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Texas state legislative Republican primaries, 2018

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2018 Texas
State Legislature
elections
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GeneralNovember 6, 2018
PrimaryMarch 6, 2018
Primary RunoffMay 22, 2018
Past election results
2016・2014・2012
2018 elections
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The Republican primary elections for the seats in the Texas State Senate and Texas House of Representatives were on March 6, 2018, and the Republican primary runoff elections for the primaries where no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote were on May 22, 2018. Democratic primary elections were also scheduled for March 6, 2018, with runoff elections on May 22, 2018.

Visit our section on voter information to see what Texans needed to know on election day. Election updates tracking the most recent events in the primaries are below.

The conflict in the state House Republican primaries was between a faction supportive of House Speaker Joe Straus (R) and those opposed to his leadership, including members of the Texas Freedom Caucus.[1] Conflict in the state Senate Republican primaries fell along similar lines, although the anti-Straus faction already had control in that chamber partially due to the leadership of Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick (R). Straus announced his retirement in October 2017, setting up a contest to elect the next speaker of the state House in 2019. Both the pro-Straus faction and the anti-Straus faction were likely to run candidates in the speaker's race, meaning the 2018 primaries could have been pivotal in deciding which faction would have more influence after the 2018 elections.

The anti-Straus faction of the Republican Party in the Texas Legislature defeated three pro-Straus incumbents in the March 6 primaries, with state Sen. Craig Estes and state Reps. Wayne Faircloth and Jason Villalba all losing. The pro-Straus faction won key matchups in Districts 2, 99, 122, and 134. Each side won three races without sitting incumbents.

Pro-Straus candidates defeated anti-Straus candidates in five of the seven May 22 runoffs (Districts 4, 8, 13, 62, and 121). The other two runoffs were in District 54, where incumbent Scott Cosper lost to a challenger with an unknown factional affiliation, and District 107, where an anti-Straus candidate beat an unaffiliated candidate to take on state Rep. Victoria Neave Criado (D) in the general election.

Overall, four Republican incumbents lost in 2018. This was fewer than in 2016 (six losses) and 2014 (nine losses).

Read more about the runoffs here.

This page is an overview of Texas' 2018 state legislative Republican primaries. Ballotpedia has compiled detailed information about each aspect of the primaries, including where the most competitive races were, who the factions in the primaries were, what influencers weighed in, and how the competitiveness in these primaries compared to those in prior years. The pages covering these areas can be accessed by clicking the links below.



Overview

Page 1: Matchups and results coverage

See the primary matchups and election results, including whether the pro-Straus or anti-Straus faction won more races on election night.

Ballotpedia's series on the Texas state legislative Republican primaries
Overview
Page 1: Election night coverage of primary matchups
Page 2: Races to watch in the 2018 primaries
Page 3: Top 10 races in 2018
Page 4: Factional conflict in the 2018 primaries
Page 5: What was at stake in the 2018 primaries?
Page 6: Campaign activity by influencers and satellite organizations
Page 7: Noteworthy events, timeline, and media coverage of the 2018 primaries
Page 8: Competitiveness in the 2018 primaries
Page 9: Campaign finance in the 2018 primaries
Page 10: May 22 primary runoffs

Page 2: Races to watch

Read summaries of the 46 Republican primaries we considered races to watch due to their competitiveness and their role in the state's factional conflict.

Page 3: Top 10 races

Learn about Ballotpedia's 10 most interesting primary races, including four in the state Senate and six in the state House.

Page 4: Factional conflict

The 2018 primaries featured a factional divide between Republicans supportive of House Speaker Joe Straus (R) and those opposed to his leadership. Learn how the factions defined themselves, which issues divided them, and how political observers characterized their differences.

Page 5: What was at stake in the 2018 primaries?

Learn about the 2019 House speaker's race and what policies the chamber could support in future sessions of the Texas State Legislature based on the outcome of the 2018 primaries.

Page 6: Campaign activity by influencers and satellite organizations

Who were the major political influencers and satellite groups in the state? Which factions and candidates did they support? Coverage includes groups like Empower Texans and the Texas Association of Business and leaders such as Straus and Gov. Greg Abbott (R).

Page 7: Noteworthy events, timeline, and media coverage of the 2018 primaries

Visit this page to understand events leading up to the primaries and how the media covered the elections, including a special session of the Texas Legislature in 2017 and Straus' first election to the speakership in 2009.

