United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2008
Encyclopedia
The 2008 elections for the Texas delegation of the United States House of Representatives
was held on November 4, 2008. 31 of 32 congressional seats that make up the state's delegation were contested. In Texas's 14th congressional district
no one challenged incumbent Ron Paul
. Since Representatives are elected for two-year terms, those elected will serve in the 111th United States Congress
from January 4, 2009 until January 3, 2011.
The 2008 Presidential election
, 2008 Senate election (for John Cornyn
's seat), and 2008 Texas Legislature elections
occurred on the same date, as well as many local elections and ballot initiatives.
and 13 Democrats
.
Sophomore Republican Louie Gohmert
of Tyler
was elected in 2004 following a controversial redistricting in 2003 by then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
that moved the district of incumbent Democrat Max Sandlin
into a strongly Republican constituency. Sandlin was defeated by a 24-point margin in 2004, and Gohmert won in 2006 with 68% of the vote. The district is a purely East Texas
one stretching from the Tyler
and Longview
-Marshall
areas in the north to the Lufkin
-Nacogdoches
area due south. Gohmert was renominated, while no Democrats ran in the 2008 Primary. He won easily with 87.7% of the vote.
Republican Ted Poe
of Humble
was one of four Republicans who defeated a Democratic challenger (Nick Lampson
, now representing District 22
) in the 2004 elections. Poe won 56% of the vote in 2004 and 66% in 2006, making him one of only a handful of Republicans who gained from the previous election (In 2006, Democrats, who won control of the House from Republicans, generally improved on their 2004 margins). The district stretches from the northern Harris County
and Houston
suburbs of Spring
and Kingwood to southern Liberty County
and much of the Golden Triangle region. Poe was renominated, while no Democrats ran in the 2008 Primary. The Libertarian Party
nominated Craig Wolfe. Poe won re-election with 88.9% of the vote.
Longtime Republican Sam Johnson
of Plano
was 78 in 2008 but chose not to retire. He won the Republican nomination. Tom Daley (campaign website) is the Democratic nominee and Christopher J. Claytor (campaign website) is the Libertarian nominee. Johnson was re-elected 59.8-38.0% over Claytor.
This district includes several northern and northeastern suburbs of Dallas
, including southwestern Collin County
(including Plano and McKinney
) and northeastern Dallas County
including large portions of Garland
and Richardson
, as well as some northern portions of Dallas itself. The district is heavily Caucasian
, upper-middle class, and Republican, with incomes averaging around the $75,000 range.
Republican Ralph Hall
of Rockwall
, the oldest living member of the House of Representatives (he will be 85 in 2008), faced Democratic nominee Glenn Melancon ([CQ Politics considered the race 'Safe Republican'.
Hall has represented the district since 1980, first elected as an “old-time” conservative Democrat before becoming a Republican in 2004. He won the 2008 Primary election, defeating foreign relations expert Joshua Kowert; businessman and NASCAR team owner Gene Christensen; and former Frisco
mayor Kathy Seei. Hall defeated Melancon 68.8-29.3%.
This Northeast Texas
district encompasses the Ark-La-Tex
, the Rockwall County
suburbs of Dallas, and the Sherman
-Denison
area.
Jeb Hensarling
, a Republican from Dallas, was first elected in 2002 to a heavily Republican district comprising east Dallas and its neighboring suburbs, and stretching to the south and east to a number of small East Texas counties. A favorite among fiscal conservatives in Texas, Hensarling is a potential challenger for the U.S. Senate in 2012 should the incumbent Republican, Kay Bailey Hutchison
, retire. In 2008, Hensarling is expected to win another term in this district despite recent Democratic gains in Dallas County
. Hensarling was renominated, while no Democrats ran in the 2008 Primary. Hensaring was re-elected with 83.6% of the vote.
Twelve-term Republican Joe Barton
of Ennis
was the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee until Democrats took over the House in 2006. The district stretches from Arlington
southward to several east central Texas counties all the way to Trinity County, which is west of Lufkin and is heavily Republican. Barton won the 2008 primary, and faced Democratic winner Ludwig Otto in the general election, which Barton won 62.0-35.6%.
Incumbent Republican John Culberson
faced Democratic businessman Michael Skelly in this Houston area district. CQ Politics considered this race 'Leans Republican'.
