Vikki Goodwin wants to be Texas’ next lieutenant governor. For taxpayers who want to know what she would do with one of the most powerful offices in state government, they need only look at what she has done with the power she already holds. The record is remarkably consistent: Goodwin has earned an F on the Fiscal Responsibility Index in every legislative session she has served. Her Index grades are an F for 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025, and the rating for her overall career is an F. Her current 2025 score sits at just 26 out of 100.¹

TFR’s Fiscal Responsibility Index² is intended to show voters how well lawmakers steward the taxpayers’ money. Rather than relying on campaign rhetoric, the Index examines the actual votes cast by legislators on taxation, spending, government growth, free-market issues, and more.

Goodwin’s 2025 record shows why that score is so low. She voted against HJR 2,³ which would constitutionally ban any future estate, inheritance, and gift taxes, so-called “death taxes,” to protect Texas families, farmers, and small businesses. She voted against HJR 4,⁴ a constitutional ban on new taxes on securities transactions and the firms that process them, a protection to shield investors, retirement accounts, and public pensions. She also voted against HJR 6,⁵ which would ban any tax on capital gains, realized or unrealized, and give families and job creators long-term certainty that Texas will not tax investment income.

On spending, Goodwin voted for HB 1268,⁶ a new corporate welfare program for private entities. The bill stacks a new state grant program on top of federal innovation grants at a cost of nearly $2 million in the first two years. She also voted for SB 22,⁷ which directs $300 million from general revenue every two years into a Hollywood subsidy fund projected to cost taxpayers more than $1.5 billion through 2035.

Goodwin voted against HB 34,⁸ which requires public funds to divest from companies tied to hostile nations such as China and Iran and allows the governor to ensure taxpayer funds are not invested in hostile foreign nations. She also voted against SB 17,⁹ a critical bill to stop hostile foreign entities from buying and owning Texas real property and natural resources. 

She voted for HB 2858,¹⁰ authorizing a state-run guest worker program in partnership with Mexico. The failed bill would have expanded government’s role in the labor market, risked suppressing wages and jobs for Texans, and put new administrative costs on taxpayers. Goodwin also voted against SB 33,¹¹ which bars state and local governments from using taxpayer dollars to support abortion-related activities, including contracts that help pay for abortions or related travel and lodging. 

Goodwin has accumulated failing grades throughout her entire legislative career, including the latest session. She was first elected to the Texas House in 2018 and now seeks an office that would give her significant influence over the Senate’s agenda and the legislation that reaches the floor.

For taxpayers, that record raises an important question: What would change if Goodwin moved from the House to the Lieutenant Governor’s office? Her voting history offers little reason to expect a newfound commitment to restraining government spending, reducing taxpayers’ burdens, or limiting the growth of government.

Campaign promises can change. Voting records cannot. After four legislative sessions, Goodwin has never earned higher than a failing grade. Her campaign website says that she would be a ‘good win’ for Texans. 

For Texans concerned with protecting taxpayer money and promoting fiscal responsibility, that seems unlikely to be the case.

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1. https://index.texastaxpayers.com/legislators/vikki-goodwin/2025-index ↩︎
2. https://texastaxpayers.com/index/ ↩︎
3. https://index.texastaxpayers.com/votes/2025-house-vote-rv714 ↩︎
4. https://index.texastaxpayers.com/votes/2025-house-vote-rv51 ↩︎
5. https://index.texastaxpayers.com/votes/2025-house-vote-rv628 ↩︎
6. https://index.texastaxpayers.com/votes/2025-house-vote-rv223 ↩︎
7. https://index.texastaxpayers.com/votes/2025-house-vote-rv3545 ↩︎
8. https://index.texastaxpayers.com/votes/2025-senate-vote-rv963 ↩︎
9. https://index.texastaxpayers.com/votes/2025-house-vote-rv1881 ↩︎
10. https://index.texastaxpayers.com/votes/2025-house-vote-rv2198 ↩︎
11. https://index.texastaxpayers.com/votes/2025-house-vote-rv3195 ↩︎