# Don McLaughlin

Don McLaughlin is a Republican member of the Texas House for district 80.

- Party: Republican
- Seat: Texas House, district 80
- Serving since: 2025-01-14
- Current term: TX 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/0941f4bf-2ac8-48d0-8675-191514e06850

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/0941f4bf-2ac8-48d0-8675-191514e06850 (America’s Political Pulse, Polarization Research Lab), data through 2026-10-27. Data under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Westwood, Sean J., and Yphtach Lelkes. 2024. America's Political Pulse [data set].

## Headline

McLaughlin reported $492.3K in the 2026 cycle, in the top 5% of State House Republicans (median $33.7K).

## What McLaughlin says (TX 2025–26 session)

96 classified statements: 96 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State House Republicans average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | McLaughlin | State House Republicans average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 0.0% | 2.9% | 642 of 791 |
| Policy criticism | 6.3% | 9.3% | 401 of 791 |
| Policy discussion | 54.2% | 31.9% | 83 of 791 |
| Bipartisanship | 9.4% | 1.8% | 15 of 791 |
| Credit claiming | 40.6% | 12.7% | 15 of 791 |
| Extreme labels | 4.2% | 1.4% | 84 of 791 |

Most discussed policy areas: Emergency Management 25% (State House Republicans 2.8%); Agriculture and Food 15% (State House Republicans 4.4%); Crime and Law Enforcement 15% (State House Republicans 11%); Education 15% (State House Republicans 15%); Water Resources Development 12% (State House Republicans 1.4%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score +0.35 (standard error 0.02), from 398 donors and 284 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 49% of State House Republicans score lower.

## Votes (TX 2025–26 session)

3,700 roll calls. Attendance 95.1% (Texas House 93.1%). Party unity 76% (85%). 262 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2025-09-03 · voted nay · passage · HB 1 Relating to youth camp emergency plans and preparedness; authorizing penalties. · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB1/
- 2025-09-03 · voted yea · passage · SB 1 Relating to campground and youth camp safety. · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB1/
- 2025-09-03 · voted yea · passage · HB 8 Relating to public school accountability and transparency, including the implementation of an instructionally supportive assessment program and the… · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB8/
- 2025-09-03 · voted yea · adopt the conference committee report on SB 5. · SB 5 Relating to making supplemental appropriations for disaster relief and preparedness and giving direction and adjustment authority regarding those… · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB5/
- 2025-09-03 · voted yea · passage · HB 8 Relating to public school accountability and transparency, including the implementation of an instructionally supportive assessment program and the… · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB8/
- 2025-09-03 · voted yea · concur in the senate amendments to HB 20. · HB 20 Relating to measures to prevent and reduce fraudulent charitable solicitations and theft during declared disasters, including establishing a designation… · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB20/
- 2025-09-03 · voted yea · passage · SB 1 Relating to campground and youth camp safety. · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB1/
- 2025-09-03 · voted yea · concur in the senate amendments to HB 1. · HB 1 Relating to youth camp emergency plans and preparedness; authorizing penalties. · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB1/
- 2025-09-02 · voted yea · passage · SB 54 Relating to election procedures regarding accepting a voter with a residence address that is not current and the immediate effect of a voter's… · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB54/
- 2025-09-02 · voted yea · passage · HB 18 Relating to a restriction on the acceptance of political contributions and the making of certain political expenditures by a member of the legislature… · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB18/

## Legislation (TX 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 64 bills: 58 reached committee, 24 passed one chamber, 12 passed both, 12 became law. Cosponsored 169. 37.5% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Texas House 48.5%; rank 111 of 145).

Recent sponsored bills:

- HCR 13: Urging the federal government to take immediate action to curb the spread of the New World screwworm in Texas. (became law, 2025-09-17) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HCR13/
- HB 75: Relating to building standards for youth camps located within or near certain floodplains. (in committee, 2025-08-22) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB75/
- HB 44: Relating to the jurisdiction and operation of the County Court at Law in Atascosa County. (in committee, 2025-08-18) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB44/
- HB 45: Relating to a guide on preparing for and responding to a flooding disaster. (in committee, 2025-08-18) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB45/
- HB 69: Relating to creating the Texas Flash Flood Alley Interoperability Council and a grant program administered by the council. (in committee, 2025-08-18) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB69/
- HR 18: Amending the permanent rules of the House of Representatives relating to quorum and attendance to withhold disbursement of a member's operating budget due to… (in committee, 2025-08-25) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HR18/
- HCR 11: Urging the federal government to take immediate action to curb the spread of the New World screwworm into Texas. (introduced, 2025-08-04) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/891/HCR11/
- HB 276: Relating to parasitic insect control. (introduced, 2025-08-04) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/891/HB276/
- HB 182: Relating to creating the Texas Flash Flood Alley Interoperability Council and a grant program administered by the council. (introduced, 2025-07-23) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/891/HB182/
- HB 124: Relating to building standards for youth camps located within or near certain floodplains. (introduced, 2025-07-18) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/891/HB124/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $492.3K (State House Republicans median $33.7K). 96% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Recent statements

Newest first. Posts on X are listed by date and link only.

- 2026-09-25 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion, credit claiming · https://x.com/donfortexas/status/2103289163537649749
- 2026-09-17 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion, credit claiming · https://x.com/donfortexas/status/2100734700809486401
- 2026-09-15 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/donfortexas/status/2099953387236360491
- 2026-07-17 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/donfortexas/status/2077917433885507797
- 2026-07-17 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/donfortexas/status/2078250552530477104
- 2026-07-04 · Post on X · https://x.com/donfortexas/status/2073504715472576797
- 2026-06-26 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/donfortexas/status/2070555909810446508
- 2026-06-25 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion, bipartisanship · https://x.com/donfortexas/status/2070125074720362766
- 2026-06-03 · Post on X · https://x.com/donfortexas/status/2062250702169072043
- 2026-06-03 · Post on X · labels: bipartisanship · https://x.com/donfortexas/status/2062253619097805185

## Links

- Campaign site: https://donfortexas.com/meet-don/
- X: https://x.com/donfortexas
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Don-McLaughlin/pfbid02RaSTViV1PsK3RWzvu7RZbQBYPqmejygw8qmLHZFCXAeCPDwdjrpsN2S7B9RB1RRul/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donfortexas/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/0941f4bf-2ac8-48d0-8675-191514e06850