State Representative · HD-7 · Republican
56 public receipts · reviewed Aug 13, 2026
Public record
Texas House of Representatives
Jay Dean is a former Longview mayor who chairs the Texas House Insurance Committee and serves on Energy Resources. His recent record includes documented East Texas appropriations and enacted measures, a verified change in his school-voucher vote, and attributed intraparty criticism.
Overall grade
Not rated
0% of grade weight cleared
2026 verified brief
Jay Dean is a former Longview mayor who chairs the Texas House Insurance Committee and serves on Energy Resources. His recent record includes documented East Texas appropriations and enacted measures, a verified change in his school-voucher vote, and attributed intraparty criticism.
The short answer
Dean won the 2026 Republican primary 54.9% to 45.1%. The result documents a competitive intraparty contest; it does not establish voter motives or district-wide approval. His record includes documented appropriations and enacted measures alongside a verified voucher-vote change and named local criticism.
Documented record
Documented measures and district-facing outcomes
A state appropriation for airport upgrades requiring a local match and project delivery.
The enacted 2025–27 budget included $10 million for East Texas Regional Airport upgrades. Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt credited Dean for helping obtain the appropriation; the grant still requires a local match and project delivery.
What this does not prove: The record supports 'helped secure,' not that Dean obtained the money alone.
A state appropriation for Marion County water and sewer infrastructure.
The same state budget appropriated $10 million for Marion County water and sewer infrastructure. The appropriation is documented; completed construction and long-term outcomes still need to be tracked.
What this does not prove: An appropriation is not the same as a completed project or a solved water system.
He coauthored enacted procedures for specified interbasin transfers.
After a heavily attended town hall, Dean coauthored HB 5659. The enacted measure requires a public hearing and approval from at least five member-city governing bodies before specified interbasin transfers.
What this does not prove: The law adds procedure; it did not permanently end every possible future transfer.
Verified changes, named criticism, and what the evidence does not prove
He opposed the proposal in 2023, then supported the final program in 2025.
In 2023, Dean joined the House majority that removed a voucher provision from HB 1. In 2025, he voted for SB 2's education savings account program and said amendments he helped add protected public schools.
Response or context: Dean attributed the change to safeguards added to the 2025 bill.
What this does not prove: The vote change is verified. A claim that money or threats caused it is not.
His support for Dustin Burrows prompted criticism from some local Republican officials.
Dean backed Burrows in the 2025 speaker contest while the Harrison County GOP warned of possible censure if he defied party priorities. Burrows ultimately won with a coalition that included Democrats.
What this does not prove: A threatened censure is not a completed censure.
Reviewed through July 15, 2026 · 56 unique public receipts are associated with the complete profile file. Official records document offices, committee assignments, bill histories, and published district figures. Reported items describe what a newsroom observed or was told. Interview statements are attributed to the speaker and are not converted into RepWatchr conclusions.
In his own words
This KETK interview records Dean's own answers. The embed verifies what was said in the interview; it does not independently establish every claim made in it.
Open the original source ↗Accountability snapshot
Grade, evidence, decisions, sentiment, favorable coverage, and scrutiny stay separate. One headline or a missing source cannot silently become Jay Dean’s score.
Performance grade
Not rated
Evidence gate not cleared
No zero or placeholder grade is assigned
The record has not cleared RepWatchr's minimum evidence gate for a defensible overall grade.
Read the grading methodConfidence and evidence
Completeness is not performance.
Applicable recorded decisions
4,156
4,507 total roll-call positions are loaded for Texas Legislature records from 2025-01-14 through 2026-06-21. Present, not-voting, and other rows remain visible but are not recast as substantive decisions.
Official record through Jun 21, 2026. Eligibility and excused-status review remain separate.
Verified public sentiment
Pending
No qualifying sample has been supplied. Missing community responses do not raise or lower the performance grade.
Identity, geography, duplicate-account, and sample-size checks must pass before publication.
Reviewed reports
Tone appears only after person-level editorial review. A flag identifies a documented matter to inspect; it is not automatically a finding of wrongdoing.
He opposed the proposal in 2023, then supported the final program in 2025.
The vote change is verified. A claim that money or threats caused it is not.
The Texas TribuneHis support for Dustin Burrows prompted criticism from some local Republican officials.
A threatened censure is not a completed censure.
Associated PressHis committee assignments, private employment, and reported contributors overlap in some policy areas.
The cited sources document roles and contributions; they do not establish improper conduct or a causal link between contributions and official action.
Texas House of RepresentativesA state appropriation for airport upgrades requiring a local match and project delivery.
The record supports 'helped secure,' not that Dean obtained the money alone.
Texas Legislature OnlineHe coauthored enacted procedures for specified interbasin transfers.
The law adds procedure; it did not permanently end every possible future transfer.
Texas Legislature OnlineRequirements affecting surface restoration and landowner access after state well-plugging work.
Outcome data on the number of properties affected is not yet available.
Texas Legislature OnlineThis chart counts recorded positions. It does not decide whether a yea or nay was good, bad, conservative, or liberal.
4,507
indexed votes · Texas Legislature records from 2025-01-14 through 2026-06-21
Results publish only after identity, geography, duplicate-account, anomaly-review, and minimum-sample checks. Community opinion never changes the performance grade.
Community scorecard paused
This beta will reopen after secure verification and reproducible aggregate checks are in place.
Positive and critical labels require an explicit person-level editorial classification. Party, office, headline mood, and social popularity are never used as shortcuts.
A state appropriation for airport upgrades requiring a local match and project delivery.
Inspect source ↗He coauthored enacted procedures for specified interbasin transfers.
Inspect source ↗Requirements affecting surface restoration and landowner access after state well-plugging work.
Inspect source ↗He opposed the proposal in 2023, then supported the final program in 2025.
Inspect source ↗His support for Dustin Burrows prompted criticism from some local Republican officials.
Inspect source ↗His committee assignments, private employment, and reported contributors overlap in some policy areas.
Inspect source ↗Some Republican organizers said he avoided questions and debate during the 2026 primary.
Inspect source ↗A complete-looking profile can still have evidence gaps. RepWatchr shows both the usable links and the work that remains.
Comments are the public conversation. They do not change the evidence grade unless a claim is reviewed against a public record.
Missing source
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Source-backed snippet
Missing source check: Jay Dean public record. If there is a better public record, add it so this page can be corrected or upgraded. https://www.repwatchr.com/officials/jay-dean
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