BREAKING: YCT Releases Ratings of the 85th Texas Legislature

Featured, Press Releases / November 2, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 2, 2017

Contact: Caroline Chadwick, State Chairman
Email: [email protected]

YCT Releases Ratings of the 85th Texas Legislature

Austin, TX — Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) today released its ratings of the 85th Texas Legislature. These ratings mark the 22nd consecutive installment of the public service offered by YCT as a way for constituents to evaluate the time their representatives spend in Austin. With bi-yearly installments dating back to 1975, YCT issues the most thorough, respected and consistent legislative ratings in the Lone Star State.

Ratings of the 85th Texas Legislature can be found at yct.org/ratings. This year, YCT’s ratings are available both in PDF format and on the website as an additional tool for visualizing and reading about each legislator’s votes and the votes used in the ratings.

“YCT’s ratings serve as an educational tool for Texas voters to utilize in choosing the most conservative candidates,” said Caroline Chadwick, YCT State Chairman. “Our ratings also serve as a spotlight on legislators who talk the conservative talk in their districts but do not walk the walk when they get to Austin.”

Scores for the 85th Legislature are calculated based on 40 votes in the Senate and 40 votes in the House. Members of the legislature received a score for the session based on their votes on bills that YCT believes have a clear left/right policy choice. Each legislator also has a combined score covering his or her time at the Capitol.

Senator Dawn Buckingham, Representative Briscoe Cain and Representative Valoree Swanson earned the group’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ awards for their first sessions in their respective chambers of the legislature.

“Senator Buckingham, Representative Cain and Representative Swanson also have the top scores in the Senate and House, respectively,” said William Dominguez, YCT Senior Vice Chairman and Member of the Legislative Ratings Committee.

YCT recognized 15 Legislators with scores of 90% or above on their “Honor Roll” for the session. They were Senator Konni Burton (100), Representative Briscoe Cain (100), Representative Matt Rinaldi (100), Representative Matt Schaefer (100), Representative Jonathan Stickland (100), Representative Valoree Swanson (100), Representative Mike Lang (98), Senator Van Taylor (98), Representative Tony TInderholt (97), Representative Matt Shaheen (95), Representative Bill Zedler (95), Representative Cole Hefner (93), Senator Don Huffines (93), Senator Bob Hall (90) and Representative Matt Krause (90).

The most liberal legislator of the session, according to YCT, was Representative Dawnna Dukes and Representative Gina Hinojosa, both with a score of 3.

Young Conservatives of Texas is a non-partisan organization that has promoted conservatism at universities across the Lone Star State for over three decades. The State’s most active political youth organization, YCT is composed of hundreds of members and alumni who participate in the full spectrum of politics. YCT issues the most respected ratings of the Texas legislature and is the only conservative group to have done so without interruption over the past 22 legislative sessions. For more information about YCT, please visit.

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