Texas' 23rd Congressional District elections, 2012
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November 6, 2012 |
May 29, 2012 |
Pete Gallego  |
Francisco Canseco  |
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The 23rd Congressional District of Texas held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012.
Pete Gallego (D) was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. He defeated incumbent Francisco Canseco (R).[1] This switched partisan control of the district.
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: Texas has an open primary system, in which any registered voter can choose which party's primary to vote in, without having to be a member of that party. Texas also scheduled a primary runoff for July 31, 2012.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by April 30.[2] For the July 31, 2012, the vote registration deadline was July 2. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 9.[3]
- See also: Texas elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Francisco Canseco (R), who was first elected in 2010.
This was the first election using district maps based on data from the 2010 Census. Texas' 23rd Congressional District was located in the western portion of the state, and included El Paso, Hudspeth, Culberson, Jeff Davis, Reeves, Presidio, Brewster, Lvoing , Winkler, Ward, Crane, Upton, Reagan, Terrell, Pecos, Crockett, Schleicher, Sutton, Edwards, Val Verde, Kinney, Maverick, Uvalde, Zavala, Dimmit, La Salle, Frio, Medina, and Bezar counties.[4]
In redistricting, The Hill published a list of the Top Ten House Members who were helped by redistricting.[5] Francisco Canseco ranked 3rd on the list.[5]
* Redistricting note: Due to legal turmoil in the redistricting process, filing deadlines were changed twice and the primary was changed once. The original filing deadline was December 12th.[6] That deadline was first moved to December 15th and then December 19th by a federal court due to delays caused by redistricting legal challenges. When a final map was issued, the December 19th deadline was once again moved to March 9 to allow candidates more time to file in light of the delays and map ambiguities. The primary date was first moved from March 6 to April 3, 2012 before finally settling on May 29.[7]
Primary runoff
The close race between Pete Gallego and Ciro Rodriguez was decided by a primary runoff election. This meant that it was likely decided by a very small percentage of voters. In 2000, runoff elections attracted roughly 2% of registered voters, while in 1996, they drew between 3 and 4% of registered voters.[8]
Candidates
General election candidates
July 31, 2012 Democratic primary runoff candidates
May 29, 2012, primary results
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Election results
General election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Pete Gallego |
50.3% | 96,676 | |
| Republican | Francisco Canseco Incumbent | 45.6% | 87,547 | |
| Libertarian | Jeffrey C. Blunt | 3% | 5,841 | |
| Green | Ed Scharf | 1.1% | 2,105 | |
| Total Votes | 192,169 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Race background
Competitiveness
Using the Federal Election Commission's October Quarterly campaign finance filings, the Brennan Center for Justice at The New York University School of Law published a report on October 22nd focusing on the 25 House races rated most competitive by The Cook Political Report, including the race for Texas' 23rd. The report examines the relative spending presence of non-candidate groups, candidates, and small donors in these races - "which will likely determine which party will control the House."[9]
| List of 25 Toss Up Races from the Cook Political Report:[10] | |
|---|---|
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Democratic Toss Ups: Republican Toss Ups: | |
Texas' 23rd was considered to be Leaning Republican according to the New York Times race ratings. Republican incumbent Francisco Canseco was challenged by Pete Gallego (D) in a swing district that favored Republicans.[11]
Texas' 23rd District was included in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Red to Blue List," which identified districts that the organization has specifically targeted to flip from Republican to Democratic control.[12]
Incumbent Francisco Canseco was a part of the National Republican Congressional Committee's Patriot Program, a program to help House Republicans stay on offense and increase their majority in 2012.[13]
Impact of redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in Texas
In redistricting, The Hill published a list of the Top Ten House Members who were helped by redistricting.[5] Francisco Canseco ranked 3rd on the list.[5] The article notes that in the redistricting process, Republican legislators were "careful when they redrew the district not to bring down the district’s Hispanic percentage in order to avoid violating the Voting Rights Act, which protects minority voters."[5] Instead, redistricting switched out high-voting Democratic Hispanic areas with areas that have lower turnout.[5] According to the article, if the district stood up to legal scrutiny, Canseco would have been in a better position heading into the 2012 election.
