Texas' 6th Congressional District election, 2024

	2026 → ← 2022
Texas' 6th Congressional District
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: December 11, 2023
	Primary: March 5, 2024; Primary runoff: May 28, 2024; General: November 5, 2024
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Voting in Texas
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Solid Republican; DDHQ and The Hill: Safe Republican; Inside Elections: Solid Republican; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
	U.S. Senate battlegrounds; U.S. House battlegrounds; Federal and state primary competitiveness; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
See also
	Texas' 6th Congressional District; U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th • 13th • 14th • 15th • 16th • 17th • 18th • 19th • 20th • 21st • 22nd • 23rd • 24th • 25th • 26th • 27th • 28th • 29th • 30th • 31st • 32nd • 33rd • 34th • 35th • 36th • 37th • 38th; Texas elections, 2024; U.S. Congress elections, 2024; U.S. Senate elections, 2024; U.S. House elections, 2024; Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

Texas 2024 elections

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All U.S. House districts, including the 6th Congressional District of Texas, held elections in 2024. The general election was November 5, 2024. The primary was March 5, 2024, and a primary runoff was May 28, 2024. The filing deadline was December 11, 2023.

The outcome of this race affected the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 119th Congress. All 435 House districts were up for election.

At the time of the election, Republicans held a 220-212 majority with three vacancies.^[1] As a result of the election, Republicans retained control of the U.S. House, winning 220 seats to Democrats' 215.^[2] To read more about the 2024 U.S. House elections, click here.

In the 2022 election in this district, the Republican candidate won 100.0%-0.0%. Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 61.3%-37.4%.^[3]

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 6

Incumbent Jake Ellzey defeated John Love III in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 6 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jake Ellzey (R)	65.7	188,119
	John Love III (D)	34.3	98,319

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 286,438
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 6

John Love III advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 6 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Love III	100.0	13,813

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,813
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 6

Incumbent Jake Ellzey defeated James Buford and Clifford Wiley in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 6 on March 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jake Ellzey	60.8	38,143
	James Buford	20.4	12,782
	Clifford Wiley	18.9	11,843

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 62,768
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Matthew Southard (R)

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

John Love III

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "I am a 5th generation Texan. I am proud of my family and shared heritage in this state and this country. My father was born in Tulsa, OK, 15 years after the Tulsa Massacre of 1921. My mother was born in Pelham, TX, because my family traveled there from Galveston after the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation. Our community, in Navarro County, is one of the last Black enclaves in Texas. My roots across Texas start with my family and have continued as I attended college at the University of Texas at Austin and graduated from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. I am an award-winning small business owner and a proud member of Omega Psi Phi, Fraternity, Incorporated, the NAACP, and other community organizations. Now I am asking you to send me to Washington, D.C., to serve the people of Texas and solve the challenges we are facing every day. I want to continue my service by fighting for my family and yours. I will push on behalf of my mother, who was a fierce believer in women’s reproductive rights, and I will fight for my brother, a Veteran who deserves quality health care and benefits for his service to our country. "

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Truth: We deserve a representative that will tell the truth about the issues that affect us everyday. Lies are dividing this country and keeping us from finding real solutions to healthcare, womens reproductive rights and caring for our veterans.

Honor: Being honorable with our word and our message is important from our elected leaders. The character of our leaders has been lost to gain the support of 1. We all have a sense of right and wrong and we must have a Congressman that is willing to use that in their judgement and decisions for the people of the 6th district.