Page 8: Competitiveness in the 2018 primaries

Republican incumbents faced a primary challenger in 32 of the 48 Republican primaries on March 6. Visit this page to take a closer look at the numbers and see how they compare to past primaries.

Page 9: Campaign finance in the 2018 primaries

Visit this page to see the campaign contributions and spending by candidates who ran in contested Republican primary elections on March 6.

Page 10: May 22 primary runoffs

Visit this page to see our coverage of the May 22 Republican primary runoffs. We covered the pro-Straus vs. anti-Straus breakdowns in seven state House primary runoffs.

Election updates

This section contains the most recent events in the state legislative Republican primaries.

  • May 22, 2018: Pro-Straus Republicans beat anti-Straus in all five head-to-head matchups in the Republican primary runoffs. However, Pro-Straus state Rep. Scott Cosper lost to Brad Buckley, a candidate without a factional affiliation, and anti-Straus Deanne Marie Metzger beat unaffiliated Joe Ruzicka for the right to face incumbent Victoria Neave Criado in the general election.
    • Overall, three pro-Straus House incumbents and one pro-Straus Senate incumbent lost in 2018. This was fewer than in 2016 (six losses) and 2014 (nine losses).
    • Pro-Straus candidates won eight of the 15 open Republican primaries. Anti-Straus candidates won four and unaffiliated candidates won three.
  • March 7, 2018: The anti-Straus faction of the Republican Party in the Texas Legislature defeated three pro-Straus incumbents in the March 6 primaries. Fewer Republican incumbents lost than in 2016 (six losses) and 2014 (nine losses).
    • Each side won three races without sitting incumbents, however, meaning that the seven runoff elections now set for May 22 will likely decide which faction in the legislature can claim an outright victory this primary season. Five of the seven runoffs will feature a clear pro-Straus vs. anti-Straus matchup (Districts 4, 8, 13, 62, and 121).
    • Anti-Straus challengers unseated pro-Straus incumbents state Sen. Craig Estes and state Reps. Wayne Faircloth and Jason Villalba. Pro-Straus state Rep. Scott Cosper is in a runoff. Key wins for the pro-Straus faction included fending off anti-Straus challengers in Senate District 31 and House Districts 2, 99, 122, and 134.
  • March 6, 2018: As of 11:59 AM CST on election night, neither faction had a clear victory, although anti-Straus candidates did increase their numbers and the pro-Straus faction lost in key races. With 42 of 48 primaries called, here are how the results ended up:
    • Pro-Straus faction: The pro-Straus faction had key victories in Senate District 31 and House Districts 2, 98, 99, 122, and 134. All of these races involved a pro-Straus candidate defeating quality challengers from the anti-Straus faction. Despite these holds, the pro-Straus faction lost incumbents to primary challengers in Senate District 30 and House Districts 23 and 114. Their incumbents were also forced into possible runoffs in House Districts 54 and 88.
    • Anti-Straus faction: The big gains of the night for the anti-Straus faction were in House Districts 23 and 114, where challengers knocked off incumbents Wayne Faircloth and Jason Villalba, respectively. They also had a big win in Senate District 30 with Pat Fallon's defeat of Craig Estes Their challenges against Sarah Davis in District 134 and Lyle Larson in District 122 did not pan out though, and they also failed to defeat Kel Seliger in Senate District 31.
    • Open seats: More is to come for some of the 15 Republican primaries without incumbents. At least five of the 11 primaries with determined outcomes will have runoffs on May 22 between pro-Straus and anti-Straus candidates. Two open seats were captured outright by pro-Straus candidates and one was captured by an anti-Straus candidate. In the other three races, the factional affiliation of the winner was unknown.


Political analysis

May 22 reaction

Here are political reactions to the May 22 primary runoffs:

Pro-Straus Republicans

  • House Speaker Joe Straus: "Once again, Republican primary voters have shown overwhelming support for responsible candidates who will put their communities first and take a serious approach to the state's challenges. The results in these runoffs and in the March primaries clearly demonstrate that Republican voters want constructive and pragmatic leadership for our fast-growing state."[2]
  • Associated Republicans of Texas President Jamie McWright: "It is clear that voters rejected negative campaigns and instead voted for thoughtful, conservative Republicans who are going to have a very positive impact on the next legislative session and on the future of our state.”[3]

Anti-Straus Republicans

  • Texas Freedom Caucus member Jonathan Stickland: "There is not one person that was elected to the Texas House that ran as a moderate. The moderate forces won, but our message won — just not all of our messengers were picked...if [Pro-Straus Republican] Steve Allison does what he said he was planning on doing, then Steve Allison would be in the Freedom Caucus."[3]

March 6 reaction

Political reactions to the March 6 primaries varied, sometimes based on which camp of the Republican Party the observer aligned with.

Outside observers

  • Ross Ramsey, executive editor of the Texas Tribune: "A great line from Republican political consultant Wayne Hamilton nicely summed up this election: 'So much money, so little change.'...Various factions declared victory after the votes were counted; that’s what factions do. But the results were evidence of good defense more than good offense. Most of the incumbents under fire in this year’s primaries survived to the next round. Scads of money were spent, including a fair amount against incumbents."[4]
  • Patrick Svitek, Texas Tribune: "If you're keeping track of the Texas GOP civil war, net gains Tuesday tilted slightly toward the more activist end of the spectrum. In Pat Fallon, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick got a new senator who's likely to be even more allied with the presiding officer than the incumbent he knocked off. The Texas House Freedom Caucus, meanwhile, is poised to expand its ranks by at least a few people, provided its current members win re-election in November."[5]
  • Jay Root, Texas Tribune: "Republican incumbents who dared to buck their party leaders or supposedly influential activist groups had a target on their backs in the 2018 primaries. Nearly all of them won anyway. Even when Republican Gov. Greg Abbott put his own campaign money and clout on the line, he mostly came up empty-handed, failing to defeat maverick Republican Reps. Sarah Davis of Houston and Lyle Larson of San Antonio. Perhaps no group got spanked harder Tuesday night than Empower Texans, a conservative group known for using hardball tactics and waging aggressive campaigns against legislators like Davis and Larson who buck the Tea Party orthodoxy. Its political action committee, fat with oil money, spent more than any other PAC in Texas as of late January, a Texas Tribune analysis showed, but when the smoke cleared from the 2018 Republican primaries, the group could claim only a small handful of scalps."[6]
  • Brandon Rottinghaus, University of Houston: "There's been a gradual shift toward the more conservative wing of the party, and that continued in Tuesday's primary. Little by little, they chip away at the support of moderates."[7]
  • Mark Jones, Rice University: "Since the establishment is on the defensive, any loss is significant for them.They're a group that's shrinking, and they didn't add any House seats...The movement conservatives view this not as a single battle but as a war with a longtime horizon. They never expect to flip 12 or 15 seats in any given cycle. Instead, a net pickup of a few seats means an already weakened establishment is weaker in 2019. Over time, the movement conservative wing [will be] predominant in the House, just like it is now in the Senate."[7]

Anti-Straus Republicans

Here are reactions from the faction of Republicans who opposed House Speaker Joe Straus and his allies.

  • Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick: "The liberal Joe Straus agenda is over. It's over. It was clear last night."[5]
  • Michael Quinn Sullivan, President of Empower Texans: Looking at the GOP election results: [Dan Patrick] got 75%. Every Taxpayer Champion is returning to the [Texas Legislature], & one got a promotion to the Senate. Two House & one Senate RINO were defeated; six formerly RINO seats are headed for run-offs. House & Senate have moved right. GREAT!"[8]

Pro-Straus Republicans

Here are reactions from the faction of Republicans who supported House Speaker Joe Straus and his allies.

  • House Speaker Joe Straus: "Voters showed a clear preference for principled Republicans who are serious about solving the state's challenges."[5]
  • Eric Burse, Republican consultant: “The forces of extremism, like Empower Texans ... overplayed their hand, turned voters off and experienced significant losses in the March primaries. It started to become clear in some of these races that it really was a choice between our local representative and someone who is wholly owned by outside groups and outside money.”[6]

Others

  • Unnamed Greg Abbott campaign official: “I don’t think anyone can say that we didn’t send a message. What candidate wants to spend half a million dollars in a primary where they are the incumbent?. Additionally, it is clear that the governor’s coattails continue to be the most effective and sought after in the state. In the vast majority of contested races, the victors used the governor’s messages and images during the primary." [6]

Incumbents who did not advance to the general election

Retiring incumbents

One Republican state Senate incumbent did not file for re-election.

Twelve Republican state House incumbents did not file for re-election.

Incumbents defeated

One Republican state Senate incumbent was defeated in his primary.

Three Republican state House incumbents were defeated in their primaries.

