Republicans win big in Texas House
November 15, 2010
By Jimmy Ardis
| Partisan breakdown of states after November 2 election. |
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AUSTIN, Texas: Republicans experienced sweeping victories in the Texas House of Representatives on November 2nd, picking up 23 seats. Going into Election Day the two major parties were in a close race for control of the House, with Democrats holding 73 seats to the Republicans' 76. When the election dust settled on November 3rd, Republicans stood in control of a whopping 99 seats compared to the Democrats' 51.[1] Republicans are now one seat short of a super-majority in the Texas House of Representatives. The balance in the Texas State Senate remains as it was before the election, with Republicans holding on to a seven-seat majority.
Of the 150 seats up for election in the Texas House, only 57 of those districts had major party competition - meaning there was a Republican and a Democrat competing for the seat. Republicans won 44 of the 57 contested races.[1] To put it another way, when voters had the opportunity to choose between a Republican and Democrat, they chose a Republican 77% of the time.
The figures get even starker when the focus turns to incumbents. Twenty-two Democratic incumbents lost their seats to Republican challengers. Not one Republican incumbent was defeated. In other words, Democrats suffered 100% of incumbent losses in the Texas House.[1]
No matter how you look at the numbers, Republicans were the big winners in the Texas House on November 2nd. Big wins bring with them big responsibilities, not the least of which is what is now being estimated as a $28 billion budget deficit that Texas must deal with next year.[2] As the newly emboldened Republicans celebrate their near two-thirds majority in the Texas House, they must also be mindful of the huge challenges that lie ahead in 2011. Texas voters have spoken; it's now up to Republicans to answer.
Senate Partisan Count
| Texas State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 1, 2010 | After the 2010 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 12 | 12 | |
| Republican Party | 19 | 19 | |
| Total | 31 | 31 | |
House Partisan Count
| Texas House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 1, 2010 | After the 2010 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 73 | 51 | |
| Republican Party | 76 | 98 | |
| Vacancy | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 150 | 150 | |
See also
|
- Texas House of Representatives elections, 2010
- Texas State Senate elections, 2010
- Texas House incumbency analysis
- Texas State Senate incumbency analysis
- State legislative elections, 2010
Footnotes
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