Culberson won a surprisingly modest 59% of the vote in 2006 in what is otherwise a normally strong Republican district. He was still favored to win in 2008, given the 2006 anti-Republican trend and the normally Republican voting trend of this mainly suburban district, which is among the most affluent in the nation. Skelly, a former executive of Horizon Wind Energy
, earned an MBA from Harvard after serving in the Peace Corps
. He currently serves on Houston Mayor Bill White's Green Building Advisory Committee. Culberson defeated Skelly 55.9-42.3%.
The district, which was once represented by former President George H. W. Bush
, includes much of heavily Republican west Houston—such as River Oaks, Uptown and Upper Kirby, Memorial/Spring Branch area, and the island cities of Bellaire, West University Place, and Jersey Village, as well as many unincorporated areas of northwest Harris County
including a large chunk of the Cypress-Fairbanks area. The district also includes the heavily Democratic Neartown area. No Democrat has served this district since 1966, before the district was based in its current location.
Republican Kevin Brady
of The Woodlands
represents a strongly GOP district centered around the northern suburbs and exurbs of Houston and Beaumont as well as the Huntsville
and Lake Livingston
areas, winning two-thirds of the vote in 2004 and 2006. The district was expected to remain in Republican hands; no Democrat has won this district since Jimmy Carter
, the last Democrat to carry Texas in the presidential electoral college (in 1976), was President. Brady won the 2008 Primary and faced Democrat Kent Hargett who he defeated 72.6-24.8%.
Sophomore Democrat Al Green
was not expected to face a serious challenge in 2008 for his heavily Democratic district, which is situated in southwest Houston and includes Houston’s Southside, as well as the Mission Bend and Alief areas (which have large Asian-American populations) and several heavily black and Hispanic northeastern neighborhoods of Missouri City. He was elected by a 3 to 1 margin in 2004 after defeating displaced incumbent Congressman and fellow Democrat Chris Bell
in the primary (Bell was moved out of his previous district in the controversial 2003 redistricting engineered by then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
), and won a second term unopposed in 2006. Green was renominated, while no Republicans ran in the 2008 Primary. Green was re-elected with 93.6% of the overall vote.
Incumbent Republican nominee Michael McCaul
of Austin
was challenged by Democratic nominee Larry Joe Doherty
,a legal ethics attorney and former TV courtroom judge. CQ Politics considered this race 'Republican Favored'. In 2006, McCaul won only 55% of the vote against Democratic challenger, Ted Ankrum, and Libertarian
Michael Badnarik
. Ultimately McCaul won 53.9-43.1%.
This Republican-leaning district stretches from north Austin into Brenham
traveling all the way to several far western and northwestern suburbs of Houston
.
Midland Republican Mike Conaway
represents George W. Bush
’s strongest district in the 2004 election. He won 77% of the vote in 2004 and was one of only a handful of Republicans who ran unopposed in 2006. Conaway’s district stretches from the Midland
and San Angelo
areas to several mostly rural areas northwest of Austin
. No Democrat ran in the 2008 primary and Conaway received 88.3% of the vote over minor party opposition.
Republican Kay Granger
, who is considered a moderate by Texas Republican standards, won two-thirds of the vote in 2006, outperforming most of her fellow Texas Republican colleagues. The popular Fort Worth
-based Granger was expected to win re-election in 2008 in this district comprising western areas of Fort Worth and surrounding areas. Granger defeated Democrat nominee Tracey Smith 67.6-30.6%.
Mac Thornberry
represents this Texas Panhandle
district that encompasses Amarillo
and Wichita Falls
. The Clarendon
Republican won by a 3 to 1 margin in 2006 and faced only a Libertarian candidate in 2004. Thornberry defeated Democrat nominee Roger Waun 77.6-22.4%.
is best known for his strong libertarian
views. His slogan, “The Taxpayers’ Best Friend”, emphasizes his strong — and sometimes controversial — takes on fiscal conservatism, while his social policies, which includes ending the federal War on Drugs
and legalizing marijuana, as well as his belief that the federal government should not be involved in wedge issues such as gay marriage, leading to a more negative nickname, "Dr. No", for his votes against much of the legislative agenda of both parties in Congress.
The 73-year-old physician is a resident of Surfside
. Paul was a Republican candidate in the 2008 presidential election (his second, following his run as Libertarian Party nominee in 1988
), and ran un-opposed for re-election.
