Baker Institute expert ranks Texas counties from most liberal to most conservative

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David Ruth
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Jeff Falk
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Baker Institute expert ranks Texas counties from most liberal to most conservative
Jones: Travis County’s status as a clear liberal outlier should be of concern to Gov. Rick Perry

HOUSTON – (Aug. 29, 2014) – Using data from University of Texas/Texas Tribune polls of registered Texas voters, Rice University political scientist Mark Jones ranked 20 counties in the Lone Star State from most liberal to most conservative. Travis County, home to Austin, is by far the state’s most liberal county; Brazoria County is the most ideologically conservative.

Photo credit: thinkstockphotos.com/Rice University

Jones outlined his rankings in a new Baker Institute blog, “The Texas counties: From most liberal to most conservative.” He is chair of Rice University’s Political Science Department and a fellow at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Jones is available to discuss his rankings with the media.

Travis County’s status as a clear liberal outlier “should be a source of concern for Gov. Rick Perry and his legal team, since the members of Perry’s grand jury and the members of any future trial (petit) jury are drawn from a pool of Travis County residents,” Jones said before Perry’s indictment by a Travis County grand jury earlier this month. In the blog, Jones noted that “this concern undoubtedly remains, with a very real potential prospect of Perry’s fate being once again placed in the hands of Travis County residents — this time, members of a trial jury.”

While among these 20 counties there does not exist a true conservative analog to liberal Travis County, Brazoria County comes closest, Jones said. He found the Houston metropolitan region contains three of the four most conservative large counties in the state: Galveston County, Montgomery County and Brazoria County.

Jones is a leading expert on Texas politics and has been quoted nationally about the 2014 race for Texas governor and other down-ballot races. He has also authored guest columns on these topics in Texas Monthly and the Texas Tribune.

Rice University has a VideoLink ReadyCam TV interview studio. ReadyCam is capable of transmitting broadcast-quality standard-definition and high-definition video directly to all news media organizations around the world 24/7.

For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Mark Jones at 832-466-6535.

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Related materials:

Jones biography: http://bakerinstitute.org/experts/mark-p-jones.

Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top 15 university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.