly more conservative than those of 11 Republican senators, and each significantly less conservative than those of three. Bettencourts Lib-Con Score is significantly more conservative than those of eight Republican senators and is significantly less conservative than those of three. Kings Lib-Con Score is significantly more conservative than those of six Republican senators and significantly less conservative than those of five.
A third GOP group consists of nine senators, ranging from Tan Parker of Flower Mound and Kevin Sparks of Midland to Brian Birdwell of Granbury and Pete Flores of Pleasanton. Parker and Sparks respective Lib-Con Scores are each significantly less conservative than those of six Republican senators, and each significantly more conservative than those of five. Flores Lib-Con Score is significantly less conservative than those of 13 Republican senators while Birdwells is significantly less conservative than those of 11.
At the least conservative end of the GOP ideological spectrum is a single senator, Robert Nichols of Jacksonville. Nichols has a Lib-Con Score that is significantly less conservative than those of all 18 of his Republican colleagues. Nichols Lib-Con Score is still however significantly more conservative than that of the most conservative Democrat.
The 12 Democratic senators fall into three general groups in regard to their location on the ideological spectrum.
At the most liberal end of the Democratic ideological continuum are two senators, Sarah Eckhardt of Austin and Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio (who is running in the Democratic primary next year for the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Ted Cruz). Both have Lib-Con Scores that are significantly more liberal than those of all of the 10 other Democrats.
At the least liberal end of the Democratic ideological continuum is a single senator, Juan Chuy Hinojosa of McAllen. His Lib-Con Score is significantly less liberal than those of every one of his 11 fellow Democrats. Hinojosas Lib-Con Score is still however significantly more liberal than that of the least conservative Republican.
The largest group of Democrats is located between these two poles. This group of nine senators ranges from Borris Miles of Houston, Jos Menndez of San Antonio and Carol Alvarado of Houston at the more liberal end to Csar Blanco of El Paso, Morgan LaMantia of South Padre Island and Judith Zaffirini of Laredo at the less liberal end.
Political scientists have for decades used roll-call votes cast by members of the U.S. Congress to map their places on the Liberal-Conservative scale along which most legislative politics now takes place. This ranking of the Texas Senate does the same, conducted biennially since 2011, by drawing on the 2,161 non-lopsided roll-call votes taken during the 2023 regular session and the four special sessions (during the regular session there were 2,728 votes taken all together, of which 2,055 were non-lopsided, while during the four special sessions there were 115 votes taken all together, of which 106 were non-lopsided). Non-lopsided votes are those where at least two senators are on the losing side.
As with previous rankings conducted earlier in 2023 after the regular session and in 2021 (post-special session), 2021, 2019, 2017 (post-special session), 2017, 2015, 2013 and 2011, this 2023 post-special session analysis uses a Bayesian estimation procedure belonging to the family of methodological approaches that represent political sciences gold standard for roll-call vote analysis.
The senators are ranked from most liberal to most conservative based on their Liberal-Conservative Scores, with the 95% credible interval (CI) for this point estimate also provided. If two senators CIs overlap, their positions on the ideological spectrum might be statistically equivalent, even if their Lib-Con Scores are different.
In no case in 2023 did the CI of a Republican senator overlap with that of a Democratic senator, indicating that every Republican is significantly more conservative than every Democrat, and every Democrat is significantly more liberal than every Republican. This stands in contrast to the situation as recently as 1989, when there were six Republicans who were less conservative than at least one Democrat and two Democrats who were more conservative than at least one Republican. However over the subsequent 35 years, a combination of the nationalization of partisan politics, a growing focus on ideological purity in each party, and the retirement (or party switching) of incumbents whose popularity in their district allowed them to resist these trends has created a widening chasm between Democrats and Republicans in the Texas Legislature.
Mark P. Jones is the Political Science Fellow at Rice Universitys James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.
Go here to see the original:
The 2023 Texas Senate, from right to left: Post-special session - The Texas Tribune
- South Carolina Republican Primary Live Results: Trump Wins - The New York Times - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- South Carolina Republican primary election results 2024 | The Washington Post - The Washington Post - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- Trump is projected to win South Carolina Republican primary, beat Haley. Here are the full results. - CBS News - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- South Carolina 2024 Republican primary results: Trump projected to beat Haley, extending winning streak - ABC News - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- When Is the South Carolina Republican Primary? - The New York Times - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- Who can vote in the South Carolina Republican primary election for 2024? - CBS News - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- South Carolina primary 2024: Trump projected win, Haley vows to stay in the race - ABC News - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- South Carolina primary exit polls for the 2024 GOP election: What voters said as they cast their ballots - CBS News - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- 3 things to watch for in South Carolina's Republican presidential primary - ABC News - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- South Carolina Primary: Trump Defeats Haley, Delivering a Crushing Blow in Her Home State - The New York Times - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- Trump wins South Carolina's GOP primary as Haley vows to stay in the race - NPR - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- Trump wins Republican presidential primary in South Carolina, beating Haley in her home state - CBC.ca - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- Trump projected to win South Carolina primary, beating Haley - The Washington Post - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- South Carolina Precinct Map: Detailed Results From the G.O.P. Primary - The New York Times - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- Republican political strategist reacts to South Carolina Republican primary election results - WJCL News Savannah - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- Republican seeks to bar party from paying Trump's legal bills - Yahoo News - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- In reelection bid, Tony Gonzales under attack for centrism - The Texas Tribune - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- To Trump or not to Trump: Stefanik and Hutchinson offer contrasting Republican visions - The Guardian US - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- Trump projected to win South Carolina Republican primary - Xinhua - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- AP Decision Notes: What to expect in the South Carolina Republican presidential primary - The Associated Press - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- Whats at stake for Nikki Haley in the South Carolina Republican primary? - Al Jazeera English - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- Overview and Live Results: South Carolina Republican Primary - 270toWin - 270toWin - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- Trump wins South Carolina Republican primary, beating Haley in her home state - THV11.com KTHV - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- South Carolinas Republican Primary Takes Place Today: Heres What To Know - Forbes - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- How Putin Co-Opted the Republican Party - TIME - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- Republican dysfunction drives a wave of House retirements - NBC News - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- Margin of Trump's victory shows his grip on the Republican party is tightening - Sky News - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- South Carolina's Republican primary: What to watch as Haley tries to upset Trump in her home state - The Associated Press - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to be keynote speaker at Republican Party of Brown County's Lincoln Reagan Dinner - Green Bay Press Gazette - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- What to know about South Carolina's Republican primary - NPR - February 25th, 2024 [February 25th, 2024]
