There’s a lot of talk about Texas’ Big Three — Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and new Speaker of the House Dennis Bonnen. Considered the three most powerful politicians in Austin, and all conservative Republicans, they made headlines when they declared in January that they would be working as a team to reform property taxes and the school finance system.

Sid Miller, who is seeking a second term as Texas Agriculture Commissioner, fought off two challengers in the March Republican primary. Miller won with approximately 56% of the vote, fending off Jim Hogan, who ran against Miller in 2014 as a Democrat, as well as conservative lobbyist Trey Blocker. Miller is being challenged in November by Kim Olson, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel.

To go beyond the typical Republic vs. Democrat narrative and understand the real story, we took a look at key votes that forced legislators to reveal their true stripes. Several political organizations publish legislative score cards which rank legislators on votes important to their cause. Texas Right to Life, for example, scores legislators on votes related to life issues. There are also non-partisan scorecards, such as the liberal-conservative index compiled by Dr. Mark Jones of Rice University. While these are instructive, often a legislator’s final vote doesn’t reveal his or her true intentions.