2012 Texas House of Representatives election

The 2012 Texas House of Representatives elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Texas voters elected state senators in all 150 State House of Representatives districts. The winners of this election served in the 83rd Texas Legislature, with seats apportioned according to the 2010 United States census. State representatives serve for two-year terms.

2012 Texas House of Representatives election

← 2010 November 6, 2012 2014 →

All 150 seats in the Texas House of Representatives
76 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Joe Straus Craig Eiland
Party Republican Democratic
Leader since January 13, 2009 January 9, 2007
Leader's seat 121st 23rd
Last election 99 51
Seats before 102 48
Seats won 95 55
Seat change Decrease7 Increase7
Popular vote 4,237,987 2,272,530
Percentage 62.37% 33.45%
Swing Decrease2.19% Increase1.93%

     Republican hold      Democratic hold
     Democratic gain
Republican:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      ≥90%
Democratic:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      ≥90%

At the beginning of the Eighty-second Texas Legislature following the 2010 Texas State House of Representatives elections, the Democrats held 49 seats to the Republicans' 101.

As of 2022, this is the last time Democrats won a state house seat in Chambers or Galveston county. This is also the first time a Republican has ever won a state house seat in Jefferson County (although the incumbent was a former Democrat who switched parties after winning re-election in 2010).[1][2]

Redistricting

edit

Following the 2010 United States census, the Texas Legislature underwent its decennial redistricting. Due to Texas's shifting population from rural and urban areas to suburban areas, many rural representatives became vulnerable to having their districts moved across the state. Although Republicans had ousted almost every Democrat representing rural Texas in the 2010 elections, those gains were temporary, as many of the regions they won had lost population over the last decade. As such, it was seen as unlikely that Republicans would be able to draw maps that would allow them to maintain their supermajority in the chamber after the 2012 elections, despite their full control over the redistricting process.[3]

Texas House of Representatives districts follow the "county line rule," effectively granting individual counties delegations of state house seats based on their population.[4] The census found that Texas had a population of 25,145,561 in 2010,[5] giving each district an "ideal population" of 167,637 people. In 2000, the "ideal population for a district" was 139,006 people. Counties with at least this number of people must fully contain at least one state house district. Counties with sufficient population for two or more districts must be divided into that number of districts. Should a county have sufficient population for one or more district plus a fraction of another, one district from another county may extend into it to represent the remaining population. District delegations for counties with at least one district changed as follows following the 2010 Census:[6]

County 2000 pop.[7] Seats Partial 2010 pop.[7] Seats Partial +/– W +/– P
Bell County 238,000 1 Yes 310,235 1 Yes    
Bexar County 1,393,035 10 No 1,714,773 10 No    
Brazoria County 241,805 1 Yes 313,166 1 Yes    
Brazos County 152,436 1 Yes 194,851 1 Yes    
Cameron County 334,884 2 Yes 406,220 2 Yes    
Collin County 491,272 3 Yes 782,341 4 Yes  1  
Dallas County 2,216,808 16 No 2,368,139 14 No  2  
Denton County 433,065 3 No 662,614 4 No  1  
El Paso County 679,568 5 No 800,647 5 No    
Fort Bend County 354,286 2 Yes 585,375 3 Yes  1  
Galveston County 250,178 1 Yes 291,309 1 Yes    
Harris County 3,401,139 25 No 4,092,459 24 No  1  
Hidalgo County 569,099 4 No 774,769 4 Yes    
Jefferson County 251,968 1 Yes 252,273 1 Yes    
Lubbock County 242,644 1 Yes 278,831 1 Yes    
McLennan County 213,525 1 Yes 234,906 1 Yes    
Montgomery County 293,779 2 Yes 455,746 2 Yes    
Nueces County 313,512 2 Yes 340,223 2 No    
Smith County 174,861 1 Yes 209,714 1 Yes    
Tarrant County 1,449,290 10 No 1,809,034 11 No  1  
Travis County 811,776 6 No 1,024,266 6 No    
Webb County 193,124 1 Yes 250,304 1 Yes    
Williamson County 250,466 1 Yes 422,679 2 Yes  1  

As a result of these changes, the following districts drastically moved:

  1. District 33 moved from Nueces County to Collin County.
  2. District 35 moved from South Texas to Hidalgo County.
  3. District 85 moved from West Texas to Fort Bend County.
  4. District 101 moved from Dallas County to Tarrant County.
  5. District 106 moved from Dallas County to Denton County.
  6. District 136 moved from Harris County to Williamson County.