In 2006, Ron Paul won 60% of the vote against Democratic opponent Shane Sklar, a young rancher and Executive Director of the Independent Cattlemen’s Association of Texas (ICA) who ran on a promise to serve as a fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrat
and received a slightly more favorable rating from the NRA
, in attempt to defeat the popular Paul. Paul was renominated, while no Democrats ran in the 2008 Primary. Libertarian Eugene J. Flynn filed to run on December 20 http://thirdpartywatch.com/2007/12/20/libertarian-files-for-pauls-cd-14-seat/http://lptexas.org/candidates.shtml. The district extends from several far southern and southeastern areas of Houston, including Galveston
and Brazoria County
, to the Bay City
, Wharton County, and Victoria
areas.
of Mercedes
won 62% of the vote in 2004 in a South Texas district that had to be realigned following a Supreme Court decision that made the neighboring 23rd District unconstitutional. Hinojosa, who was 68 in 2008, won the Democrat nomination and defeated Republican nominee Eddie Zamora 65.7-32.0%.
represents El Paso
and is the Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
, which could make him a target of some conservative Republicans over issues relating to immigration in spite of the fact that Reyes was a former border patrol agent. Still, the district remains overwhelmingly Democratic due to its large Hispanic population, and Reyes is popular with his constituents. He won two-thirds of the 2004 vote in a district that swung strongly in favor of John Kerry
, and won with no Republican challenger in 2006. Reyes was renominated, while no Republican ran in the 2008 Primary. Reyes won re-election with 82.1% of the vote.
Democrat Chet Edwards
has been targeted for defeat in many recent elections. His district is widely seen as arguably the most heavily Republican district held by a Democrat, and won a close election in 2004, but recovered in 2006 with a strong eighteen point win. The district, which includes the official residence of George W. Bush
, stretches from several rural areas south of Fort Worth to Edwards’ hometown of Waco
and the Brazos Valley
region, which comprises the Bryan
-College Station
area. This district gave George W. Bush 70% of the vote in 2004. Edwards won the 2008 Democrat nomination and defeated Republican nominee Rob Curnock 53.0-45.5%.
represents one of the most heavily Democratic areas in the state, covering several largely poor and African-American areas of Houston (including downtown Houston) and whose three previous representatives (Barbara Jordan
, Mickey Leland
, and Craig Washington) were all African-Americans and took staunch liberal stances.
A regular during C-SPAN
’s gavel-to-gavel coverage of the House while it is in session, Jackson Lee has also been seen as controversial, and is considered by some to be one of the “meanest” members of the House, as she is known to have one of the highest turnover rates of any congressional staff. Still, she is a well-respected figure in the district, and has been re-elected with at least 80% of the vote many times. Jackson Lee won the Democrat nomination and defeated Republican nominee John Faulk 77.3-20.3% in the 2008 November general election.
Republican Randy Neugebauer
of Lubbock
won re-election in 2006 with 68% of the vote. His district is heavily Republican and stretches from Lubbock to Big Spring
and Abilene
and was created in the controversial 2003 Texas redistricting, which in 2004 led to the defeat of Neugebauer’s challenger, conservative Democrat Charles Stenholm
. Neugebauer won re-election over 2008 Democrat nominee Dwight Fullingim 72.5 to 24.9%.
Democrat Charlie Gonzalez
represents much of heavily Democratic, largely Hispanic inner San Antonio, including the downtown area. Gonzalez won 87% of the vote in 2006 against a Libertarian opponent and two-thirds of the 2004 vote. Gonzalez is heavily favored to win re-election to this seat, which was once held by his father, Henry Gonzalez
for nearly four decades. The Gonzalez family have represented this district for 47 years as of 2008. Charlie defeated 2008 Republican nominee Robert Litoff 71.9-25.2% in the November general election.
Longtime representative Lamar S. Smith
was the only Republican to win among the five congressional districts realigned as a result of a Supreme Court ruling that declared the nearby 23rd District unconstitutional as a result of allegations of diluted Hispanic voting power during the controversial 2003 Texas redistricting
. Smith ended up being moved into a district that now encompasses several northern San Antonio suburbs as well as the Texas Hill Country
and western parts of Travis County. The district includes a heavily Democratic portion of Austin, including the area around the University of Texas at Austin
. However, it is no match for the heavily Republican areas around San Antonio. The Supreme Court decision restored a large amount of territory that had been shifted to Henry Bonilla
's district in 2003. Smith won 60% of the vote in 2006 against six challengers, including two Democrats, in a special election that resulted from the ruling. Smith was renominated, while no Democrats ran in the 2008 primary. In the general election, Smith won with 80.0% of the vote.
The seat was held by Democrat
Nick Lampson
, who was defeated by Republican Pete Olson
,a former Senate aide on November 4, 2008.
