Mothers Against Greg Abbott Scorecard - Sneak Peek

Analyzing the Texas legislative landscape: a sneak peek at the Mothers Against Greg Abbott scorecard.

Mothers Against Greg Abbott, also known as Mothers4Democracy, has worked diligently on a scorecard over the last few months to show how your Democratic and Republican reps voted on issues like the border, LGBTQ rights, gun safety, and other hot-button topics. They’ve also included what money people are taking and from who.

In Texas, several Republican-led scorecards are issued each legislative session, usually awarding ‘A’ to the worst legislators, who vote to take away rights and oppress Texans. The Mothers Against Greg Abbott Scorecard will be the first comprehensive report card in Texas, scoring on whether or not the legislators voted in the people’s best interest.

It’s very exciting because it will show Texans how their reps were voting, if they were voting in their best interests, and give them a letter grade. This will help constituents hold their Democratic rep’s feet to the fire, pushing them to be better or opening the door to a primary challenger.

The Mothers Against Greg Abbott Scorecard is set to be released this week, so be on the lookout for it. In the meanwhile, they allowed me to have a special sneak peek.

First and foremost, congratulations to Senator Sarah Eckhardt!

Most people wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the Senate is generally much more Conservative than the House, including the Democratic Senators. However, despite that, Sarah Eckhardt is the only Senator that scores an ‘A’ on the Mom’s Scorecard. That means she voted with Democratic principles on things like women’s healthcare, gun safety, LGBTQ rights, and public education.

In a state full of Conservative disappointments, Senator Sarah Eckhardt managed to rise above and remain unbending in the face of oil mogul buy-offs, pressures from Dan Patrick, and the bullying tactics of GOP activists.

Congrats, Senator Eckhardt, and thank you for always standing with the people.

On the opposite end of that…

Senator Chuy Hinojosa is the worst-scoring Democrat in the Senate. He wound up with an ‘F’ in public education, dropping his final score to a ‘C.’ He also tended to vote in favor of voter suppression bills, against environmental protections, and for more of Greg Abbott’s boondoggle at the border.

Hinojosa is up for re-election in 2024 and has announced that he will run again. However, we haven’t heard of any primary challenger yet. When progressives in his district learn more about his voting record, that may open the door for a primary. We’ll see.

Unfortunately, Senator Hinojosa isn’t an outlier regarding South Texas, and there is a larger narrative about border Democrats that’s coming to the forefront.

Who are the border Democrats in the House?

Mondo Martinez, Oscar Longoria, Terry Canales, Sergio Munoz, Tracy King, Richard Raymond, Eddie Morales, Mary Gonzelez, Claudia Ordaz Perez, and Joe Moody. These are the Democrats whose district is on the border of Texas and Mexico.

Mary Gonzalez, Joe Moody, and Mondo Martinez are the only border Democrats that scored a ‘B.’ The rest scored a ‘C’ or a ‘D.’

Tracy King scored a ‘D,’ but he’s retiring this year and will be out of office next session.

Sergio Munoz, Richard Raymond, and Eddie Morales scored a ‘D,’ the same score as many Republicans. These Representatives often voted with the Republicans, and every single one received an ‘F’ on border issues. This should be a big deal since they are border Democrats.

All three of these so-called Democrats voted on the “show me your papers” bill, HB20, which was ultimately killed but would have given vigilantes to stop any brown person in the entire state and demand their documentation. They also voted on the militarization of border communities with SB423, which passed and has already been signed into law. This bill allows the Texas State Guard to use drones up to 25 miles away from the border. Of course, this is a terrible bill since border residents have been the target of harassment under Operation Lone Star.

Oscar Longoria, Terry Canales, and Claudia Ordaz Perez were each graded a ‘C’ on the scorecard, as they voted against their constituents’ best interests regarding environmental protections, voting rights, and public education.

There’s a bigger narrative regarding border Democrats and their willingness to bend the knee for Republicans. The border regions are supposed to be safe blue, so it raises a lot of questions about their motives.

Some stellar voting records in the House.

While Senator Eckhardt was the only Senator to receive an ‘A,’ several Democrats in the House scored that high as well. That includes Erin Zwiener, James Talarico, Jon Rosenthal, Mihaela Plesa, Terry Meza, Gina Hinojosa, Vikki Goodwin, and John Bryant.

Don’t worry if you don’t see your favorite Democrat with an ‘A,’ as the vast majority of the rest of them received a ‘B.’

However, there are some Democrats, like the border Democrats, who did score ‘Cs’ and ‘Ds.’ Two which haven’t been mentioned are Shawn Thierry and Harold Dutton, who both scored ‘Cs’ due to their votes on LGBTQ rights and public education.

Most Republicans scored an ‘F.’ Although there are a few GOP members with ‘Ds,’ nearly all of them voted against LGBTQ rights, voting rights, women’s rights, gun safety, and public education. Although, this was to be expected.

This scorecard by Mothers Against Greg Abbott is going to allow all of the people in Texas to see how their representatives voted. It’ll be a crucial tool in primary elections and to help drive people to the polls next year. Fantastic job! Some of the scores are subject to change before the final scorecard is released.

Be on the lookout for the scorecard later this week on Mothers Against Greg Abbott’s website and social media.