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Texas House of Representatives District 4

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Texas House of Representatives District 4
Incumbent
Assumed office: January 8, 2019

Texas House of Representatives District 4 is represented by Keith Bell (R).

As of the 2020 Census, Texas state representatives represented an average of 194,555 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 168,456 residents.

About the office

Members of the Texas House of Representatives serve two-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Texas legislators assume office at the beginning of the legislative session, which starts at noon on the second Tuesday in January in the year after the election.[1][2]

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

To be eligible to serve in the Texas House of Representatives, a candidate must be:[3]

  • A U.S. citizen
  • A qualified elector
  • 21 years old before the general election
  • A two-year resident of Texas before the general election
  • A district resident for one year prior to the general election


Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
State legislative salaries, 2024[4]
SalaryPer diem
$7,200/year$221/day

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the Texas State Legislature, the governor must call a special election to fill the vacant seat.[5] A governor's proclamation to hold a special election must be delivered to county judges in the legislative district no later than 36 days before the scheduled election.[6]

The secretary of state can declare a candidate duly elected in a special election if there is no opposition.[7]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Texas Elec. Code § 203.001 et. seq.


District map

Redistricting

See also: Redistricting in Texas

In Texas, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the Texas State Legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor.[8]

If the state legislature is unable to approve a state legislative redistricting plan, a backup commission must draw the lines (the backup commission is not involved in congressional redistricting). This backup commission, established in 1948, comprises the following members:[8]

  1. Lieutenant governor
  2. Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives
  3. Attorney general
  4. State comptroller
  5. Commissioner of the General Land Office

The Texas Constitution requires that state legislative districts be contiguous and "that they preserve whole counties when population mandates permit."[8]

2020-2023

See also: Redistricting in Texas after the 2020 census

Texas renewed its state legislative district boundaries in June 2023 for use in 2024 and until the 2030 census. These districts were the same as those enacted by the state in October 2021. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed HB 1000 — establishing state House district boundaries — on June 12, 2023, and he allowed SB 375 — establishing state Senate district boundaries — to become law without his signature on June 18, 2023.[9][10]

The Texas Tribune's James Barragan wrote in January 2023 that Senate Legislative Redistricting Committee Chairwoman Joan Huffman (R) said the state was re-doing the redistricting process "to ensure that Legislature had met its constitutional requirement to apportion districts in the first regular session after the publishing of the results of the federal census, which is done every 10 years. Because of the pandemic, census numbers were not released until after the end of the last regularly scheduled legislative session on May 31, 2021. Redistricted maps were passed in a subsequent special session that year."[11] Texas had originally enacted new state legislative districts on October 25, 2021.

Below are the maps in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle. The map on the right was in effect for Texas' 2024 state legislative elections.

Texas House of Representatives District 4
until January 9, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Texas House of Representatives District 4
starting January 10, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2024

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Texas House of Representatives District 4

Incumbent Keith Bell defeated Alex Bar-Sela in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 4 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Keith Bell
Keith Bell (R)
 
69.7
 
60,287
Alex Bar-Sela (D)
 
30.3
 
26,240

Total votes: 86,527
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 4

Alex Bar-Sela advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 4 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Alex Bar-Sela
 
100.0
 
3,382

Total votes: 3,382
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 4

Incumbent Keith Bell defeated Joshua Feuerstein in the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 4 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Keith Bell
Keith Bell
 
75.1
 
15,863
Joshua Feuerstein
 
24.9
 
5,255

Total votes: 21,118
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2022

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Texas House of Representatives District 4

Incumbent Keith Bell defeated Matt Savino in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 4 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Keith Bell
Keith Bell (R)
 
77.3
 
42,041
Image of Matt Savino
Matt Savino (L) Candidate Connection
 
22.7
 
12,374

Total votes: 54,415
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 4

Incumbent Keith Bell advanced from the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 4 on March 1, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Keith Bell
Keith Bell
 
100.0
 
14,336

Total votes: 14,336
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Texas House of Representatives District 4

Matt Savino advanced from the Libertarian convention for Texas House of Representatives District 4 on March 19, 2022.

Candidate
Image of Matt Savino
Matt Savino (L) Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Texas House of Representatives District 4

Incumbent Keith Bell defeated K. Nicole Sprabary in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 4 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Keith Bell
Keith Bell (R)
 
79.1
 
65,903
K. Nicole Sprabary (L)
 
20.9
 
17,437

Total votes: 83,340
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 4

Incumbent Keith Bell advanced from the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 4 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Keith Bell
Keith Bell
 
100.0
 
23,478

Total votes: 23,478
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Texas House of Representatives District 4

K. Nicole Sprabary advanced from the Libertarian convention for Texas House of Representatives District 4 on March 21, 2020.


Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Texas House of Representatives District 4

Keith Bell defeated Eston Williams and D. Allen Miller in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 4 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Keith Bell
Keith Bell (R)
 
74.1
 
44,669
Eston Williams (D)
 
24.2
 
14,581
Image of D. Allen Miller
D. Allen Miller (L)
 
1.7
 
1,029

Total votes: 60,279
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 4

Keith Bell defeated Stuart Spitzer in the Republican primary runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 4 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Keith Bell
Keith Bell
 
58.9
 
7,892
Image of Stuart Spitzer
Stuart Spitzer
 
41.1
 
5,508

Total votes: 13,400
Candidate Connection = 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.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 4

Eston Williams advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 4 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Eston Williams
 
100.0
 
3,229

Total votes: 3,229
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 4

Stuart Spitzer and Keith Bell advanced to a runoff. They defeated Ashley McKee and Earl Brunner in the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 4 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Stuart Spitzer
Stuart Spitzer
 
45.8
 
9,376
Image of Keith Bell
Keith Bell
 
26.2
 
5,367
Ashley McKee
 
25.7
 
5,269
Image of Earl Brunner
Earl Brunner
 
2.3
 
474

Total votes: 20,486
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2016

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 14, 2015.[12]

Lance Gooden ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 4 general election.[13]

Texas House of Representatives, District 4 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Lance Gooden  (unopposed) 100.00% 52,089
Total Votes 52,089
Source: Texas Secretary of State

Lance Gooden defeated incumbent Stuart Spitzer in the Texas House of Representatives District 4 Republican Primary.[14][15]

Texas House of Representatives, District 4 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Lance Gooden 51.79% 14,561
     Republican Stuart Spitzer Incumbent 48.21% 13,554
Total Votes 28,115

2014

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for all 150 seats in the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on March 4, 2014. Those candidates who did not receive 50 percent or more of the vote in their party primary on March 4 faced an additional May 27 primary runoff. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was December 9, 2013. Stuart Spitzer defeated incumbent Lance Gooden in the Republican primary. Spitzer defeated Frederick Stralow (L) in the general election.[16][17][18]

Texas House of Representatives, District 4 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngStuart Spitzer 89.1% 26,660
     Libertarian Rick Stralow 10.9% 3,253
Total Votes 29,913

2012

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2012

Elections for the office of Texas House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on May 29, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. Lance Gooden (R) was unchallenged in the general election. Gooden defeated Stuart Spitzer in the Republican primary election.[19]

Texas House of Representatives District 4 Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngLance Gooden Incumbent 54.4% 8,159
Stuart Spitzer 45.6% 6,827
Total Votes 14,986

Campaign contributions

From 2000 to 2024, candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 4 raised a total of $5,078,313. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $203,133 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money

Campaign contributions, Texas House of Representatives District 4
Year Amount Candidates Average
2024 $975,545 3 $325,182
2022 $320,631 2 $160,315
2020 $315,255 1 $315,255
2018 $538,057 4 $134,514
2012 $607,647 2 $303,824
2010 $457,824 2 $228,912
2008 $661,842 3 $220,614
2006 $542,312 3 $180,771
2004 $38,326 1 $38,326
2002 $440,440 2 $220,220
2000 $180,434 2 $90,217
Total $5,078,313 25 $203,133


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. Texas Government Code, "Title 3., Subtitle A., Sec. 301.001," accessed February 17, 2021
  2. Texas Constitution, "Article 3. Legislative Department, Section 4," accessed November 4, 2021
  3. Texas Secretary of State, "Qualifications for All Public Offices," accessed May 23, 2025
  4. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
  5. Texas Legislature, "Election Code," accessed February 16, 2021 (Statute 3.003 (3))
  6. Texas Legislature, "Election Code," accessed February 16, 2021 (Statute 3.003 (3)(b)-(c))
  7. Texas Legislature, "Election Code," accessed February 16, 2021 (Statute 2.055)
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 All About Redistricting, "Texas," accessed May 7, 2015
  9. Texas Legislature Online, "Bill: HB 1000," accessed June 21, 2023
  10. Texas Legislature Online, "Bill: SB 375," accessed June 21, 2023
  11. The Texas Tribune, "Texas Senate votes to take up redistricting again," January 11, 2023
  12. Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 14, 2015
  13. Texas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election," accessed December 2, 2016
  14. Texas Secretary of State, "2016 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County," accessed August 22, 2016
  15. Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History results," accessed August 22, 2016
  16. Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current ELECTION HISTORY," accessed December 2, 2014
  17. The Libertarian Party of Texas, "2014 Texas Representative Candidate List," accessed July 30, 2014
  18. Green Party of Texas, "Greens Release Candidate List," accessed July 30, 2014
  19. Office of the Secretary of State, "State of Texas 2012 General Election," November 6, 2012


Current members of the Texas House of Representatives
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Dustin Burrows
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Jay Dean (R)
District 8
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Pat Curry (R)
District 57
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Ken King (R)
District 89
District 90
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District 97
District 98
District 99
District 100
District 101
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District 106
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Toni Rose (D)
District 111
District 112
District 113
District 114
District 115
District 116
District 117
District 118
District 119
District 120
District 121
District 122
District 123
District 124
District 125
Ray Lopez (D)
District 126
District 127
District 128
District 129
District 130
District 131
District 132
District 133
District 134
District 135
District 136
John Bucy (D)
District 137
Gene Wu (D)
District 138
District 139
District 140
District 141
District 142
District 143
District 144
District 145
District 146
District 147
District 148
District 149
Hubert Vo (D)
District 150
Republican Party (88)
Democratic Party (62)