Predictions

edit

Despite the rising Latino vote's potential to help the Democratic party and the falling approval ratings of Republican governor Rick Perry, analysts did not expect these to be enough to make the chamber remotely competitive.

Source Ranking As of
Governing[8] Safe R Oct. 24, 2012

Results

edit

Statewide

edit
Summary of the November 6, 2012 Texas House of Representatives election results
 
Party Candi-
dates
Votes % Seats +/–
Republican Party 117 4,237,987 62.37% 95  7
Democratic Party 86 2,272,530 33.45% 55  7
Libertarian Party 38 230,008 3.9% 0
Green Party 13 53,189 0.78% 0
Write-in 1 715 0.01% 0
Total 6,794,519 100.00% 150
Popular vote
Republican
62.37%
Democratic
33.45%
Libertarian
3.39%
Green
0.78%
Write-in
0.01%
House seats won
Republican
63.33%
Democratic
36.67%

Close races

edit

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

  1. District 107, 1.68%
  2. District 105, 1.81%
  3. District 43, 3.10%
  4. District 144, 6.53% (gain)
  5. District 117, 7.64% (gain)
  6. District 78, 7.66% (gain)
  7. District 23, 7.86%
  8. District 114, 8.30%
  9. District 134, 9.28%

Notable races

edit

District 43: Representative J.M. Lozano (D-Kingsville) was re-elected as a Democrat in 2010 with 77.90% of the vote. On March 5, 2012, he announced that he would switch parties and seek re-election as a Republican.[9] He would later go on to narrowly win re-election in 2012 with 51.55% of the vote.

Texas's 43rd state house district election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican J.M. Lozano 24,074 51.55%
Democratic Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles 22.629 48.45%
Total votes 46,703 100.00%
Republican hold

