Texas State Senate District 6

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Texas State Senate District 6
Incumbent
Assumed office: December 21, 2018

Texas State Senate District 6 is represented by Carol Alvarado (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 6
until January 9, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Texas State Senate District 6
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 6

Incumbent Carol Alvarado defeated Martha Fierro in the general election for Texas State Senate District 6 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Carol Alvarado
Carol Alvarado (D)
 
63.0
 
119,280
Image of Martha Fierro
Martha Fierro (R)
 
37.0
 
70,013

Total votes: 189,293
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 6

Incumbent Carol Alvarado advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 6 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Carol Alvarado
Carol Alvarado
 
100.0
 
20,759

Total votes: 20,759
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 6

Martha Fierro advanced from the Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 6 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Martha Fierro
Martha Fierro
 
100.0
 
10,542

Total votes: 10,542
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2022

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2022

General election

The general election was canceled. Incumbent Carol Alvarado won election in the general election for Texas State Senate District 6.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 6

Incumbent Carol Alvarado advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 6 on March 1, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Carol Alvarado
Carol Alvarado
 
100.0
 
23,408

Total votes: 23,408
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2020

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Texas State Senate District 6

Incumbent Carol Alvarado defeated Timothy Duffield in the general election for Texas State Senate District 6 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Carol Alvarado
Carol Alvarado (D)
 
84.1
 
137,895
Image of Timothy Duffield
Timothy Duffield (L) Candidate Connection
 
15.9
 
26,166

Total votes: 164,061
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 6

Incumbent Carol Alvarado advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 6 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Carol Alvarado
Carol Alvarado
 
100.0
 
31,938

Total votes: 31,938
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Texas State Senate District 6

Timothy Duffield advanced from the Libertarian convention for Texas State Senate District 6 on March 21, 2020.

Candidate
Image of Timothy Duffield
Timothy Duffield (L) Candidate Connection

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

See also: Texas state legislative special elections, 2018

A special election for the office of Texas State Senate District 6 was held on December 11, 2018. Candidates had until November 16, 2018, to file nomination papers with the secretary of state.[13]

On November 9, 2018, state Sen. Sylvia Garcia (D) resigned from the state Senate.[13]

General election

Special general election for Texas State Senate District 6

Carol Alvarado defeated Ana Hernandez, Martha Fierro, and Mia Mundy in the special general election for Texas State Senate District 6 on December 11, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Carol Alvarado
Carol Alvarado (D)
 
50.4
 
7,602
Image of Ana Hernandez
Ana Hernandez (D)
 
24.3
 
3,670
Image of Martha Fierro
Martha Fierro (R)
 
23.2
 
3,493
Image of Mia Mundy
Mia Mundy (D)
 
2.1
 
319

Total votes: 15,084
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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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.[14]

Incumbent Sylvia Garcia ran unopposed in the Texas State Senate District 6 general election.[15]

Texas State Senate, District 6 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Sylvia Garcia Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 119,891
Total Votes 119,891
Source: Texas Secretary of State


Incumbent Sylvia Garcia ran unopposed in the Texas State Senate District 6 Democratic Primary.[16][17]

Texas State Senate, District 6 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Sylvia Garcia Incumbent (unopposed)



2013

See also: State legislative special elections, 2013

Sylvia Garcia (D) won election in the special election for Texas State Senate District 6. The seat was vacant following Mario Gallegos's death in October 2012. Garcia faced Carol Alvarado (D), Joaquin Martinez (D), Susan Delgado (D), Rodolfo M. Reyes (D), R.W. Bray (R), Dorothy Marie Olmos (R), and Maria Selva (G) in the special election on January 26, 2013. The field of eight candidates was narrowed to two in the runoff election. Democrats Garcia and Carol Alvarado met in a runoff on March 2, which Garcia won.[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]

Texas State Senate, District 6, Special Election Runoff, 2013
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngSylvia Garcia 52.9% 9,595
     Democratic Carol Alvarado 47.1% 8,546
Total Votes 18,141