2006 election
In 2006, the 11-term Republican incumbent, former House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay
, was indicted and then resigned amid allegations of corruption surrounding his campaign finance activities for ARMPAC and its Texas division, TRMPAC. DeLay's resignation came too late for another Republican to replace him on the ballot. Democrat Nick Lampson
, who had moved from Beaumont
to Stafford
to run against DeLay, ended up winning the seat after Republicans were forced to run a write-in campaign
for Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
, a dermatologist and former Houston City Councilwoman who won a special election to fill the remaining seven weeks of DeLay’s unexpired term.
CQ Politics forecasts this race as 'No Clear Favorite'. Many other election experts agree the race is highly competitive, including Stuart Rothenberg
, Electoral-vote.com
, The Hill
, The Southern Political Report, and Chris Cillizza.
An October 22, 2008, poll by John Zogby
and the Houston Chronicle
has stated that Olson has a 17 point lead over Lampson.
Lampson had been mentioned as a potential candidate for the Senate in 2008, where he would face Republican incumbent John Cornyn
, but Lampson instead chose to run for re-election to his congressional seat. Lampson topped a list of Democrats targeted by Republican campaign operative Karl Rove
in 2008. The Republican primary was a hard-fought contest, and Olson easily defeated 2006 nominee Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
in the run-off election on April 8. Olson defeated Lampson 52.4-45.4% in the general election.
The heavily Republican district includes several of Houston’s affluent southern suburbs, including all of Sugar Land, affluent areas of Missouri City
, Pearland
, Pasadena
and its surrounding smaller municipalities, and the Clear Lake
master-planned community. The district is also home to the NASA
Johnson Space Center, which houses Mission Control
, and Ellington Field
.
Ciro Rodriguez, a former Democratic congressman from San Antonio, faced Republican nominee Bexar County Commissioner Lyle Larson and Libertarian Lani Connolly in this majority-Hispanic district. CQ Politics considered this race 'Leans Democratic'.
Rodriquez defeated incumbent Republican Henry Bonilla
in a December runoff after finishing in second place to Bonilla during the November general election, when Rodriguez himself ran out of money but was later helped by the DCCC
. He was a former congressman who represented the nearby 28th District until a controversial redistricting plan that made this district more heavily Republican and favorable to Bonilla resulted in his defeat by that district’s current representative, Henry Cuellar
. Bonilla was seen as an ally of Tom DeLay, who engineered the redistricting. Also, a Supreme Court ruled Bonilla’s district, which was situated in the Hill Country suburbs of San Antonio, unconstitutional over claims that Hispanic voting rights were diluted in the redistricting. This resulted in the 23rd becoming much more Democratic with the addition of south San Antonio, which is Rodriguez’s home base, and the removal of the Hill Country portions from the district, which were moved to Lamar S. Smith
’s district.
Larson is a public official and businessman in San Antonio. A graduate of Texas A&M University, he worked as a salesman for Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson
. In 1991 and 1993, Larson was elected to the San Antonio City Council. In 1996, he was elected Bexar County Commissioner. He defeated attorney and banker Quico Canseco
in the Republican primary for the U.S. House in 2008. Rodriguez then defeated Larson 55.8-41.9%. In 2010, Larson was elected in District 122 to the Texas House of Representatives
to fill the seat formerly held by the Republicans Frank Corte, Jr.
, and, earlier John Shields
.
In addition to southern San Antonio and Bexar County, the district also includes several northwestern areas of San Antonio. Other areas represented in the district include the border towns of Del Rio
and Eagle Pass
, as well as Big Bend National Park
and eastern El Paso County. It includes more than 600 miles of the Texas-Mexico border.
of Coppell
won 60% of the vote in this Republican-leaning district that gave George W. Bush 65% of the vote in 2004. Marchant is heavily favored to win re-election to this district, which is located in the middle of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
and includes the suburbs of Duncanville
and Cedar Hill
in the south, Grand Prairie
and part of Irving
in the central area of the district, and Colleyville
, Grapevine
and the Carrollton
-Farmers Branch
area in the north, as well as Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Marchant’s district was previously represented by Martin Frost
, who was moved out of this district in Tom DeLay’s controversial 2003 redistricting of the state. Marchant defeated 2008 Democrat nominee Tom Love (campaign website) and 2008 Libertarian nominee David A. Casey 55.9-41.1% in the November election.
represents a Democratic-leaning constituency that is centered around the Austin
area and several smaller rural areas to the south and east which either lean Republican or strongly favor Republicans. Doggett won 67% of the vote against a largely unknown Republican opponent who initially ran as a Libertarian until the previous 25th district was thrown out in a Supreme Court ruling that declared the nearby 23rd District of Henry Bonilla
unconstitutional; this district was realigned as a result of the controversial mid-decade redistricting engineered by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
, which realigned Doggett's district into a linear form that was derisively referred to as the "fajita strip". Doggett defeated 2008 Republican nominee George Morovich 65.8-30.5% in the November election.