Integrity: We must be uncompromising in doing what it is right even when it is uncomfortable. We must work together to pass immigration reform, protect the rights of gun owners while keeping our children safe and stay out of the healthcare decisions for women and girls. These are simple concepts but too often are our leaders making decisions based on what is good for their party and not the people. Our only question should be how can I serve the people today and not how can I score points for my side. Integrity matters and must be demanded from all of our leaders.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Texas District 6 in 2024.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Texas

Election information in Texas: Nov. 5, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Oct. 7, 2024
By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 7, 2024
Online: N/A

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: Oct. 25, 2024
By mail: Received by Oct. 25, 2024
Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
By mail: Postmarked by Nov. 5, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 21, 2024 to Nov. 1, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (CST/MST)

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/JohnLoveIII.jpg

John Love III (D)

Truth: We deserve a representative that will tell the truth about the issues that affect us everyday. Lies are dividing this country and keeping us from finding real solutions to healthcare, womens reproductive rights and caring for our veterans.

Honor: Being honorable with our word and our message is important from our elected leaders. The character of our leaders has been lost to gain the support of 1. We all have a sense of right and wrong and we must have a Congressman that is willing to use that in their judgement and decisions for the people of the 6th district.

Integrity: We must be uncompromising in doing what it is right even when it is uncomfortable. We must work together to pass immigration reform, protect the rights of gun owners while keeping our children safe and stay out of the healthcare decisions for women and girls. These are simple concepts but too often are our leaders making decisions based on what is good for their party and not the people. Our only question should be how can I serve the people today and not how can I score points for my side. Integrity matters and must be demanded from all of our leaders.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

John Love III (D)

Veterans, Immigration and Border policy, Women's Reproductive rights, Common Sense Gun reform, Healthcare as a right for all

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

John Love III (D)

As a longtime champion of equal rights for all, I believe I got to this point in life because of the women who kept me grounded firmly. I learned from women the value of hard work, truth, honor and integrity. These are, indeed, the values of Texas. I learned from them all that a strong work ethic combined with compassion and a keen sense of responsibility to help others builds a healthy family and a healthy community.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

John Love III (D)

Truth, Honor and Integrity.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

John Love III (D)

To be responsive to our constituents, listen to all sides to identify commonalities and solutions and aid in navigating government policy and red tape to serve the people everyday.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

John Love III (D)

Having served on city council and President of the Texas Municipal League has given me the opportunity to work with leaders with different ideas and philosophies to find solutions for people. This experience will definitely benefit the communities I would serve in Congress

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

John Love III (D)

Preserving our Democracy--not allowing the lies of a few to tear this country apart.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

John Love III (D)

Yes

What are your thoughts on term limits?

John Love III (D)

I have served in office before on the Midland city council. I believe the knowledge of those that have been in the position is just as important as allowing new voices and faces to be a part of our elected leadership. I believe that the American people are the best at deciding when it is time to move on through our elections and our leaders have a duty to resign or retire when their quest for power or influence overrides their service.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

John Love III (D)

I believe that we have to work together to find common ground to reach solutions for the American people.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

John Love III (D)

23rd Senate District Tejano Democrats

What committees interest you?

John Love III (D)

Financial Services, Veterans Affairs, Small Business

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

John Love III (D)

As a licensed financial professional I believe it is our responsibility to be transparent in our spending as it reflects the priorities that we have as a nation. We must hold the government accountable as we all do as citizens.

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Jake Ellzey	Republican Party	$6,899,715	$6,401,942	$1,095,448	As of December 31, 2024
John Love III	Democratic Party	$135,301	$123,995	$11,958	As of December 31, 2024
James Buford	Republican Party	$11,443	$11,409	$35	As of December 31, 2024
Clifford Wiley	Republican Party	$16,015	$17,101	$-2,502	As of February 14, 2024
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[4]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Race ratings: Texas' 6th Congressional District election, 2024
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2024	October 29, 2024	October 22, 2024	October 15, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Texas in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Texas, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Texas	U.S. House	Democratic or Republican	2% of votes cast for governor in the district in the last election, or 500, whichever is less	$3,125.00	12/11/2023	Source
Texas	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	5% of all votes cast for governor in the district in the last election, or 500, whichever is less	N/A	12/11/2023	Source

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2024 U.S. House elections in the state.
Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

District map

Competitiveness
Presidential elections

State party control

Below was the map in use at the time of the election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Texas.

