# Judith Zaffirini

Judith Zaffirini is a Democratic member of the Texas Senate for district 21.

- Party: Democrat
- Seat: Texas Senate, district 21
- Serving since: 1987-01-13
- Current term: TX 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/c7aad3b7-ca16-4989-bf68-87ed72498a6b

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/c7aad3b7-ca16-4989-bf68-87ed72498a6b (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

Zaffirini reported $967.0K in the 2026 cycle, in the top 5% of State Senate Democrats (median $55.5K).

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

11 classified statements: 11 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State Senate Democrats average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | Zaffirini | State Senate Democrats average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 0.0% | 2.4% | 248 of 329 |
| Policy criticism | 18.2% | 10.3% | 64 of 329 |
| Policy discussion | 27.3% | 42.9% | 256 of 329 |
| Bipartisanship | 0.0% | 3.4% | 294 of 329 |
| Credit claiming | 18.2% | 16.1% | 139 of 329 |
| Extreme labels | 0.0% | 0.8% | 228 of 329 |

Most discussed policy areas: Government Operations and Politics 67% (State Senate Democrats 14%); Agriculture and Food 33% (State Senate Democrats 4.7%); Armed Forces and National Security 0% (State Senate Democrats 3.5%); Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues 0% (State Senate Democrats 8.4%); Commerce 0% (State Senate Democrats 3.6%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.23 (standard error 0.01), from 622 donors and 842 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 94% of State Senate Democrats score lower.

## Votes (TX 2025–26 session)

1,289 roll calls. Attendance 99.8% (Texas Senate 97.9%). Party unity 81% (89%). 173 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2025-09-04 · voted nay · 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 nay · 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 nay · 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 nay · 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 nay · 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 nay · 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 nay · 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 nay · 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 nay · 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 371 bills: 347 reached committee, 239 passed one chamber, 131 passed both, 116 became law. Cosponsored 62. 64.4% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Texas Senate 65.2%; rank 17 of 28).

Recent sponsored bills:

- SR 86: In memory of Guadalupe B. Martinez of Cotulla. (passed one chamber, 2025-09-04) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SR86/
- SR 76: Recognizing Margaret J. Gómez for her service as commissioner of Travis County Precinct Four. (passed one chamber, 2025-09-04) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SR76/
- SR 73: Recognizing John Ross Campbell for his five decades of service with H-E-B Grocery Company. (passed one chamber, 2025-09-04) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SR73/
- SR 72: In memory of William N. Young Jr. (passed one chamber, 2025-09-04) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SR72/
- SR 57: Recognizing Richard L. Jankovsky III on the occasion of his retirement. (passed one chamber, 2025-09-04) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SR57/
- SR 50: Recognizing the Ochoa family on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the opening of their family restaurant, Palenque Grill. (passed one chamber, 2025-09-04) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SR50/
- SR 58: Recognizing the members of the Washington's Birthday Celebration Association for their planning of Washington's birthday celebration in Laredo. (passed one chamber, 2025-09-04) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SR58/
- SR 1: Honoring the lives lost during the 2025 Texas flooding. (passed one chamber, 2025-09-04) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SR1/
- 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 23: Relating to the establishment of the Texas Redistricting Commission. (introduced, 2025-08-15) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB23/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $967.0K (State Senate Democrats median $55.5K). 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.

- 2026-07-03 · Post on X · https://x.com/judithzaffirini/status/2073068752145408352
- 2026-07-03 · Post on X · https://x.com/judithzaffirini/status/2073068923558191550
- 2026-02-10 · Post on X · labels: credit claiming · https://x.com/judithzaffirini/status/2021346149769396730
- 2026-02-01 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/judithzaffirini/status/2017836577267806541
- 2026-02-01 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion, credit claiming · https://x.com/judithzaffirini/status/2017837518373228931
- 2025-10-19 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism · https://x.com/judithzaffirini/status/1979871080937603160
- 2025-10-18 · Post on X · https://x.com/judithzaffirini/status/1979625078305554662
- 2025-09-27 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/judithzaffirini/status/1971978905126162438
- 2025-08-27 · Post on X · https://x.com/judithzaffirini/status/1960671012489499052
- 2025-08-27 · Post on X · https://x.com/judithzaffirini/status/1960672082758447425

## Links

- Official site: https://senate.texas.gov/member.php?d=21
- Campaign site: https://judithzaffirini.com
- X: https://x.com/judithzaffirini
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/judithzaffirini.senator/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judith-zaffirini-72ab24138

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/c7aad3b7-ca16-4989-bf68-87ed72498a6b