# Robert Nichols

Robert Nichols is a Republican member of the Texas Senate for district 3.

- Party: Republican
- Seat: Texas Senate, district 3
- Serving since: 2007-01-09
- Current term: TX 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/26b83cfe-10c0-4ac6-ae02-dac30e2856b1

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/26b83cfe-10c0-4ac6-ae02-dac30e2856b1 (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

84% of the 130 bills Nichols sponsored got out of committee, in the top tenth of the Texas Senate.

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

248 classified statements: 248 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State Senate Republicans average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | Nichols | State Senate Republicans average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 0.0% | 2.3% | 272 of 354 |
| Policy criticism | 2.0% | 9.5% | 263 of 354 |
| Policy discussion | 58.1% | 37.3% | 52 of 354 |
| Bipartisanship | 2.0% | 2.3% | 145 of 354 |
| Credit claiming | 28.6% | 15.4% | 52 of 354 |
| Extreme labels | 0.0% | 1.3% | 261 of 354 |

Most discussed policy areas: Transportation and Public Works 15% (State Senate Republicans 6.0%); Education 13% (State Senate Republicans 14%); Crime and Law Enforcement 12% (State Senate Republicans 12%); Taxation 10% (State Senate Republicans 7.1%); Commerce 9.7% (State Senate Republicans 4.5%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score +0.39 (standard error 0.02), from 808 donors and 841 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 55% of State Senate Republicans score lower.

## Votes (TX 2025–26 session)

1,290 roll calls. Attendance 99.4% (Texas Senate 97.9%). Party unity 90.2% (89%). 107 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2025-09-04 · voted yea · final 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/
- 2025-09-03 · 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/
- 2025-09-03 · voted not voting · final passage · HB 7 Relating to prohibitions on the manufacture and provision of abortion-inducing drugs, including the jurisdiction of and effect of certain judgments by… · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB7/
- 2025-09-03 · voted yea · concur in the House amendment to SB 8. · SB 8 Relating to the designation and use of certain spaces and facilities according to sex; authorizing a civil penalty and a private civil right of action. · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB8/
- 2025-09-02 · voted not voting · passage · HB 7 Relating to prohibitions on the manufacture and provision of abortion-inducing drugs, including the jurisdiction of and effect of certain judgments by… · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB7/
- 2025-09-02 · voted yea · adoption of amendment · HB 27 Relating to a groundwater study of certain aquifers underlying the territory of the Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District by the… · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB27/
- 2025-09-02 · voted yea · suspend Senate Rule 11.10(a), Senate Rule 11.18(a), and Senate Rule 11.19 in order that the Committee on State Affairs might meet at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow in the Betty King Committee Room, 2E.20, and consider HB 18. · 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/
- 2025-08-27 · 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/
- 2025-08-27 · voted yea · passage · HB 192 Relating to the funding of law enforcement agencies in certain counties. · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB192/
- 2025-08-27 · voted yea · Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that HB 25 be placed on its third reading and final passage. · HB 25 Relating to a pharmacist's authority to dispense ivermectin without a prescription. · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB25/

## Legislation (TX 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 130 bills: 123 reached committee, 109 passed one chamber, 54 passed both, 49 became law. Cosponsored 13. 83.9% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Texas Senate 65.2%; rank 3 of 28).

Recent sponsored bills:

- SB 55: Relating to a groundwater study of certain aquifers underlying the territory of the Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District by the Texas… (introduced, 2025-08-21) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB55/
- SB 50: Relating to a groundwater study of certain aquifers underlying the territory of the Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District by the Texas… (introduced, 2025-08-21) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB50/
- HB 27: Relating to a groundwater study of certain aquifers underlying the territory of the Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District by the Texas… (passed both chambers, 2025-09-03) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB27/
- SB 41: Relating to the consideration by a groundwater conservation district of modeled available groundwater when issuing permits. (introduced, 2025-08-18) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB41/
- SB 1: Relating to campground and youth camp safety. (became law, 2025-09-05) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB1/
- SB 9: Relating to public school accountability and transparency, including the implementation of an instructionally supportive assessment program and the adoption… (in committee, 2025-08-15) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB9/
- SB 3: Relating to outdoor warning sirens in flash flood-prone areas. (became law, 2025-09-05) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB3/
- SB 10: Relating to the calculation of the voter-approval tax rate for certain taxing units. (passed both chambers, 2025-09-02) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB10/
- SB 16: Relating to real property theft and real property fraud; establishing recording requirements for certain documents concerning real property; creating the… (became law, 2025-09-17) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB16/
- SB 14: Relating to the provision by a political subdivision of credits against impact fees to builders and developers for certain water conservation and reuse… (became law, 2025-09-17) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB14/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $12.9K (State Senate Republicans median $46.2K). 100% 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.

- 2026-04-05 · Post on X · https://x.com/senatornichols/status/2040824319366873503
- 2026-04-03 · Post on X · https://x.com/senatornichols/status/2040122936925774002
- 2026-03-30 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion, credit claiming · https://x.com/senatornichols/status/2038719167671525527
- 2026-03-29 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/senatornichols/status/2038287092682276925
- 2026-03-27 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion, credit claiming · https://x.com/senatornichols/status/2037662954477232430
- 2026-03-26 · Post on X · https://x.com/senatornichols/status/2037165188068102360
- 2026-03-25 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/senatornichols/status/2036844342518648932
- 2026-03-24 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/senatornichols/status/2036506869536079953
- 2026-03-19 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion, credit claiming · https://x.com/senatornichols/status/2034625440279630295
- 2026-03-18 · Post on X · https://x.com/senatornichols/status/2034308106008551653

## Links

- Official site: https://senate.texas.gov/member.php?d=3
- Campaign site: https://nicholsforsenate.com
- X: https://x.com/senatornichols
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/senatorrobertnichols/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/26b83cfe-10c0-4ac6-ae02-dac30e2856b1