Republican Michael Burgess
of Lewisville
won 60% of the vote in 2006 against an underfunded Democratic opponent, a six-percent drop from his 2004 victory against another Democrat. However, Burgess remains assured of a safe seat, as his seat takes in most of Denton County
as well as parts of Fort Worth
and lean heavily in favor of the Republican Party. The district was once represented by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey
, who engineered the 1994 Republican Revolution along with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
. Burgess defeated 2008 Democrat nominee Ken Leach (campaign website) 60.2-36.4% in the November election.
The District is represented by Moderate Democrat Solomon Ortiz, the Dean of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus
. Ortiz received 57% of the vote in 2006, a six-point decline from his 2004 performance, which was somewhat of an anomaly given the strong anti-Republican voting mood of 2006, where Democrats either performed above their 2004 performance or ran without opposition. In 2004, George W. Bush
carried this South Texas district, which includes Corpus Christi
as well as Brownsville
and South Padre Island
. Ortiz won the Democrat nomination and defeated Republican nominee Willie Vaden 57.9-38.4% in November.
Conservative Democrat Henry Cuellar
won 68% of the vote in 2006 against another Democrat who received 20% of the vote. Even though Cuellar is becoming a rising star in the Democratic Party, and has even been seen by some as a potential Democratic challenger to Senator John Cornyn
, Cuellar could face a challenge for his seat, which includes Laredo
(where Cuellar resides) and areas south of San Antonio, due to his somewhat conservative voting record. For instance, Cuellar received the backing of the conservative Club for Growth
during his 2006 primary campaign against Ciro Rodriguez, his predecessor, who later went on to win the 23rd District held by Republican Henry Bonilla
, whom Cuellar nearly defeated in 2002. Cuellar won the Democrat nomination and defeated Republican nominee Jim Fish 68.7-29.2% in November.
Democrat Gene Green
of Houston has won re-election easily without facing a primary challenge in this strongly Latino, heavily Democratic district, which covers eastern portions of Houston as well as some of its suburbs. Green defeated Republican nominee Eric Story 74.7-23.9%.
Incumbent Democratic nominee Eddie Bernice Johnson
(campaign website) of Dallas defeated Republican nominee Fred Wood
(campaign website) 82.6-15.8%. This district includes the inner city areas of Dallas, including its downtown areas, as well as several southern Dallas County
suburbs south of the city which boast a large African-American population. CQ Politics considered the race to be 'Safe Democrat'.
John Carter
of Round Rock
won 59% of the vote in 2006 against a token Democratic opponent. His district, which was created as a result of the 2000 Census, stretches across a large segment of Central Texas from the northern Williamson County
suburbs of Austin to the gigantic Fort Hood military base, all the way north to Stephenville
. This description of the district would make it an opportunity for the Fighting Dems
, a faction of military veterans who are members of the Democratic Party. Radio producer Brian P. Ruiz (campaign website) of Hutto
won the Democratic nomination but was defeated by Carter 60.3-36.5% in the general election.
Six-term incumbent and conservative Republican Pete Sessions
(campaign website) will face Democrat Eric Roberson (campaign website) in this Dallas district. CQ Politics considered the race 'Safe Republican'.
Sessions was considered to be a vulnerable candidate for a number of reasons. First, he is known to have close ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff
, an issue that is likely to become the focus of his Democratic challenger’s campaign in 2008. Also, while Sessions improved on his margin from his hotly contested 2004 race against Democrat Martin Frost
, who was displaced from his previous district as a result of the controversial 2003 redistricting engineered by former House Majority Leader and Abramoff ally, Tom DeLay
, it was only by a 2% margin (from 54% in 2004 to 56% in 2006). Contrarily, George W. Bush
carried 59% of the vote in the district to 41% of the vote for John Kerry in 2004. Finally, in 2006, Democrats made unexpected gains in Dallas County
, winning the District Attorney
office and all contested state district judgeships in the county, along with a number of countywide offices on the basis of corruption within the local Republican establishment as well as momentum gained from Democratic Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez
’s unexpected 2004 victory.