Results by district

edit
District Democratic Republican Others Total Result
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %
District 1 - - 42,080 82.64% 8,839 17.36% 50,919 100.00% Republican hold
District 2 - - 46,025 100.00% - - 46,025 100.00% Republican hold
District 3 - - 46,383 100.00% - - 46,383 100.00% Republican hold
District 4 - - 44,181 100.00% - - 44,181 100.00% Republican hold
District 5 - - 46,204 100.00% - - 46,204 100.00% Republican hold
District 6 - - 42,499 88.76% 5,380 11.24% 47,879 100.00% Republican hold
District 7 - - 41,727 100.00% - - 41,727 100.00% Republican hold
District 8 13,339 27.04% 35,996 72.96% - - 49,335 100.00% Republican hold
District 9 - - 49,027 98.56% 715 1.44% 49,742 100.00% Republican hold
District 10 - - 46,051 100.00% - - 46,051 100.00% Republican hold
District 11 - - 40,962 100.00% - - 40,962 100.00% Republican hold
District 12 21,793 43.11% 28,762 56.89% - - 50,555 100.00% Republican hold
District 13 - - 53,503 100.00% - - 53,503 100.00% Republican hold
District 14 14,614 36.22% 24,269 60.15% 1,463 3.63% 40,346 100.00% Republican hold
District 15 - - 57,520 86.64% 8,872 13.36% 66,392 100.00% Republican hold
District 16 - - 46,983 100.00% - - 46,983 100.00% Republican hold
District 17 18,837 37.76% 31,055 62.24% - - 49,982 100.00% Republican hold
District 18 - - 38,703 100.00% - - 38,703 100.00% Republican hold
District 19 - - 51,674 100.00% - - 51,674 100.00% Republican hold
District 20 - - 51,554 100.00% - - 51,554 100.00% Republican hold
District 21 - - 51,104 100.00% - - 51,104 100.00% Republican hold
District 22 40,467 100.00% - - - - 40,467 100.00% Democratic hold
District 23 30,423 53.93% 25,987 46.07% - - 56,410 100.00% Democratic hold
District 24 17,565 26.72% 48,177 73.28% - - 65,742 100.00% Republican hold
District 25 - - 41,421 100.00% - - 41,421 100.00% Republican hold
District 26 22,662 37.03% 38,541 62.97% - - 61,203 100.00% Republican hold
District 27 42,304 68.96% 18,119 29.54% 920 1.50% 61,343 100.00% Democratic hold
District 28 - - 44,932 100.00% - - 44,932 100.00% Republican hold
District 29 21,388 34.48% 40,642 65.52% - - 62,030 100.00% Republican hold
District 30 17,750 31.67% 38,304 68.33% - - 56,054 100.00% Republican hold
District 31 27,856 66.29% 14,163 33.71% - - 42,019 100.00% Democratic hold
District 32 - - 35,094 100.00% - - 35,094 100.00% Republican hold
District 33 - - 50,631 85.34% 8,701 14.66% 59,332 100.00% Republican hold
District 34 25,482 57.17% 19,088 42.83% - - 44,570 100.00% Democratic gain
District 35 22,329 100.00% - - - - 22,329 100.00% Democratic gain
District 36 23,385 100.00% - - - - 23,385 100.00% Democratic hold
District 37 22,076 100.00% - - - - 22,076 100.00% Democratic hold
District 38 22,408 70.76% 7,984 25.21% 1,274 4.02% 31,666 100.00% Democratic hold
District 39 23,909 77.64% 6,886 22.36% - - 30,795 100.00% Democratic hold
District 40 20,513 100.00% - - - - 20,513 100.00% Democratic gain
District 41 20,963 61.73% 12,998 38.27% - - 33,961 100.00% Democratic hold
District 42 30,018 100.00% - - - - 30,018 100.00% Democratic hold
District 43 22,629 48.45% 24,074 51.55% - - 46,703 100.00% Republican hold
District 44 - - 49,930 100.00% - - 49,930 100.00% Republican hold
District 45 26,557 42.39% 33,604 53.63% 2,495 3.98% 62,656 100.00% Republican hold
District 46 35,560 86.45% - - 5,572 13.55% 41,132 100.00% Democratic hold
District 47 31,294 36.93% 49,220 58.09% 4,216 4.98% 84,730 100.00% Republican hold
District 48 46,512 59.20% 27,922 35.54% 4,134 5.26% 78,568 100.00% Democratic hold
District 49 50,973 82.73% - - 10,640 17.27% 61,613 100.00% Democratic hold
District 50 41,035 100.00% - - - - 41,035 100.00% Democratic hold
District 51 32,878 88.17% - - 4,411 11.83% 37,289 100.00% Democratic hold
District 52 - - 31,991 70.28% 13,526 29.72% 45,517 100.00% Republican hold
District 53 - 53,539 100.00% - - 53,539 100.00% Republican hold
District 54 19,879 42.49% 26,910 57.51% - - 46,789 100.00% Republican hold
District 55 - - 32,153 100.00% - - 32,153 100.00% Republican hold
District 56 - - 38,528 79.47% 9,954 20.53% 48,482 100.00% Republican hold
