CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been named as the nation's best governor by a group of conservative economists because of his resolve to keep the state's spending low.
The study was commissioned byLaffer Associates and the American Legislative Exchange Council. Laffer is a consulting firm operated by several conservative economists and the ALEC is a group of conservative state legislators.
All 50 governors were ranked on their tax policy compared to other states, education policies, union regulations, welfare spending, handling of COVID-19 funds and their state's overall state spending levels.
Abbott was followed in the poll by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who was ranked second, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who was third. All are Republicans. The highest-ranked Democratic governor in the poll and the only one to make the top 10 was Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.
Abbott earned the ranking of America’s best governor, the report says, because of his commitment to fiscal conservatism and free market policies.
The report says that Texas has seen the lowest growth in spending of any state, enabling Texas to be more prepared for the financial ramifications of the pandemic than 40 other states.
