Most of the incoming Texas Legislature is all but determined after last night’s primary runoffs settled the last remaining open nominations. Just four Senate candidates (out of 16) and 54 House candidates (out of 150) face an opponent from the other major political party. Counting members not on the ballot this year, 20 of the 31 Senators are unopposed, and a majority of the incoming House – 77 members – is unopposed.
Thus, a sea change is not expected (and not really possible) in either chamber, statewide leadership, the congressional delegation or the State Board of Education. Democrats have the most opportunities for incremental gains, and Republicans are poised to restore their unanimous lock on statewide offices. Texas’ lone competitive congressional seat is likely to be one of the most expensive races in the nation.
We break down the action, and inaction, by office below.
* denotes new member
** may not be general election nominee
Bold indicates competitive or potentially competitive race
Statewide Offices
Current Composition
26 Republicans, 1 Democrat
Democratic Party Opponent (6)
Christian*, Green, Guzman, Keasler, Lehrmann, Walker*
Minor Party/Independent Only (0)
None
Unopposed (0)
None
Not on the Ballot (20)
2018 – Abbott, Alcala, Brown, Bush, Craddick, Devine, Hegar, Hervey, Keller, Miller, Patrick, Paxton, Willett
2020 – Boyd, Hecht, Johnson, Newell, Richardson, Sitton, Yeary
Republican Party Opponent (1)
Meyers
Minor Party/Independent Only (0)
None
Unopposed (0)
None
Not on the Ballot (0)
None
Senate
Current Composition
20 Republicans, 11 Democrats
Democratic Party Opponent (2)
Birdwell, Buckingham*
Minor Party/Independent Only (3)
Creighton, Kolkhorst, Nelson
Unopposed (3)
Hughes*, Perry, L. Taylor
Not on the Ballot (12)
2018 – Bettencourt, Burton, Campbell, Estes, Hall, Hancock, Huffines, Huffman, Nichols, Schwertner, Seliger, V. Taylor
Republican Party Opponent (2)
Hinojosa, Uresti
Minor Party/Independent Only (4)
Garcia, Lucio, Menendez, Zaffirini
Unopposed (2)
Ellis**, Rodriguez
Not on the Ballot (3)
2018 – Watson, West, Whitmire
House of Representatives
Current Composition
99 Republicans, 50 Democrats, 1 Vacancy (D)
Democratic Party Opponent (40)
R. Anderson, Burkett, Button, Capriglione, Clardy, Cosper*, Dale, S. Davis, Elkins, Faircloth, Galindo, Goldman, Holland*, Koop, Krause, Kuempel, Lambert*, Laubenberg, Leach, Lozano, Lujan*, Meyer, R. Miller, Murr, Pena, Rinaldi, Roberts*, Sanford, Schubert, Shaheen, Sheets, Simmons, Stephenson, Stickland, Stucky*, Swanson*, E. Thompson, Villalba, Workman, Zedler
Minor Party/Independent Only (12)
C. Anderson, Ashby, Bailes*, Cain*, Fallon, Geren, L. Gonzales, Huberty, Schofield, Straus, Tinderholt, Wray
Unopposed (47)
Bell, Biedermann*, Bohac, D. Bonnen, G. Bonnen, Burns, Burrows, Cook, Craddick, Cyrier, Darby, Dean*, Flynn, Frank, Frullo, Gooden, Hefner*, Hunter, Isaac, Kacal, Keough, K. King, P. King, Klick, Landgraf, Lang*, Larson, Metcalf, Morrison, Murphy, Oliverson*, Paddie, Parker, Paul, Phelan, Phillips, Price, Raney, Schaefer, Sheffield, Shine*, Smithee, Springer, VanDeaver, J. White, Wilson*, Zerwas
Republican Party Opponent (14)
Canales, Coleman, Collier, Y. Davis, Dukes, Giddings, Guerra, Israel, Moody, Reynolds, C. Turner, Vo, Wu
Minor Party/Independent Only (7)
Gervin-Hawkins*, Hinojosa*, Howard, E. Johnson, T. King, Raymond, E. Rodriguez
Unopposed (30)
Allen, Alonzo, Alvarado, Anchia, Arevalo*, Bernal, Blanco, Deshotel, Dutton, Farrar, M. Gonzalez, Guillen, Gutierrez, Hernandez, Herrero, J. Johnson*, Longoria, Lucio III, Martinez, Miles, Minjarez, Munoz, Nevarez, Oliveira, Ortega*, J. Rodriguez, Romero, Rose, S. Thompson, Walle
State Board of Education
Current Composition
10 Republicans, 5 Democrats
Democratic Party Opponent (4)
Bahorich, Ellis*, Maynard, Mercer
Minor Party/Independent Only (1)
Cargill
Unopposed (2)
Malone, Rowley
Not on the Ballot (3)
2018 – Bradley, Hardy, Miller
Republican Party Opponent (0)
None
Minor Party/Independent Only (1)
G. Perez
Unopposed (0)
None
Not on the Ballot (4)
2018 – Allen, Beltran, Cortez, M. Perez
Federal
Current Composition
House: 25 Republicans, 11 Democrats
Senate: 2 Republicans, 0 Democrats
Democratic Party Opponent (17)
Barton, Burgess, Carter, Culberson, Farenthold, Flores, Gohmert, Granger, Hurd, Johnson, Marchant, McCaul, Olson, Poe, Smith, Weber, Williams
Minor Party/Independent Only (7)
Arrington*, Babin, Conaway, Hensarling, Ratcliffe, Sessions, Thornberry
Unopposed (1)
Brady
Not on the Ballot (2)
2018 – Cruz
2020 – Cornyn
Republican Party Opponent (9)
Cuellar, Doggett, Gonzalez*, A. Green, G. Green, Johnson, Lee, Veasey, Vela
Minor Party/Independent Only (2)
Castro, O’Rourke
Unopposed (0)
None
Not on the Ballot (0)
None
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