Voter information

How the primary works

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Texas utilizes an open primary system. Voters do not have to register with a party in advance in order to participate in that party's primary. The voter must sign a pledge stating the following (the language below is taken directly from state statutes)[12]

“ The following pledge shall be placed on the primary election ballot above the listing of candidates' names: 'I am a (insert appropriate political party) and understand that I am ineligible to vote or participate in another political party's primary election or convention during this voting year.'[13] ”

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Poll times

In Texas, all polling places are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time. Texas is divided between the Central and Mountain time zones. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.[14]


Registration requirements

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in Texas, an applicant must be a United States citizen, a resident of the county in which he or she is registering, and at least 17 years and 10 months old.[15]

The deadline to register to vote is 30 days before the election. Prospective voters can request a postage-paid voter registration form online or complete the form online and return it to the county voter registrar. Applications are also available at a variety of locations including the county voter registrar’s office, the secretary of state’s office, libraries, and high schools. Voter registration certificates are mailed to newly registered voters.[16]

Automatic registration

Texas does not practice automatic voter registration.[17]

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Texas does not permit online voter registration.[17]

Same-day registration

Texas does not allow same-day voter registration.[17]

Residency requirements

Prospective voters must reside in the county in which they are registering to vote.[18]

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Texas does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.

State law requires election officials to conduct a check of registered voters' citizenship status. Section 18.068 of the Texas Election Code says the following:

“

The secretary of state shall quarterly compare the information received under Section 16.001 of this code and Section 62.113, Government Code, to the statewide computerized voter registration list. If the secretary determines that a voter on the registration list is deceased or has been excused or disqualified from jury service because the voter is not a citizen, the secretary shall send notice of the determination to the voter registrar of the counties considered appropriate by the secretary.[13]

”
—Section 18.068, Texas Election Code[19]

In January 2019, the Texas secretary of state’s office announced that it would be providing local election officials with a list of registered voters who obtained driver’s licenses or IDs with documentation such as work visas or green cards. Counties would then be able to require voters on the list to provide proof of citizenship within 30 days.[20] The review was halted by a federal judge in February 2019, and Secretary of State David Whitley rescinded the advisory in April.[21][22] A news release from Whitley’s office stated that “... going forward, the Texas Secretary of State's office will send to county voter registrars only the matching records of individuals who registered to vote before identifying themselves as non-U.S. citizens to DPS when applying for a driver's license or personal identification card. This will ensure that naturalized U.S. citizens who lawfully registered to vote are not impacted by this voter registration list maintenance process.”[23]

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment.[24] Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Texas Secretary of State’s office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.


Voter ID requirements

Early voting

Texas permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.

Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.

Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia permit no-excuse early voting.

Absentee voting

Texas voters are eligible to vote absentee in an election if:

  • They cannot make it to the polls on Election Day because they will be away from the county on Election Day and during early voting;
  • They are sick or disabled;
  • They are 65 years of age or older; or
  • They are confined in jail.[26]

To vote absentee, a request must be received by county election officials no later than close of regular business on the eleventh day before the election. The completed ballot must then be returned by the close of polls on Election Day.[27]


Early voting in Texas primaries, 2018

The chart below shows early voting turnout for both parties from the 14 Texas counties for which data was publicly available in 2014 and 2018. Both election years included the same seats and did not coincide with a presidential election.

There are 11 days of early voting in Texas, starting on the Tuesday two weeks before Election Day and running until the Friday before Election Day. In 2018, the final day of early voting was March 2, 2018.[28][29]

There were 13,601,324 registered voters at the time of the March 2014 primaries, meaning the counties used in this analysis contained 62.4 percent of all registered voters in 2014.[30]

Voter registration Democratic turnout Republican turnout
County 2014 2018 % change 2014 2018 % change 2014 2018 % change
Bexar 915,839 1,062,051 16.0% 27,544 49,532 79.8% 40,549 39,533 -2.5%
Cameron 181,802 201,020 10.6% 10,626 10,155 -4.4% 2,110 2,138 1.3%
Collin 466,533 551,400 18.2% 5,331 19,895 273.2% 27,669 40,621 46.8%
Dallas 1,170,598 1,284,089 9.7% 34,815 69,844 100.6% 43,745 40,487 -7.4%
Denton 388,608 475,203 22.3% 4,079 15,033 268.5% 23,210 27,986 20.6%
El Paso 390,949 439,943 12.5% 17,382 29,394 69.1% 5,238 5,779 10.3%
Fort Bend 349,550 414,668 18.6% 4,529 16,542 265.2% 16,293 20,134 23.6%
Galveston 185,850 207,821 11.8% 2,892 5,848 102.2% 11,953 15,744 31.7%
Harris 2,006,270 2,257,546 12.5% 30,108 87,916 192.0% 75,400 81,537 8.1%
Hidalgo 307,426 349,202 13.6% 33,688 34,778 3.2% 3,923 4,259 8.6%
Montgomery 270,019 320,083 18.5% 1427 5,090 256.7% 25,078 27,902 11.3%
Tarrant 969,434 1,095,458 13.0% 22,621 38,731 71.2% 52,719 55,711 5.7%
Travis 627,040 736,112 17.4% 23,088 61,772 167.6% 17,149 21,483 25.3%
Williamson 259,878 315,917 21.6% 4,044 14,894 268.3% 13,728 20,826 51.7%
Totals 8,489,796 9,710,513 +14.4% 222,174 459,424 +106.8% 358,764 404,140 +12.6%

Partisan control

The tables below show the partisan breakdowns of the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas State Senate as of September 2025:

Texas House of Representatives

Party As of March 2018
     Democratic Party 55
     Republican Party 92
     Vacancies 1
Total 150

Texas State Senate

Party As of March 2018
     Democratic Party 11
     Republican Party 20
     Vacancies 0
Total 31

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Texas heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

State executives

State legislature

  • Republicans controlled both chambers of the Texas State Legislature. They had a 93-55 majority in the state House and a 21-10 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

  • Texas was a Republican trifecta, meaning that the Republican Party held the governorship, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House.

2018 elections

See also: Texas elections, 2018

Texas held elections for the following positions in 2018:

Demographics

Demographic data for Texas
 TexasU.S.
Total population:27,429,639316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):261,2323,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:74.9%73.6%
Black/African American:11.9%12.6%
Asian:4.2%5.1%
Native American:0.5%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0.1%0.2%
Two or more:2.5%3%
Hispanic/Latino:38.4%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:81.9%86.7%
College graduation rate:27.6%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$53,207$53,889
Persons below poverty level:19.9%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Texas.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2016, Texas had a population of approximately 27,862,596 people, and its three largest cities were Houston (pop. est. 2.3 million), San Antonio (pop. est. 1.5 million), and Dallas (pop. est. 1.3 million).[31][32]

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Texas from 2000 to 2016.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Texas every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Texas 2000-2016[33][34]
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Republican Party Donald Trump 52.23% Democratic Party Hillary Clinton 43.24% 8.99%
2012 Republican Party Mitt Romney 57.17% Democratic Party Barack Obama 41.38% 15.79%
2008 Republican Party John McCain 55.45% Democratic Party Barack Obama 43.68% 11.77%
2004 Republican Party George W. Bush 61.09% Democratic Party John Kerry 38.22% 22.87%
2000 Republican Party George W. Bush 59.30% Democratic Party Al Gore 37.98% 21.32%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Texas from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Texas 2000-2016[35]
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2014[36] Republican Party John Cornyn 61.56% Democratic Party David Alameel 34.36% 27.20%
2012[37] Republican Party Ted Cruz 56.46% Democratic Party Paul Sadler 40.62% 15.84%
2008[38] Republican Party John Cornyn 54.82% Democratic Party Richard Noriega 42.84% 11.98%
2006[39] Republican Party Kay Bailey Hutchison 61.69% Democratic Party Barbara Ann Radnofsky 36.04% 25.65%
2002[40] Republican Party John Cornyn 55.30% Democratic Party Ron Kirk 43.33% 11.97%
2000[41] Republican Party Kay Bailey Hutchison 65.04% Democratic Party Gene Kelly 32.35% 32.69%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2014

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2014. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Texas.

Election results (Governor), Texas 2000-2016[42]
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2014 Republican Party Greg Abbott 59.27% Democratic Party Wendy Davis 38.90% 20.37%
2010 Republican Party Rick Perry 54.97% Democratic Party Bill White 42.30% 12.67%
2006 Republican Party Rick Perry 39.03% Democratic Party Chris Bell 29.79% 9.24%
2002 Republican Party Rick Perry 57.81% Democratic Party Tony Sanchez 39.96% 17.85%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Texas in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Texas 2000-2016
Year Republicans Republicans (%) Democrats Democrats (%) Balance of power
2016 Republican Party 25 69.4% Democratic Party 11 30.6% R+14
2014 Republican Party 25 69.4% Democratic Party 11 30.6% R+14
2012 Republican Party 24 66.7% Democratic Party 12 33.3% R+12
2010 Republican Party 23 71.9% Democratic Party 9 28.1% R+14
2008 Republican Party 20 62.5% Democratic Party 12 37.5% R+8
2006 Republican Party 19 59.4% Democratic Party 13 40.6% R+6
2004 Republican Party 21 65.6% Democratic Party 11 34.4% R+10
2002 Republican Party 15 46.9% Democratic Party 17 53.1% D+2
2000 Republican Party 13 43.3% Democratic Party 17 56.7% D+4

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Texas Party Control: 1992-2025
Three years of Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-three 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 25
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 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 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 R


See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ TribTalk, "Upcoming battles in the ongoing Texas GOP civil war," December 19, 2017
  2. ↑ Twitter, "Evan Smith on May 22, 2018"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Texas Tribune, "Outside groups spent big backing either centrists or hard-line conservatives in GOP House runoffs. The centrists went 5 for 7," May 23, 2018
  4. ↑ Texas Tribune, "Analysis: A good day to be a Texas incumbent," March 7, 2018
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Texas Tribune, "The Blast", March 7, 2018
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Texas Tribune, "It was a bad election night for Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas' best-funded Tea Party group," March 7, 2018
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Governing, "Primaries Turn Texas a Deeper Shade of Red," March 7, 2018
  8. ↑ Twitter, "Michael Q Sullivan on March 7, 2018," March 7, 2018
  9. ↑ Schubert resigned before his 2018 term ended.
  10. ↑ Gonzales resigned before his 2018 term ended.
  11. ↑ Phillips resigned before his 2018 term ended.
  12. ↑ Texas Statutes, "Section 172.086," accessed October 7, 2024
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  14. ↑ VoteTexas.gov, "Who, What, Where, When, How," accessed February 27, 2023
  15. ↑ Texas Secretary of State, “Request for Voter Registration Applications,” accessed February 27, 2023
  16. ↑ Texas Secretary of State, “Voter Registration,” accessed February 27, 2023
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 NCSL, "State Profiles: Elections," accessed July 28, 2024
  18. ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Request for Voter Registration Applications," accessed July 28, 2024
  19. ↑ Texas Constitution and Statutes, “Election Code,” accessed February 23, 2023
  20. ↑ The Texas Tribune, “Texas officials flag tens of thousands of voters for citizenship checks,” January 25, 2019
  21. ↑ The New York Times, “Federal Judge Halts ‘Ham-Handed’ Texas Voter Purge,” February 28, 2019
  22. ↑ The New York Times, “Texas Ends Review That Questioned Citizenship of Almost 100,000 Voters,” April 26, 2019
  23. ↑ Texas Secretary of State, “Secretary Whitley Announces Settlement In Litigation On Voter Registration List Maintenance Activity,” April 26, 2019
  24. ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 Texas Secretary of State, "Required Identification for Voting in Person," accessed February 27, 2023 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "tvid" defined multiple times with different content
  26. ↑ VoteTexas.gov, "FAQ," accessed December 16, 2013
  27. ↑ VoteTexas.gov, "Early Voting," accessed December 16, 2013
  28. ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Early Voting - 2018," accessed February 25, 2018
  29. ↑ Texas Secretary of State "Early Voting Totals Archive," accessed February 25, 2018
  30. ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Turnout and Voter Registration Figures (1970-current)," accessed February 26, 2018
  31. ↑ United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts Texas," accessed December 12, 2017
  32. ↑ United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts Houston; San Antonio; Dallas," accessed December 13, 2017
  33. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2012 Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives," accessed December 13, 2017
  34. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election Results," January 30, 2017
  35. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Federal Elections 2014: Election Results for the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives," accessed December 13, 2017
  36. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2014 Official Election Results for United States Senate," accessed December 13, 2017
  37. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2012 Official Election Results for United States Senate," accessed December 13, 2017
  38. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2008 Official Election Results for United States Senate," accessed December 13, 2017
  39. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2006 Official Election Results for United States Senate," accessed December 13, 2017
  40. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2002 Official Election Results for United States Senate," accessed December 13, 2017
  41. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2000 Official Election Results for United States Senate," accessed December 13, 2017
  42. ↑ Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections, "Texas Election Results," accessed December 13, 2017
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