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. Incumbent Mario Gallegos (D) defeated R.W. Bray (R) in the general election. Gallegos was unopposed in the Democratic primary election. Bray was unopposed in the Republican primary election.[26] A total of $320,857 was raised in campaign contributions. Gallegos raised $302,613, and Bray raised $18,244.[27]

Gallegos passed away in October 2012, prior to the election. However, his name still appeared on the ballot. Due to the general election win for the deceased Gallegos, a special election was set for January 26, 2013. The winner of this election was set to serve a four year term.[28]

Special elections

January 26, 2013



March 2, 2013



Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2024, candidates for Texas State Senate District 6 raised a total of $4,449,797. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $247,211 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money

Campaign contributions, Texas State Senate District 6
Year Amount Candidates Average
2024 $697,535 3 $232,512
2022 $680,681 1 $680,681
2020 $540,986 2 $270,493
2018 $5,126 3 $1,709
2012 $320,857 2 $160,429
2010 $423,319 1 $423,319
2008 $470,953 2 $235,477
2006 $412,022 1 $412,022
2004 $657,600 2 $328,800
2002 $240,718 1 $240,718
Total $4,449,797 18 $247,211


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. 13.0 13.1 Houston Public Media, "UPDATE: Governor Abbott Calls Special Election To Replace Sylvia Garcia In Texas State Senate," November 9, 2018
  14. Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 14, 2015
  15. Texas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election," accessed December 2, 2016
  16. Texas Secretary of State, "2016 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County," accessed August 22, 2016
  17. Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History results," accessed August 22, 2016
  18. KHOU.com, "Garcia wins special runoff election for state Senate seat," March 2, 2013
  19. Chron.com, "Bitter District 6 race ends with Saturday runoff," February 26, 2013
  20. Dallas Morning News, "Houston special election for late state senator’s seat heading into runoff," January 26, 2013
  21. Texas Tribune, "Packed Field Could Mean a Runoff in SD-6," January 2, 2013
  22. The Republic, "Alvarado, Garcia, Bray vying to replace deceased Gallegos in Texas Senate special election," November 12, 2012
  23. The Dallas Morning News, "Governor sets special election for senate seat in Houston area," December 13, 2012
  24. Your Houston News, " Third candidate joins race for late Senator seat," December 28, 2012
  25. elections.sos.state.tx.us, "Official election results," accessed November 15, 2013
  26. Office of the Secretary of State, "State of Texas 2012 General Election," November 6, 2012
  27. followthemoney.org, "State of Texas 2012 Senate Candidates," accessed November 27, 2013
  28. Senators Draw Lots to Determine Terms, "Texastribune.org" accessed January 24, 2013
  29. Chron.com, "Bitter District 6 race ends with Saturday runoff," February 26, 2013
  30. Dallas Morning News, "Houston special election for late state senator’s seat heading into runoff," January 26, 2013
  31. Texas Tribune, "Packed Field Could Mean a Runoff in SD-6," January 2, 2013
  32. The Republic, "Alvarado, Garcia, Bray vying to replace deceased Gallegos in Texas Senate special election," November 12, 2012
  33. The Dallas Morning News, "Governor sets special election for senate seat in Houston area," December 13, 2012
  34. Your Houston News, " Third candidate joins race for late Senator seat," December 28, 2012
  35. Chron.com, "Bitter District 6 race ends with Saturday runoff," February 26, 2013
  36. Dallas Morning News, "Houston special election for late state senator’s seat heading into runoff," January 26, 2013
  37. Texas Tribune, "Packed Field Could Mean a Runoff in SD-6," January 2, 2013
  38. The Republic, "Alvarado, Garcia, Bray vying to replace deceased Gallegos in Texas Senate special election," November 12, 2012
  39. The Dallas Morning News, "Governor sets special election for senate seat in Houston area," December 13, 2012
  40. Your Houston News, " Third candidate joins race for late Senator seat," December 28, 2012
  41. KHOU.com, "Garcia wins special runoff election for state Senate seat," March 2, 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)