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Texas State Senate District 29

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Texas State Senate District 29
Incumbent
Assumed office: January 12, 2021

Texas State Senate District 29 is represented by César Blanco (D).

As of the 2020 Census, Texas state senators represented an average of 941,396 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 815,110 residents.

About the office

Members of the Texas State Senate serve four-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]

One-half of the Senate membership is elected every two years in even-numbered years, with the exception that all 31 Senate seats are up for election for the first legislature following the decennial census in order to reflect the newly redrawn districts. After the initial election, the Senate is divided by lot into two classes, with one class having a re-election after two years and the other having a re-election after four years.[3]

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

To be eligible to serve in the Texas State Senate, a candidate must be:[4]

  • A U.S. citizen
  • A qualified elector
  • 26 years old before the general election
  • A five-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[5]
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.[6] 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.[7]

The secretary of state can declare a candidate duly elected in a special election if there is no opposition.[8]

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.[9]

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:[9]

  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."[9]

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.[10][11]

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."[12] 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 State Senate District 29
until January 9, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Texas State Senate District 29
starting January 10, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2024

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Texas State Senate District 29

Incumbent César Blanco won election in the general election for Texas State Senate District 29 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of César Blanco
César Blanco (D)
 
100.0
 
174,731

Total votes: 174,731
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 29

Incumbent César Blanco advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 29 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of César Blanco
César Blanco
 
100.0
 
33,079

Total votes: 33,079
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2022

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Texas State Senate District 29

Incumbent César Blanco defeated Derek Zubeldia in the general election for Texas State Senate District 29 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of César Blanco
César Blanco (D)
 
64.1
 
111,638
Image of Derek Zubeldia
Derek Zubeldia (R)
 
35.9
 
62,544

Total votes: 174,182
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 29

Incumbent César Blanco advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 29 on March 1, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of César Blanco
César Blanco
 
100.0
 
35,195

Total votes: 35,195
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 29

Derek Zubeldia advanced from the Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 29 on March 1, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Derek Zubeldia
Derek Zubeldia
 
100.0
 
16,206

Total votes: 16,206
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Texas State Senate District 29

César Blanco defeated Bethany Hatch in the general election for Texas State Senate District 29 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of César Blanco
César Blanco (D)
 
67.3
 
176,360
Image of Bethany Hatch
Bethany Hatch (R) Candidate Connection
 
32.7
 
85,619

Total votes: 261,979
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 29

César Blanco advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 29 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of César Blanco
César Blanco
 
100.0
 
59,620

Total votes: 59,620
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 29

Bethany Hatch advanced from the Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 29 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Bethany Hatch
Bethany Hatch Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
15,817

Total votes: 15,817
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Texas State Senate District 29

David Marino advanced from the Libertarian convention for Texas State Senate District 29 on March 21, 2020.

Candidate
Image of David Marino
David Marino (L) Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the Texas State Senate 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.[13]

Incumbent Jose R. Rodriguez ran unopposed in the Texas State Senate District 29 general election.[14]

Texas State Senate, District 29 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Jose R. Rodriguez Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 167,169
Total Votes 167,169
Source: Texas Secretary of State

Incumbent Jose R. Rodriguez ran unopposed in the Texas State Senat, District 29 Democratic Primary.[15][16]

Texas State Senate, District 29 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Jose R. Rodriguez Incumbent (unopposed)

2012

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2012

Elections for the office of Texas State Senate consisted of a primary election on May 29, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. Jose R. Rodriguez (D) defeated Dan Chavez (R) in the general election. Both candidates were unopposed in the primary elections.[17] In 2012, a total of $520,684 was raised in campaign contributions. Rodriguez raised $490,862, and Chavez raised $29,822.[18]

Texas State Senate, District 29, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJose Rodriguez 68.6% 116,208
     Republican Dan Chavez 31.4% 53,190
Total Votes 169,398

Campaign contributions

From 2000 to 2024, candidates for Texas State Senate District 29 raised a total of $6,321,065. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $371,827 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money

Campaign contributions, Texas State Senate District 29
Year Amount Candidates Average
2024 $609,599 1 $609,599
2022 $962,045 2 $481,022
2020 $728,761 2 $364,381
2012 $520,684 2 $260,342
2010 $481,642 4 $120,411
2008 $276,433 1 $276,433
2006 $1,853,400 2 $926,700
2004 $233,539 1 $233,539
2002 $294,020 1 $294,020
2000 $360,943 1 $360,943
Total $6,321,065 17 $371,827


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 State Legislature, "Texas Constitution," accessed December 18, 2013(Referenced Article 3, Section 3)
  4. Texas Secretary of State, "Qualifications for All Public Offices," accessed May 23, 2025
  5. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
  6. Texas Legislature, "Election Code," accessed February 16, 2021 (Statute 3.003 (3))
  7. Texas Legislature, "Election Code," accessed February 16, 2021 (Statute 3.003 (3)(b)-(c))
  8. Texas Legislature, "Election Code," accessed February 16, 2021 (Statute 2.055)
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 All About Redistricting, "Texas," accessed May 7, 2015
  10. Texas Legislature Online, "Bill: HB 1000," accessed June 21, 2023
  11. Texas Legislature Online, "Bill: SB 375," accessed June 21, 2023
  12. The Texas Tribune, "Texas Senate votes to take up redistricting again," January 11, 2023
  13. Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 14, 2015
  14. Texas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election," accessed December 2, 2016
  15. Texas Secretary of State, "2016 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County," accessed August 22, 2016
  16. Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History results," accessed August 22, 2016
  17. Office of the Secretary of State, "State of Texas 2012 General Election," November 6, 2012
  18. followthemoney.org, "State of Texas 2012 Senate Candidates," accessed November 27, 2013


Current members of the Texas State Senate
Leadership
Senators
District 1
District 2
Bob Hall (R)
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
Vacant
District 10
Phil King (R)
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
Republican Party (19)
Democratic Party (11)
Vacancies (1)