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Texas' 34th Congressional District elections, 2014
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← 2012
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November 4, 2014 |
March 4, 2014 |
Filemon Vela  |
Filemon Vela |
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Cook Political Report: Solid D[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe D[2] |
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The 34th Congressional District of Texas held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014.
Incumbent Filemon Vela (D) won re-election in 2014. He was unchallenged in the Democratic primary and defeated Larry Smith (R) in the general election.
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
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Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Texas utilizes an open primary system. Voters do not have to register with a party in advance in order to participate in that party's primary. The voter must sign a pledge stating the following (the language below is taken directly from state statutes)[3]
| “ | The following pledge shall be placed on the primary election ballot above the listing of candidates' names: 'I am a (insert appropriate political party) and understand that I am ineligible to vote or participate in another political party's primary election or convention during this voting year.'[4] | ” |
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by February 2, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 5, 2014 (30 days prior to election).[5]
- See also: Texas elections, 2014
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Filemon Vela (D), who was first elected in 2012.
Texas' 34th Congressional District is located in the southern portion of the state and includes Bee, Cameron, DeWitt, Goliad, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, and Willacy counties and portions of Gonzales, Hidalgo, and San Patricio counties.[6]
Candidates
General election candidates
March 4, 2014, primary results
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Election results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Filemon Vela Incumbent |
59.5% | 47,503 | |
| Republican | Larry Smith | 38.6% | 30,811 | |
| Libertarian | Ryan Rowley | 2% | 1,563 | |
| Total Votes | 79,877 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State | ||||
Key votes
Below are important votes the incumbent cast during the 113th Congress.
Government shutdown
- See also: United States budget debate, 2013
On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201.[7] At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference.[8] Marc Veasey voted against the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[9]
The shutdown ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[10] The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. Marc Veasey voted for HR 2775.[11]
Campaign contributions
Filemon Vela
| Filemon Vela (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[12] | April 15, 2013 | $104,586.45 | $38,539.16 | $(75,312.67) | $67,812.94 | ||||
| July Quarterly[13] | July 15, 2013 | $67,812.94 | $103,275.00 | $(37,576.29) | $133,511.65 | ||||
| October Quarterly[14] | October 15, 2013 | $133,511.65 | $121,255.07 | $(162,554.49) | $92,212.23 | ||||
| Year-End[15] | January 31, 2014 | $92,212 | $112,381 | $(89,337) | $115,256 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[16] | February 20, 2014 | $115,256 | $5,529 | $(25,782) | $95,002 | ||||
| April Quarterly[17] | April 15, 2014 | $95,002 | $58,108 | $(28,681) | $124,429 | ||||
| July Quarterly[18] | July 15, 2014 | $124,429 | $165,178 | $(167,807) | $121,800 | ||||
| October Quarterly[19] | October 15, 2014 | $121,800 | $161,257 | $(163,195) | $119,863 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $765,522.23 | $(750,245.45) | ||||||||
Larry Smith
| Larry Smith (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| Year-End[20] | January 29, 2014 | $0 | $15,900 | $(13,163) | $2,736 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[21] | March 12, 2014 | $2,736 | $8,484 | $(10,483) | $737 | ||||
| April Quarterly[22] | April 15, 2014 | $737 | $13,000 | $(12,803) | $933 | ||||
| July Quarterly[23] | July 21, 2014 | $933 | $45,562 | $(46,024) | $471 | ||||
| October Quarterly[24] | October 15, 2014 | $471 | $27,060 | $(27,155) | $742 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $110,006 | $(109,628) | ||||||||
District history
| Candidate ballot access |
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| Find detailed information on ballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. |
2012
The 34th Congressional District of Texas held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012, in which Filemon Vela (D) won election. He defeated Jessica Puente Bradshaw (R) and Steven Shanklin (L) in the general election.[25]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Filemon Vela |
61.9% | 89,606 | |
| Republican | Jessica Puente Bradshaw | 36.2% | 52,448 | |
| Libertarian | Steven Shanklin | 1.9% | 2,724 | |
| Total Votes | 144,778 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2014
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2014
External links
- Texas Secretary of State, 2014 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County
- Texas Secretary of State, Republican primary results
- Texas Secretary of State, Democratic primary results
- Texas Tribune, U.S. House elections brackets
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2014 HOUSE RACE RATINGS FOR June 26, 2014," accessed July 28, 2014
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2014 House Races," accessed July 28, 2014
- ↑ Texas Statutes, "Section 172.086," accessed October 7, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ VoteTexas.gov, "Register to Vote," accessed January 3, 2014
- ↑ Texas Redistricting Map, "Map," accessed July 24, 2012
- ↑ Clerk of the U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 504," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ Buzzfeed, "Government Shutdown: How We Got Here," accessed October 1, 2013
- ↑ Clerk of the U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 504," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Reid, McConnell propose bipartisan Senate bill to end shutdown, extend borrowing," accessed October 16, 2013
- ↑ U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 550," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Filemon Vela April Quarterly," accessed July 24, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Filemon Vela July Quarterly," accessed July 24, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Filemon Vela October Quarterly," accessed October 22, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Filemon Vela Year-End," accessed February 6, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Filemon Vela Pre-Primary," accessed April 20, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Filemon Vela April Quarterly," accessed April 20, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Filemon Vela July Quarterly," accessed July 23, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Filemon Vela October Quarterly," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Larry Smith Year-End," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Larry Smith Pre-Primary," accessed May 2, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Larry Smith April Quarterly," accessed May 2, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Larry Smith July Quarterly," accessed July 25, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Larry Smith October Quarterly," accessed October 22, 2014
- ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map, Texas," November 6, 2012