Texas U.S. House competitiveness, 2014-2024
Year	Districts/ offices	Seats	Open seats	Candidates	Possible primaries	Contested Democratic primaries	Contested Republican primaries	% of contested primaries	Incumbents in contested primaries	% of incumbents in contested primaries
2024	38	38	3	160	76	16	23	51.3%	19	54.3%
2022	38	38	6	222	76	17	27	57.9%	19	59.4%
2020	36	36	6	231	72	24	26	69.4%	18	60.0%
2018	36	36	8	212	72	25	21	63.9%	15	53.6%
2016	36	36	2	127	72	13	20	45.8%	19	55.9%
2014	36	36	1	100	72	6	13	26.4%	12	34.3%

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Texas in 2024. Information below was calculated on 1/29/2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

In 2024, 164 candidates filed to run for Texas’ 38 U.S. House districts, including 63 Democrats and 101 Republicans. That was 4.3 candidates per district, the lowest number since 2016, when 3.5 candidates ran.

In 2022, the first election after the number of congressional districts in Texas increased from 36 to 38, 5.8 candidates ran per district. In 2020, 6.4 candidates ran, and 5.8 candidates ran in 2018.

The 164 candidates who ran in 2024 were also the fewest total number to run since 2016, when 127 candidates ran. One hundred candidates ran for Texas’ then-36 districts in 2014, the fewest in the decade, while 231 ran in 2020, the decade-high.

Three seats were open. That was the fewest since 2016, when two seats were open. Six seats were open in 2022 and 2020, and eight were in 2018—the decade-high.

Reps. Kay Granger (R-12th) and Michael Burgess (R-26th) retired from public office. Rep. Colin Allred (D-32nd) didn't seek re-election in order to run for the U.S. Senate. Fourteen candidates—10 Democrats and 4 Republicans—ran for the open 32nd district, the most candidates who ran for a seat in 2024.

Thirty-nine primaries—16 Democratic and 23 Republican—were contested this year. That was the fewest since 2016, when 33 were contested. There were 44 contested primaries in 2022, 50 in 2020, and 46 in 2018.

Nineteen incumbents—six Democrats and thirteen Republicans—faced primary challengers this year. That was the same number as 2022, and one more than in 2020.

Three districts—the 9th, the 20th, and the 30th—were guaranteed to Democrats because no Republicans filed to run. Five were guaranteed to Republicans because no Democrats filed to run—the 1st, the 11th, the 13th, the 19th, and the 25th.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+15. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 15 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Texas' 6th the 82nd most Republican district nationally.^[8]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in Texas' 6th based on 2024 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
37.4%	61.3%

Inside Elections Baselines

See also: Inside Elections

Inside Elections' Baseline is a figure that analyzes all federal and statewide election results from the district over the past four election cycles. The results are combined in an index estimating the strength of a typical Democratic or Republican candidate in the congressional district.^[9] The table below displays the Baseline data for this district.

Inside Elections Baseline for 2024
Democratic Baseline	Republican Baseline	Difference
34.9	63.1	R+28.3

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Texas, 2020

Texas presidential election results (1900-2020)

16 Democratic wins
15 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

See also: Party control of Texas state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Texas' congressional delegation as of May 2024.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Texas
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	12	12
Republican	2	25	27
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	1	1
Total	2	38	40

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Texas' top four state executive offices as of May 2024.

State executive officials in Texas, May 2024
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Greg Abbott
Lieutenant Governor	Dan Patrick
Secretary of State	Jane Nelson
Attorney General	Ken Paxton

State legislature

Texas State Senate

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	11
	Republican Party	19
	Other	0
	Vacancies	1
Total		31

Texas House of Representatives

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	64
	Republican Party	86
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		150

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

Texas Party Control: 1992-2024
Three years of Democratic trifectas • Twenty-two years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Governor	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2018.