Recently released rankings from one of the top conservative organizations in the country has Amarillo Senator Kel Seliger listed as the least conservative Republican in the body.
According to the rankings for the 2017 legislative session, the American Conservative Union named Seliger as the most liberal Republican in the Senate, with an overall ranking of 73 percent favorable to conservative causes. The former Amarillo mayor received a lower score during the 2017 session than he did during the previous session, where he received a 75 percent score. During that session, Seliger was named the second least conservative Republican senator in Texas, behind Senator Robert Nichols.
In the House of Representative, both of Amarillo’s state representatives also received scores similar to Seliger’s, although they were not the lowest rated Republicans in the chamber. Representative Four Price, an Amarillo attorney and banker, received a 78 percent favorable score and Representative John Smithee, an Amarillo attorney, received a 75 percent favorable score. While both representatives received lower scores than some of their colleagues, Houston Representative Sarah Davis took home the lowest Republican score overall with a 50 percent favorable rating.
Among Democrats in both chambers, Rio Grande City Democrat Ryan Guillen received the most favorable score from the conservative organization with an overall 71 percent during the 2017 session. Brownsville Democrat Eddie Lucio, Jr. received the best ranking for Democrats in the Senate, finishing with a 64 percent ranking.
The American Conservative Union is one of the largest organizations for conservatives in the United States. The group organizes the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland and has hosted several presidents as speakers, including President Ronald Reagan and President Donald Trump. ACU officials release rankings every year to measure state and national legislatures during each session. Members of certain bodies who receive high rankings are honored during a ceremony at the CPAC convention every year.
For full rankings, please visit this link.
Sen. Kel Seliger
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