The 23rd District was re-drawn after the 2010 Census. The new district is composed of the following percentages of voters of the old congressional districts.[14][15]
- 4 percent from the 11th Congressional District
- 9 percent from the 16th Congressional District
- 6 percent from the 20th Congressional District
- 3 percent from the 21st Congressional District
- 73 percent from the 23rd Congressional District
- 4 percent from the 28th Congressional District
District partisanship
FairVote's Monopoly Politics 2012
- See also: FairVote's Monopoly Politics 2012
In 2012, FairVote did a study on partisanship in the congressional districts, giving each a percentage ranking (D/R) based on the new 2012 maps and comparing that to the old 2010 maps. Texas' 23rd District became more Republican as a result of redistricting.[16]
- 2012: 47D / 53R
- 2010: 48D / 52R
Cook Political Report's PVI
In 2012, Cook Political Report released its updated figures on the Partisan Voter Index, which measures each congressional district's partisanship relative to the rest of the country. Texas' 23rd Congressional District has a PVI of R+5, which is the 176th most Republican district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 50-50 percent over John McCain (R). In 2004, George W. Bush won the district 58-42 percent over John Kerry (D).[17]
Campaign contributions
Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2012 elections season. Below are candidate reports.
Francisco Canseco
| Francisco Canseco (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[18] | April 15, 2012 | $559,497.92 | $385,038.37 | $(143,123.19) | $801,413.10 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[19] | May 17, 2012 | $801,413.10 | $112,810.62 | $(143,554.88) | $770,668.84 | ||||
| July Quarterly[20] | July 15, 2012 | $770,668.84 | $316,136.00 | $(53,549.07) | $1,033,255.77 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $813,984.99 | $(340,227.14) | ||||||||
Pete Gallego
| Pete Gallego Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[21] | October 15, 2012 | $127,117.27 | $302,172.50 | $(147,906.19) | $281,383.58 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[22] | May 17, 2012 | $281,383.58 | $65,526.58 | $(263,523.04) | $83,387.12 | ||||
| July Quarterly[23] | July 15, 2012 | $83,387.12 | $183,566.82 | $(153,287.80) | $113,666.14 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $551,265.9 | $(564,717.03) | ||||||||
District history
| Candidate ballot access |
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2010
On November 2, 2010, Francisco Canseco won election to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating incumbent Ciro D. Rodriguez (D), Craig T. Stephens (I), Martin Nitschke (L), and Ed Scharf (G).[24]
| U.S. House of Representatives General Election, Texas, Congressional District 23, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Francisco "Quico" Canseco |
49.4% | 74,853 | |
| Democratic | Ciro D. Rodriguez Incumbent | 44.4% | 67,348 | |
| Independent | Craig T. Stephens | 3.6% | 5,432 | |
| Libertarian | Martin Nitschke | 1.6% | 2,482 | |
| Green | Ed Scharf | 0.9% | 1,419 | |
| Total Votes | 151,534 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
- United States Senate elections in Texas, 2012
External links
- Texas Democrats - candidate list (dead link)
- Texas GOP - candidate list
- Texas Libertarian Party - candidate list (dead link)
- Texas Green Party - candidate list
- Texas Secretary of State - Independent candidate list (dead link)
Footnotes
- ↑ ABC News, "2012 General Election Results," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Election Calendar," accessed July 27, 2012
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "You Must Register By...," accessed July 27, 2012
- ↑ Texas Redistricting Map, "Map" accessed July 24, 2012
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 The Hill, "House members most helped by redistricting," accessed April 17, 2012
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2012 Election Dates," accessed July 15, 2011
- ↑ Washington Post, "Federal court orders May 29 primary date for Texas in redistricting case
- ↑ Texas Watchdog, "Compelling runoffs in Texas Congressional primaries, but will the voters come?" July 23, 2012
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Election Spending 2012: 25 Toss-Up House Races," October 22, 2012
- ↑ The Cook Political Report, "House: Race Ratings," updated October 18, 2012
- ↑ New York Times, "House Race Ratings," accessed August 10, 2012
- ↑ DCCC, "Red to Blue 2012"
- ↑ NRCC "Patriot Program 2012"
- ↑ Moonshadow Mobile's CensusViewer, "Texas's congressional districts 2001-2011 comparison"
- ↑ Labels & Lists, "VoterMapping software voter counts"
- ↑ FairVote, "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in Texas," September 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: 2004 & 2008" accessed October 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Francisco Canseco April Quarterly," accessed July 17, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Francisco Canseco Pre-Primary," accessed July 17, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Francisco Caseco July Quarterly," accessed October 15, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Pete Gallego April Quarterly," accessed October 15, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Pete Gallego Pre-Primary," accessed October 15, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Pete Gallego July Quarterly," accessed October 15, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
