Adams, John
1797–1801

Adams's twin commitments — to constitutional restraint and to judicial independence as a check on demagogues — read in 2026 as faithful enforcement of statutory and constitutional limits even against one's own party. Abbott's August 2025 quo warranto petition asking the Texas Supreme Court (which his appointees dominate) to declare 51 Democratic House seats vacated tested Adams's framework: the court declined to do it, and Abbott did not push further, which earns him a thin sliver of restraint credit. But the Ten Commandments mandate (SB 10), still in litigation after the Fifth Circuit's April 2026 ruling, runs against Adams's church-state restraint. Hinojosa's Ten Commandments amendment placing litigation costs on the AG, her Paxton impeachment vote, and her insistence on procedural quorum tactics all track Adams's constitutional-process emphasis more directly. Hinojosa is the closer fit.