- For the Anti-Trump Wing of the G.O.P., It All Comes Down to Tuesday - The New York Times - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- State of the 2024 Republican primary: Where the race stands - Fox News - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Inside the campaign to get Democrats to vote for Nikki Haley - POLITICO - POLITICO - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Republicans fume over lack of anti-abortion policies in funding fight - POLITICO - POLITICO - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- With Deal Close on Border and Ukraine, Republican Rifts Threaten to Kill Both - The New York Times - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Trump endorsed by half of Republican Congress members - MSNBC - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Republican leaders forced to rely on Democrats to govern (again) - MSNBC - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Steve Garvey is running for Senate in California as a Republican but don't ask about Trump - POLITICO - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- It is not Democrat or Republican - The Highland County Press - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Nikki Haley has spent 20 years navigating Republican Party factions. Trump may make that impossible - ABC News - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Republican Rep. Salazar blocks Democrat from hearing over her views on Cuba. - NBC News - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Another Republican debate is canceled after Haley says she'll only participate if Trump does, too - The Associated Press - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- How did the Iowa result change the Republican primary? - The Economist - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Christie is out. His voters aren't. Now they need a new candidate in N.H. - NPR - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- New Hampshire's next: Where the Republican field stands after the Iowa caucuses - NPR - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Republicans' 'Bank Your Vote' campaign is complicated by Trump - NPR - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Vermont Gov. Phil Scott endorses Nikki Haley in the Republican primary - WPTZ - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- CNN and ABC Cancel Republican Debates Ahead of New Hampshire Primary - The New York Times - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Dawn of the misled: Zombie Republican proposals lurch across the Kansas landscape - Kansas Reflector - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Opinion | The Responsibility of Republican Voters - The New York Times - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- U.S. Rep. Colin Allred joins Republicans to condemn Biden's handling of border - The Texas Tribune - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Barbara Lee Kicked Out of Hearing on Cuba by Republican Ironically Condemning Dictators - Truthout - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Where do Republican voters stand ahead of the New Hampshire primary? - ABC News - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Actual governing threatens to trip up Republican anti-government messaging - MSNBC - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- 5 takeaways from the Iowa Republican caucus results - NPR - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Where Do Republican Voters Stand Ahead Of The New Hampshire Primary? - FiveThirtyEight - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Oklahoma Republican Introduces Shortest, Most Racist Bill You've Ever Read - The New Republic - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- GOP rallies around Trump after Colorado ballot ruling - POLITICO - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- Top Wisconsin Republican wants to put abortion laws on a future ballot - The Associated Press - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- Republican prosecutor appeals Wisconsin abortion ruling - Madison.com - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- Education used to be a policy issue. Now schools are a culture war battleground - NPR - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- "Incompetent dumpster fire": Michigan Republican party rocked by financial turmoil and infighting - CBS News - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- 12/20/23 - Haley Ties DeSantis For First Time In GOP Primary, While Trump Still Dominates, With Biggest Lead To Date ... - Quinnipiac University Poll - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- Colorado GOP threatens to withdraw from or ignore state's presidential primary if Trump isn't on the ballot - The Colorado Sun - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- The Most Pathetic Republican Leader of 2023 - The New Republic - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- Trump sparks Republican backlash after saying immigrants are 'poisoning the blood' of the U.S. - NBC News - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- Why Republican women favor Trump over Haley in 2024 GOP primary - USA TODAY - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- Republican lawmakers press for special session to reassess Oregons vehicle taxes - Oregon Public Broadcasting - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- Why Leslie Ghiz left the Republican Party - The Cincinnati Enquirer - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- How do Iowa's Republican caucuses work? Here's what you should know for 2024 - Des Moines Register - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- The 2024 Republican presidential primary could be over in a month - ABC News - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- After years of losing battles with GOP leaders, some big city Texas mayors strike friendlier tone - The Texas Tribune - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- Trump's Republican White House rivals rally around the former president in ballot battle - Fox News - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- With Trump Declared an 'Insurrectionist,' His Rivals Pull Their Punches, Again - The New York Times - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- McConnell and Other Senate Republicans Criticize Trump's Talk on Immigrants - The New York Times - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- Senate Wraps Up Year, Punting Ukraine Aid and Other Issues to 2024 - The New York Times - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- House Dysfunction by the Numbers: 724 Votes, Only 27 Laws Enacted - The New York Times - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- Indicted or Barred From the Ballot: For Trump, Bad News Cements Support - The New York Times - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- Trump Lashes Out At Conservative Republican, Calls Him 'RINO' For Backing Ron DeSantis - HuffPost - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
- Republican Demands 'MAGA' Be Added to California Ballot - Newsweek - December 21st, 2023 [December 21st, 2023]
Tags: