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June 23, 2015      5:58 PM

SB: In Empower Texans rankings, one lawmaker is left out in the cold

Only one of the 19 who voted against Straus was not named a "Taxpayer Champion" on the Dunn scorecard; Rep. Mark Keough would have made the cut if he had voted against Abbott's pre-k initiative. Keough says "I came to Austin to be a statesman."

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comment from Rep. Mark Keough – SB

One assumption made by most seasoned Texas Capitol observers was that if a Republican lawmaker did the bidding of Midland oilman Tim Dunn and his spokesman Michael Quinn Sullivan by voting against Speaker Joe Straus, they would be rewarded with the label of “Taxpayer Champion” on the Empower Texans scorecard.

Of the 19 who complied, that was true for 18.

One lawmaker, however, was left out in the cold – not only excluded from the Straus governing coalition in the Texas House during the session but now also dropped in the grease of receiving less than “Taxpayer Champion” status as the so-called Fiscal Responsibility Index was released on Monday.

Rep. Mark Keough, R-The Woodlands, didn’t make the cut but said he is happy to defend his record during his freshman session.

By Scott Braddock