Mark James Keough (born September 30, 1953) is a former American

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

man and a former

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

pastor,

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

host, educator, and politician from The Woodlands,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, who has been serving as the Montgomery County County Judge since January 2019. He previously served as a Republican member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

for District 15 in

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

an Montgomery County north of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. On May 31, 2017, Keough announced that he would not be running for re-election in 2018 to the Texas House but would instead contest the office of County Judge. On November 6, 2018, Keough defeated Democrat Jay Stittleburg by a three-to-one margin.Cumulative Report — Unofficial — Joint Election
''

Montgomery County, Texas Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 620,443, and was estimated to be 749,613 in 2024. Its county seat is Conroe. Montgomery County is part of the Houston–The Woodlands–Sug ...

'', November 6, 2018.

Background

Keough received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from Cedarville University, a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

institution in Cedarville,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He obtained

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

s from Dallas Theological Seminary and Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. He also attended the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio. For more than two decades, Keough was engaged in automobile sales, including fourteen years as the general sales manager of Northside

Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota, Toyota Motor Corporation. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked amon ...

in north Harris County. He left the automobile business to establish Mark Keough Ministries, which includes the Pathfinders Fellowship of The Woodlands. He used to be a pastor of The Woodlands Bible Church and he was the

headmaster A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role While s ...

of a private Christian school.

Political life

Texas House district 15

On March 4, 2014, Keough won the Republican

nomination Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In ...

to replace one-term Representative Steve Toth. Keough polled 57% of the vote against his intra-party opponent, Bruce Tough, who was the chairman of The Woodlands township board of directors, who received 43%. Keough was then unopposed in the heavily Republican district in the November 4, 2014,

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. Keough is a vocal opponent of

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...

, a concept that he does not find in the

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

to the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

. In 2015, Keough introduced legislation to establish statewide victim-offender

mediation Mediation is a structured, voluntary process for resolving disputes, facilitated by a neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where an independent third party, the mediator, assists disputing parties ...

for punishments with the goal of reducing recidivism in prisons. A member of the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

, Keough opposed gun-free zones in schools and churches. He would allow licensed gun owners to carry weapons in such zones. Keough worked to repeal of margins taxes on small businesses. He worked to upgrade the penalties for the possession of

child pornography Child pornography (also abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is Eroticism, erotic ma ...

from a third-degree to a second-degree

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

. He proposed the abolition of sanctuary cities, those in which municipalities forbid the use of any local funds to enforce national

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

laws. Keough was unopposed in both the 2016 Republican primary and the 2016 general election, winning another two year term to the Texas legislature.

Montgomery County Judge

Keough announced on May 31, 2017, he would not seek re-election to the Texas House but instead run against incumbent Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal. Doyal and others in Montgomery County were indicted on June 24, 2016, on the charge of conspiring to circumvent the Texas Open Meetings Act. Doyal has also been accused of misusing county funds to support his re-election and recording campaign videos in county offices in violation of state law. Doyal also had multiple accusations of

nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...

, conflicts of interest, and mismanagement pending against him. On March 6, 2018, Keough defeated Doyal in the Republican primary, 57% to 42%. Keough defeated Democrat Jay Stittleburg in the general election held on November 6, 2018, 75% to 25%. Keough was sworn in as County Judge on January 2, 2019 and in the first court meeting after he took office he reduced his own salary by 12% as he promised to do during his election campaign in his "Contract with Montgomery County." On May, 26, 2019 Keough delivered on his promise contained in his contract with Montgomery County to remove the toll charges from the State Hwy 242 connector ramp with Interstate 45. Keough had previously attempted to reverse the tolls in an April, 2019 Commissioner's Court meeting but was defeated in a 3-2 vote. This was only the 2nd time in recent history of Texas that toll charges had been removed from a public roadway.

Personal life

Keough and his wife, the former Kimberly "Kim" Sparks, have four children. Keough was charged with a DWI on September 10, 2020. He was driving with

zolpidem Zolpidem, sold under the brand name Ambien among others, is a medication primarily used for the short-term treatment of sleeping problems. Guidelines recommend that it be used only after cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia and after beh ...

(also known as Ambien) and

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from Alpha and beta carbon, alpha-methylphenethylamine, methylphenethylamine) is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, an ...

(also known as

Adderall Adderall and Mydayis are trade names for a combination drug containing four salts of amphetamine. The mixture is composed of equal parts racemic amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, which produces a (3:1) ratio between dextroamphetamine and l ...

) in his blood. Ambien, a sleep aid and

adderall Adderall and Mydayis are trade names for a combination drug containing four salts of amphetamine. The mixture is composed of equal parts racemic amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, which produces a (3:1) ratio between dextroamphetamine and l ...

, a medication to treat ADHD, are both commonly prescribed medications used to treat symptoms in adults and children. Keough hit a private individual's car and then hit a police vehicle. Passengers in both vehicles that he hit were injured. The passenger injured stated that he had to receive special treatment for spinal injuries. The deputy constable's spine was injured permanently and he had to resign from service. Both cars Keough hit were totaled. Keough's driver's license was ordered suspended for 90 days, he was required to pay a $2,000 fine, and court fees.Montgomery Co. Judge Mark Keough pleads guilty to DWI charge
'' KTRK-TV Channel 13'',

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, February 24, 2021.

Note

Election results

;2022 Republican primary election for Montgomery County, Texas County Judge ;2018 general election for Montgomery County, Texas County Judge ;2018 Republican primary election for Montgomery County, Texas County Judge ;2014 general election for Texas 15th district state representative

References

External links

Campaign website

State legislative page

Mark Keough at the Texas Tribune
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keough, Mark 1953 births Living people 20th-century evangelicals 21st-century evangelicals American Christian clergy American evangelicals American radio personalities Businesspeople from Texas Cedarville University alumni County judges in Texas Dallas Theological Seminary alumni Evangelical pastors Grace Theological Seminary alumni People from The Woodlands, Texas Republican Party members of the Texas House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Texas Legislature