District 57 - - 43,042 100.00% - - 43,042 100.00% Republican hold
District 58 - - 45,861 100.00% - - 45,861 100.00% Republican hold
District 59 10,212 21.77% 36,706 78.23% - - 46,918 100.00% Republican hold
District 60 - - 55,404 100.00% - - 55,404 100.00% Republican hold
District 61 - - 55,737 88.91% 6,954 11.09% 62,691 100.00% Republican hold
District 62 12,928 24.32% 40,219 75.68% - 53,147 100.00% Republican hold
District 63 - - 51,500 85.31% 8,865 14.69% 60,365 100.00% Republican hold
District 64 19,275 34.39% 34,245 61.10% 2,526 4.51% 56,046 100.00% Republican hold
District 65 20,481 38.58% 31,386 59.12% 1,224 2.31% 53,091 100.00% Republican hold
District 66 - - 42,012 100.00% - 42,012 100.00% Republican hold
District 67 - - 42,594 100.00% - - 42,594 100.00% Republican hold
District 68 - - 39,191 100.00% - - 39,191 100.00% Republican hold
District 69 - - 38,980 87.06% 5,795 12.94% 44,775 100.00% Republican hold
District 70 - - 46,997 100.00% - - 46,997 100.00% Republican hold
District 71 - - 44,271 100.00% - - 44,271 100.00% Republican hold
District 72 - - 43,886 100.00% - - 43,886 100.00% Republican hold
District 73 - - 64,029 88.20% 8,565 11.80% 72,594 100.00% Republican hold
District 74 22,666 60.38% 14,870 39.62% - 37,536 100.00% Democratic hold
District 75 19,789 100.00% - - - - 19,789 100.00% Democratic hold
District 76 27,050 100.00% - - - - 27,050 100.00% Democratic hold
District 77 24,180 100.00% - - - - 24,180 100.00% Democratic hold
District 78 22,650 53.83% 19,430 46.17% - - 42,080 100.00% Democratic gain
District 79 27,832 100.00% - - - - 27,832 100.00% Democratic hold
District 80 29,963 100.00% - - - - 29,963 100.00% Democratic hold
District 81 - - 34,154 100.00% - - 34,154 100.00% Republican hold
District 82 - - 42,572 100.00% - - 42,572 100.00% Republican hold
District 83 - - 49,332 100.00% - - 49,332 100.00% Republican hold
District 84 - - 33,179 82.58% 6,999 17.42% 40,178 100.00% Republican hold
District 85 20,435 41.65% 28,626 58.35% - - 49,061 100.00% Republican hold
District 86 - - 53,287 100.00% - - 53,287 100.00% Republican hold
District 87 9,567 22.71% 32,564 77.29% - - 42,131 100.00% Republican hold
District 88 - - 39,941 100.00% - - 39,941 100.00% Republican hold
District 89 - - 46,621 100.00% - - 46,621 100.00% Republican hold
District 90 17,597 100.00% - - - - 17,597 100.00% Democratic hold
District 91 - - 40,058 100.00% - - 40,058 100.00% Republican hold
District 92 - - 37,084 80.67% 8,884 19.33% 45,968 100.00% Republican hold
District 93 18,797 37.52% 29,527 58.95% 1,768 3.53% 50,092 100.00% Republican hold
District 94 - - 42,208 82.21% 9,133 17.79% 51,341 100.00% Republican hold
District 95 37,594 77.36% 11,004 22.64% - - 48,598 100.00% Democratic hold
District 96 - - 36,940 80.53% 8,931 19.47% 45,871 100.00% Republican hold
District 97 24,159 37.65% 38,139 59.43% 1,873 2.92% 64,171 100.00% Republican hold
District 98 - - 57,539 85.58% 9,694 14.42% 67,233 100.00% Republican hold
District 99 16,763 30.21% 36,715 66.17% 2,009 3.62% 55,487 100.00% Republican hold
District 100 34,965 100.00% - - - - 34,965 100.00% Democratic hold
District 101 28,943 87.90% - - 3,984 12.10% 32,927 100.00% Democratic gain
District 102 22,736 42.87% 30,303 57.13% - - 53,039 100.00% Republican hold
District 103 22,287 100.00% - - - - 22,287 100.00% Democratic hold
District 104 22,544 100.00% - - - - 22,544 100.00% Democratic hold
District 105 20,923 48.26% 21,705 50.07% 725 1.67% 43,353 100.00% Republican hold
District 106 - - 41,785 83.17% 8,455 16.83% 50,240 100.00% Republican hold
District 107 25,018 49.16% 25,868 50.84% - - 50,886 100.00% Republican hold
District 108 - - 43,675 79.69% 11,133 20.31% 54,808 100.00% Republican hold
District 109 53,982 93.59% - - 3,700 6.41% 57,682 100.00% Democratic hold
District 110 33,972 100.00% - - - - 33,972 100.00% Democratic hold
District 111 47,498 100.00% - - - - 47,498 100.00% Democratic hold
District 112 - - 32,515 100.00% - - 32,515 100.00% Republican hold
District 113 - - 28,727 80.94% 6,763 19.06% 35,490 100.00% Republican hold
District 114 28,762 45.85% 33,970 54.15% - - 62,732 100.00% Republican hold
District 115 21,784 41.43% 29,082 55.31% 1,711 3.25% 52,577 100.00% Republican hold
