The Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) ranked Sen. Robert Nichols (R–Jacksonville) as the least conservative Republican in the Texas Senate, reinforcing his reputation among activists as the chamber’s most leftist GOP lawmaker.
In its newly released 89th Legislative Session Ratings, YCT gave Nichols a score of 77, the lowest among Senate Republicans. The scorecard evaluates legislators on roughly 100 recorded votes tied to conservative priorities, including fiscal restraint, school choice, and constitutional governance.
“Our ratings are a necessary tool for Texans to hold their lawmakers accountable by their actions, instead of by their words alone,” said Cassidy Schnoor, YCT senior vice chairman.
Record on Conservative Priorities
Nichols has often broken with conservative colleagues on defining issues.
- He was one of just two Senate Republicans to vote against Education Savings Accounts, a core GOP platform item.
- He voted to convict Attorney General Ken Paxton during the Senate impeachment trial, siding with Democrats while most Republicans voted to acquit.
- He opposed legislation to end taxpayer-funded lobbying, siding with bureaucracies and lobbyists over grassroots conservatives.
- He backed an amendment removing HB 27’s groundwater-moratorium language, which critics said betrayed East Texas landowners.
Nichols’ 77 rating placed him last among the chamber’s 20 Republicans, compared with Sens. Bryan Hughes and Bob Hall, who both scored 89 — the highest in the Senate.
Independent Analysis Supports Finding
An independent ideological study by Rice University political scientist Mark P. Jones, published by The Texas Tribune, reached a similar conclusion. The analysis ranked Nichols as the least-conservative Republican senator, finding that he was “significantly less conservative than all 19 of his Republican colleagues,” though still more conservative than the most conservative Democrat.
The study drew on more than 2,000 roll-call votes taken during the 2025 regular session, using Bayesian estimation models to map senators’ ideological positions relative to one another.
Conservative Movement’s View
While the Senate’s average conservative score was 68.7, YCT noted that Nichols’ record stood out for its departures from key conservative priorities. The organization has long used its ratings to track and promote adherence to limited government and constitutional principles.
YCT’s leadership said the ratings will help guide endorsements and campaign involvement ahead of the 2026 election cycle, signaling that Nichols’ record will likely face renewed scrutiny from the right.
Nichols’ record — from school choice to the Paxton impeachment — has positioned him as the chamber’s most moderate Republican, prompting many to label him a “Republican in Name Only” heading into the 2026 election cycle.