# Paul Bettencourt

Paul Bettencourt is a Republican member of the Texas Senate for district 7.

- Party: Republican
- Seat: Texas Senate, district 7
- Serving since: 2015-01-13
- Current term: TX 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/a9f861bf-1a13-4d3b-816a-69589e9b25e7

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/a9f861bf-1a13-4d3b-816a-69589e9b25e7 (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

The policy areas Bettencourt talks about and legislates on agree at 0.70 on a 0–1 scale, in the top 5% of State Senate Republicans.

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

439 classified statements: 439 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 | Bettencourt | State Senate Republicans average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 2.3% | 2.3% | 110 of 354 |
| Policy criticism | 15.7% | 9.5% | 76 of 354 |
| Policy discussion | 67.9% | 37.3% | 16 of 354 |
| Bipartisanship | 9.1% | 2.3% | 10 of 354 |
| Credit claiming | 38.3% | 15.4% | 22 of 354 |
| Extreme labels | 2.5% | 1.3% | 57 of 354 |

Most discussed policy areas: Education 29% (State Senate Republicans 14%); Government Operations and Politics 23% (State Senate Republicans 17%); Taxation 23% (State Senate Republicans 7.1%); Housing and Community Development 10% (State Senate Republicans 3.1%); Economics and Public Finance 9.7% (State Senate Republicans 12%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score +0.52 (standard error 0.02), from 439 donors and 836 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 74% of State Senate Republicans score lower.

## Votes (TX 2025–26 session)

1,288 roll calls. Attendance 99.6% (Texas Senate 97.9%). Party unity 99.8% (89%). 19 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 yea · 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 yea · 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 230 bills: 226 reached committee, 151 passed one chamber, 74 passed both, 63 became law. Cosponsored 69. 65.6% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Texas Senate 65.2%; rank 16 of 28).

Recent sponsored bills:

- SB 19: Relating to a prohibition on the making and acceptance of political contributions during a special legislative session. (passed one chamber, 2025-08-28) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB19/
- SB 46: Relating to the funding of, contracting with, and employment for law enforcement agencies in certain counties. (introduced, 2025-08-19) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB46/
- HB 192: Relating to the funding of law enforcement agencies in certain counties. (became law, 2025-09-17) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB192/
- HB 26: Relating to contracting with law enforcement agencies in certain counties. (became law, 2025-09-17) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB26/
- SR 4: In memory of James Bruce Bugg Jr. of San Antonio. (passed one chamber, 2025-09-04) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SR4/
- SB 40: Relating to the exemption from ad valorem taxation of property owned by certain nonprofit corporations, located in a populous county, and used to promote… (introduced, 2025-08-18) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB40/
- SB 1: Relating to campground and youth camp safety. (became law, 2025-09-05) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB1/
- HB 17: Relating to the requirements regarding notice of certain property tax-related information to be provided by taxing units and appraisal districts. (passed one chamber, 2025-08-26) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB17/
- HB 8: Relating to public school accountability and transparency, including the implementation of an instructionally supportive assessment program and the adoption… (became law, 2025-09-17) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/HB8/
- SB 18: Relating to an exemption from the requirement to obtain a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for certain dams or reservoirs operated… (passed both chambers, 2025-09-17) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB18/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $334.8K (State Senate Republicans median $46.2K). 99% 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.

- 2026-10-26 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/teambettencourt/status/2114867063881634231
- 2026-10-25 · Post on X · https://x.com/teambettencourt/status/2114149662378643457
- 2026-10-23 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/teambettencourt/status/2113685620212027507
- 2026-10-23 · Post on X · https://x.com/teambettencourt/status/2113712146894950861
- 2026-10-22 · Post on X · labels: personal attacks, policy discussion · https://x.com/teambettencourt/status/2113366161912131908
- 2026-10-22 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/teambettencourt/status/2113410216888881381
- 2026-10-21 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/teambettencourt/status/2112983023054385166
- 2026-10-21 · Post on X · https://x.com/teambettencourt/status/2112983284632195145
- 2026-10-16 · Post on X · labels: personal attacks · https://x.com/teambettencourt/status/2111094057610977549
- 2026-10-16 · Post on X · https://x.com/teambettencourt/status/2111103433331638511

## Links

- Official site: https://senate.texas.gov/member.php?d=7
- Campaign site: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://paulbettencourt.com/&ved=2ahUKEwjZ2tPNjYKGAxU7DHkGHbfDCZwQFnoECDgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw02d5y9EPvQZgmRBfUNOxDB
- X: https://x.com/teambettencourt
- Facebook: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.facebook.com/TXSenate7&ved=2ahUKEwjJmMTkjYKGAxVGvokEHbLhBLAQ9zB6BAgVEAU&usg=AOvVaw1TIk7tKrw-5rXY6-YHNyeu
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulbettencourt7/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9cpOgOFNfiuHcBK3Bq_Svg
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-bettencourt-16b89637/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/a9f861bf-1a13-4d3b-816a-69589e9b25e7