Roberson won against Steve Love in the April 8th party runoff election to determine the Democratic nominee., but lost to Sessions 57.2-40.6% in the general election.
This Republican-leaning district includes several northern affluent areas of Dallas
, including Highland Park
, and significant chunks of the suburbs of Irving
and Richardson
.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
was held on November 4, 2008. 31 of 32 congressional seats that make up the state's delegation were contested. In Texas's 14th congressional district
Texas's 14th congressional district
Texas's 14th district for the United States House of Representatives is a Congressional district that covers the area south and southwest of the Greater Houston region, including Galveston, in the state of Texas. The district was created as a result of the 1900 U.S. Census and was first contested...
no one challenged incumbent Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
. Since Representatives are elected for two-year terms, those elected will serve in the 111th United States Congress
111th United States Congress
The One Hundred Eleventh United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009 until January 3, 2011. It began during the last two weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with the remainder spanning the first two years of...
from January 4, 2009 until January 3, 2011.
The 2008 Presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
, 2008 Senate election (for John Cornyn
John Cornyn
John Cornyn, III is the junior United States Senator for Texas, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 111th U.S. Congress....
's seat), and 2008 Texas Legislature elections
Texas Legislature elections, 2008
2008 elections for the Texas Legislature were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008, in the U.S. state of Texas. The Texas Legislature election was conducted concurrently with the election for the 2008 United States presidential race, the United States Senate seat of Republican John Cornyn, and the...
occurred on the same date, as well as many local elections and ballot initiatives.
Prior Delegation Facts
The delegation prior to the election comprised 19 RepublicansRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and 13 Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
.
- Women: The delegation comprises three women: two Democrats and one Republican.
- Ethnic minorities: Six Hispanics and three African-Americans, all Democrats, are part of the delegation.
- Regional breakdown:
- Dallas/Fort Worth MetroplexDallas/Fort Worth MetroplexThe Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area, a title designated by the U.S. Census as of 2003, encompasses 12 counties within the U.S. state of Texas. The area is divided into two metropolitan divisions: Dallas–Plano–Irving and Fort Worth–Arlington. Residents of the area...
: Nine representatives (8 Republicans and 1 Democrat). Districts 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 24, 26, 30, 32. - Greater HoustonGreater HoustonHouston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
: Nine representatives (5 Republicans, 4 Democrats), eight of whom actually reside in that area; the ninth, Michael McCaulMichael McCaulMichael Thomas McCaul, Sr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district stretches from Austin to Houston.-Early life, education and career:...
is from the Austin area. - South TexasSouth TexasSouth Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of and including San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande River, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 3.7 million. The southern portion of this region is...
: Three representatives, all Hispanic Democrats, are from the Rio Grande ValleyRio Grande ValleyThe Rio Grande Valley or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas...
region, while three (2 Democrats, 1 Republican) are from the San AntonioSan Antonio, TexasSan Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
area. - Central and east TexasEast TexasEast Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...
: These regions have several districts overlapping these regions. Three Republicans and one Democrat represent portions of the Austin area, while Democrat (Chet EdwardsChet EdwardsThomas Chester "Chet" Edwards is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas. He represented a district based in Waco, Texas from 1991 to 2011, and served in the Texas Senate from 1983 until 1990. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
) represents a district that includes the WacoWaco, TexasWaco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
and BryanBryan, TexasBryan is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 76,201. It is the county seat of Brazos County and is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley . It shares its border with the city of College Station, which lies to its south...
-College StationCollege Station, TexasCollege Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley. The city is located within the most populated region of Texas, near three of the 10 largest cities in the United States - Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio...
areas, and Republican (Louie GohmertLouie GohmertLouis Buller Gohmert, Jr. is an American politician and current Republican U.S. Representative from Texas's 1st congressional district.-Life and career:...
) holds the lone East Texas district. - West TexasWest TexasWest Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
and Texas PanhandleTexas PanhandleThe Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
: Three Republicans and one Democrat make up this delegation. The Democrat, Silvestre ReyesSilvestre ReyesSilvestre "Silver" Reyes is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997, and the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the primary Committee in the U.S...
, represents much of El PasoEl Paso, TexasEl Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
.
- Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
- Age: The average age of the Texas delegation is 61, with the oldest being Republican Ralph HallRalph HallRalph Moody Hall is a United States Representative from . First elected in 1980, Hall is the chairman of the Science Committee and a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee...