District 116 31,006 100.00% - - - - 31,006 100.00% Democratic hold
District 117 22,397 53.82% 19,214 46.18% - - 41,611 100.00% Democratic gain
District 118 23,992 59.85% 16,095 40.15% - - 40,087 100.00% Democratic hold
District 119 25,130 61.89% 15,473 38.11% - - 40,603 100.00% Democratic hold
District 120 33,756 87.89% - - 4,651 12.11% 38,407 100.00% Democratic hold
District 121 - - 50,530 80.24% 12,444 19.76% 62,974 100.00% Republican hold
District 122 - - 66,679 100.00% - - 66,679 100.00% Republican hold
District 123 32,958 87.52% - - 4,700 12.48% 37,658 100.00% Democratic hold
District 124 31,915 84.93% - - 5,661 15.07% 37,576 100.00% Democratic hold
District 125 28,857 61.19% 17,501 37.11% 799 1.69% 47,157 100.00% Democratic hold
District 126 - - 40,311 100.00% - - 40,311 100.00% Republican hold
District 127 19,435 29.79% 45,813 70.21% - - 65,248 100.00% Republican hold
District 128 - - 42,682 100.00% - - 42,682 100.00% Republican hold
District 129 - - 46,438 100.00% - - 46,438 100.00% Republican hold
District 130 - - 54,596 90.15% 5,967 9.85% 60,563 100.00% Republican hold
District 131 36,765 94.50% - - 2,139 5.50% 38,904 100.00% Democratic hold
District 132 - - 33,592 80.69% 8,037 19.31% 41,629 100.00% Republican hold
District 133 - - 52,050 84.97% 9,210 15.03% 61,260 100.00% Republican hold
District 134 36,480 45.36% 43,944 54.64% - - 80,424 100.00% Republican hold
District 135 21,030 39.64% 32,023 60.36% - - 53,053 100.00% Republican hold
District 136 24,851 40.72% 32,383 53.06% 3,802 6.23% 61,036 100.00% Republican hold
District 137 15,832 65.76% 8,245 34.24% - - 24,077 100.00% Democratic hold
District 138 - - 29,645 80.45% 7,202 19.55% 36,847 100.00% Republican hold
District 139 39,022 77.08% 11,604 22.92% - - 50,626 100.00% Democratic hold
District 140 18,320 100.00% - - - - 18,320 100.00% Democratic hold
District 141 33,180 87.85% 4,587 12.15% - - 37,767 100.00% Democratic hold
District 142 34,010 100.00% - - - - 34,010 100.00% Democratic hold
District 143 21,869 72.94% 8,112 27.06% - - 29,981 100.00% Democratic hold
District 144 12,446 52.07% 10,885 45.54% 573 2.40% 23,904 100.00% Democratic gain
District 145 20,892 100.00% - - - - 20,892 100.00% Democratic hold
District 146 40,724 100.00% - - - - 40,724 100.00% Democratic hold
District 147 43,589 92.21% - - 3,683 7.79% 47,272 100.00% Democratic hold
District 148 25,964 85.96% - - 4,241 14.04% 30,205 100.00% Democratic hold
District 149 26,017 61.12% 16,551 38.88% - - 42,568 100.00% Democratic hold
District 150 19,343 30.32% 44,454 69.68% - - 63,797 100.00% Republican hold
Total 2,272,530 33.45% 4,237,987 62.37% 283,912 4.18% 6,794,253 100.00% Source:[10]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Legislative Reference Library | Legislators and Leaders | Texas Legislators: Past & Present". lrl.texas.gov. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  2. ^ Ramsey, Ross (December 12, 2010). "TribBlog: Ritter Confirms He's Switching Parties". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  3. ^ Ramsey, Ross (March 3, 2011). "Numbers Tell Tale of Who's Vulnerable in Redistricting". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  4. ^ "Legal Requirements". redistricting.capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  5. ^ "Resident Population Data - 2010 Census". December 25, 2010. Archived from the original on December 25, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  6. ^ "History". redistricting.capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "County Intercensal Tables: 2000-2010". Census.gov. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  8. ^ Daigneau, Elizabeth; Jacobson, Louis (October 23, 2012). "The Latest Chamber-by-Chamber Analysis of the 2012 State Legislative Elections". Governing. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  9. ^ Aguilar, Julián (March 5, 2012). "Rep. J.M. Lozano Says He Plans to Switch to GOP". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  10. ^ "Race Summary Report – 2012 General Election". elections.sos.state.tx.us. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2022.