# Royce West

Royce West is a Democratic member of the Texas Senate for district 23.

- Party: Democrat
- Seat: Texas Senate, district 23
- Serving since: 1993-01-12
- Current term: TX 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/d6f40682-7b90-4735-980c-7c95ef402a78

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/d6f40682-7b90-4735-980c-7c95ef402a78 (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

West sits at −0.23 on the CSIP scale, more conservative than 94% of State Senate Democrats.

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

101 classified statements: 101 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 | West | State Senate Democrats average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 0.0% | 2.4% | 248 of 329 |
| Policy criticism | 2.0% | 10.3% | 254 of 329 |
| Policy discussion | 23.8% | 42.9% | 272 of 329 |
| Bipartisanship | 1.0% | 3.4% | 230 of 329 |
| Credit claiming | 5.0% | 16.1% | 265 of 329 |
| Extreme labels | 0.0% | 0.8% | 228 of 329 |

Most discussed policy areas: Education 33% (State Senate Democrats 15%); Government Operations and Politics 29% (State Senate Democrats 14%); Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues 13% (State Senate Democrats 8.4%); Housing and Community Development 13% (State Senate Democrats 6.7%); Commerce 8.3% (State Senate Democrats 3.6%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.23 (standard error 0.01), from 1,829 donors and 817 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)

1,307 roll calls. Attendance 96.1% (Texas Senate 97.9%). Party unity 76% (89%). 188 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2025-09-04 · voted not voting · 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 not voting · passage · 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 not voting · 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 not voting · Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that CSHB 1 be placed on its third reading and final 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 not voting · concur in the House amendment to SB 1. · SB 1 Relating to campground and youth camp safety. · pass · https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB1/
- 2025-09-03 · voted not voting · Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that CSHB 20 be placed on its third reading and final passage. · 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 not voting · 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 not voting · 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/

## Legislation (TX 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 239 bills: 222 reached committee, 149 passed one chamber, 40 passed both, 37 became law. Cosponsored 160. 62.3% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Texas Senate 65.2%; rank 18 of 28).

Recent sponsored bills:

- SR 11: In memory of David Riggs Wildman. (passed one chamber, 2025-09-04) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SR11/
- SR 49: Recognizing Stefanie Watkins Nance for her 21 years of military service and leadership. (passed one chamber, 2025-09-04) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SR49/
- SR 48: Recognizing Alicia Thomas for her service as city secretary of DeSoto. (passed one chamber, 2025-09-04) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SR48/
- SB 42: Relating to exceptions to certain laws prohibiting abortion. (introduced, 2025-08-18) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB42/
- SB 43: Relating to exceptions to and the repeal of certain laws prohibiting abortion. (introduced, 2025-08-18) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB43/
- 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/
- SR 3: Recognizing Gwendolyn Spratt for her service as pastor of the Church of the Blood Covenant. (passed one chamber, 2025-09-04) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SR3/
- 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 5: Relating to making supplemental appropriations for disaster relief and preparedness and giving direction and adjustment authority regarding those… (became law, 2025-09-18) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB5/
- SB 11: Relating to an affirmative defense to prosecution for certain victims of trafficking of persons or compelling prostitution. (became law, 2025-09-17) https://openstates.org/tx/bills/892/SB11/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $233.6K (State Senate Democrats median $55.5K). 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/senroycewest/status/2114687715711008816
- 2026-10-26 · Post on X · https://x.com/senroycewest/status/2114690743021244500
- 2026-10-25 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/senroycewest/status/2114195713370275998
- 2026-10-25 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/senroycewest/status/2114356797339312315
- 2026-10-07 · Post on X · https://x.com/senroycewest/status/2107868453428207699
- 2026-10-05 · Post on X · https://x.com/senroycewest/status/2107159035958919416
- 2026-08-15 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/senroycewest/status/2088732034826932728
- 2026-08-10 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/senroycewest/status/2086926996735467529
- 2026-08-06 · Post on X · https://x.com/senroycewest/status/2085471382708584935
- 2026-07-25 · Post on X · https://x.com/senroycewest/status/2081110626139574743

## Links

- Official site: https://senate.texas.gov/member.php?d=23
- Campaign site: https://roycewest.com
- X: https://x.com/senroycewest
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/royce-west-81ab941a9

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/d6f40682-7b90-4735-980c-7c95ef402a78