(age 85 in 2008) and the youngest being Michael McCaul (age 46), a Republican. In 2008, five (including Hall) will be over the age of 70, 13 representatives will be in their 60s, and the remainder (with the exception of McCaul) will be in their 50s. - Seniority: 17 representatives will have served at least six terms by the end of the 110th Congress, and five will have served at least ten terms, the most being Ralph Hall (14 terms). Republican Ron PaulRon PaulRonald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
and Democrats Nick LampsonNick LampsonNicholas Valentino 'Nick' Lampson is an American politician from the state of Texas and was a Congressman representing the 22nd Congressional District of Texas. He was defeated by Pete Olson on November 4, 2008 in his re-election bid....
and Ciro Rodriguez have served nonconsecutive tenures. One representative, Silvestre Reyes, is a committee chair (Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence).
Overview
| United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2008 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | Percentage | Seats Before | Seats After | +/– | |
| Republican Republican Party of Texas The Republican Party of Texas is one of the two major political parties in the U.S. State of Texas. It is affiliated with the United States Republican Party. The State Chairman is Steve Munisteri, a retired attorney and businessman from Houston, and the Vice-Chair is Melinda Fredricks of Conroe.... |
4,203,917 | 55.839% | 19 | 20 | +1 | |
| Democratic Texas Democratic Party The Texas Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in Texas and the local branch of the United States Democratic Party. It is headquartered in Downtown Austin within close proximity to the Texas State Capitol.-19th century:... |
2,979,398 | 39.574% | 13 | 12 | -1 | |
| Libertarian Libertarian Party of Texas The Libertarian Party of Texas is the state affiliate of the Libertarian Party in Texas, USA. The state chair is Patrick Dixon.- Overview :In 1971, Texas was one of the 13 original founding state parties at the first LP convention in Denver, Colorado... |
302,145 | 4.013% | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
43,162 | 0.573% | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | - | -% | ||||
| Invalid or blank votes | - | -% | ||||
| Totals | 7,528,622 | 100.00% | 32 | 32 | — | |
| Voter turnout | % | |||||
District 1
Sophomore Republican Louie Gohmert
Louie Gohmert
Louis Buller Gohmert, Jr. is an American politician and current Republican U.S. Representative from Texas's 1st congressional district.-Life and career:...
of Tyler
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
was elected in 2004 following a controversial redistricting in 2003 by then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
Tom DeLay
Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
that moved the district of incumbent Democrat Max Sandlin
Max Sandlin
Max Sandlin , is a lawyer, lobbyist, American politician, and former Democratic Congressman who served eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Texas District 1....
into a strongly Republican constituency. Sandlin was defeated by a 24-point margin in 2004, and Gohmert won in 2006 with 68% of the vote. The district is a purely East Texas
East Texas
East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...
one stretching from the Tyler
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
and Longview
Longview, Texas
Longview is a city in Gregg and Harrison Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 80,455. Most of the city is located in Gregg County, of which it is the county seat; only a small part extends into the western part of neighboring Harrison County. It is...
-Marshall
Marshall, Texas
Marshall is a city in Harrison County in the northeastern corner of Texas. Marshall is a major cultural and educational center in East Texas and the tri-state area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Marshall was about 23,523...
areas in the north to the Lufkin
Lufkin, Texas
Lufkin is a city in Angelina County, Texas, United States. Founded in 1882, the population was 35,067 in 2010. It is the county seat of Angelina County, and is situated in Deep East Texas.-History:...
-Nacogdoches
Nacogdoches, Texas
Nacogdoches is a city in Nacogdoches County, Texas, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the city's population to be 32,996. It is the county seat of Nacogdoches County and is situated in East Texas. Nacogdoches is a sister city of Natchitoches, Louisiana.Nacogdoches is the home of...
area due south. Gohmert was renominated, while no Democrats ran in the 2008 Primary. He won easily with 87.7% of the vote.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 2
Republican Ted Poe
Ted Poe
Lloyd "Ted" Poe is a Republican politician currently representing Texas's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. The district includes most of northern Houston, as well as most of the Beaumont-Port Arthur metropolitan area. He is the first Republican to ever...
of Humble
Humble, Texas
Humble is a city in Harris County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area.As of the 2000 census, the city population was 14,579. The city shares a zip code with the small Houston neighborhood of Bordersville, although people who live in Bordersville still have Humble...
was one of four Republicans who defeated a Democratic challenger (Nick Lampson
Nick Lampson
Nicholas Valentino 'Nick' Lampson is an American politician from the state of Texas and was a Congressman representing the 22nd Congressional District of Texas. He was defeated by Pete Olson on November 4, 2008 in his re-election bid....
, now representing District 22
Texas's 22nd congressional district
Texas District 22 of the United States House of Representatives is the Congressional district that covers a south-central portion of the metropolitan area. It includes the cities of Rosenberg and La Marque as well as portions of Missouri City and Pearland, in Fort Bend, Harris, Galveston, and...
) in the 2004 elections. Poe won 56% of the vote in 2004 and 66% in 2006, making him one of only a handful of Republicans who gained from the previous election (In 2006, Democrats, who won control of the House from Republicans, generally improved on their 2004 margins). The district stretches from the northern Harris County
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
and Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
suburbs of Spring
Spring, Texas
Spring, Texas is a census-designated place within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston in Harris County, Texas, United States, north of Downtown Houston. The population was 54,298 at the 2010 census...
and Kingwood to southern Liberty County
Liberty County, Texas
Liberty County is a county located in Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,643. Its county seat is Liberty.-Geography:According to the U.S...
and much of the Golden Triangle region. Poe was renominated, while no Democrats ran in the 2008 Primary. The Libertarian Party
Libertarian Party of Texas
The Libertarian Party of Texas is the state affiliate of the Libertarian Party in Texas, USA. The state chair is Patrick Dixon.- Overview :In 1971, Texas was one of the 13 original founding state parties at the first LP convention in Denver, Colorado...
nominated Craig Wolfe. Poe won re-election with 88.9% of the vote.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 3
Longtime Republican Sam Johnson
Sam Johnson
Samuel Robert "Sam" Johnson is an American politician and a retired career U.S. Air Force officer and fighter pilot. He currently is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the 3rd District of Texas...
of Plano
Plano, Texas
Plano is a city in the state of Texas, located mostly within Collin County. The city's population was 259,841 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Texas and the 71st most populous city in the United States. Plano is located within the metropolitan area commonly referred to as...
was 78 in 2008 but chose not to retire. He won the Republican nomination. Tom Daley (campaign website) is the Democratic nominee and Christopher J. Claytor (campaign website) is the Libertarian nominee. Johnson was re-elected 59.8-38.0% over Claytor.
This district includes several northern and northeastern suburbs of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, including southwestern Collin County
Collin County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 491,675 people, 181,970 households, and 132,292 families residing in the county. The population density was 580 people per square mile . There were 194,892 housing units at an average density of 230 per square mile...
(including Plano and McKinney
McKinney, Texas
McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas, United States, and the second in population to Plano. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 131,117 The Census Bureau listed McKinney as the nation's fastest growing city from 2000 to 2003 and again in...
) and northeastern Dallas County
Dallas County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,218,899 people, 807,621 households, and 533,837 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,523 people per square mile . There were 854,119 housing units at an average density of 971/sq mi...
including large portions of Garland
Garland, Texas
-Climate:* The average warmest month is July.* The highest recorded temperature was in 2000.* On average, the coolest month is January.* The lowest recorded temperature was in 1989.* The maximum average precipitation occurs in May....
and Richardson
Richardson, Texas
Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 99,223. In 2011 the population was estimated to be 107,684. Richardson is an affluent inner suburb of Dallas and home of the Telecom Corridor with a high...
, as well as some northern portions of Dallas itself. The district is heavily Caucasian
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
, upper-middle class, and Republican, with incomes averaging around the $75,000 range.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 4
Republican Ralph Hall
Ralph Hall
Ralph Moody Hall is a United States Representative from . First elected in 1980, Hall is the chairman of the Science Committee and a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee...
of Rockwall
Rockwall, Texas
Rockwall is a city in Rockwall County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Dallas. It is part of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The population was 37,490 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Rockwall County. Rockwall County is the second wealthiest county in the state of Texas in terms...
, the oldest living member of the House of Representatives (he will be 85 in 2008), faced Democratic nominee Glenn Melancon ([CQ Politics considered the race 'Safe Republican'.
Hall has represented the district since 1980, first elected as an “old-time” conservative Democrat before becoming a Republican in 2004. He won the 2008 Primary election, defeating foreign relations expert Joshua Kowert; businessman and NASCAR team owner Gene Christensen; and former Frisco
Frisco, Texas
Frisco is an affluent city in Collin and Denton Counties in the U.S. state of Texas and a rapidly growing suburb of Dallas. As of the 2010 Census, 116,989 people were living in Frisco up from 33,714 in the previous census. Frisco was the fastest growing city in the United States in 2009, and also...
mayor Kathy Seei. Hall defeated Melancon 68.8-29.3%.
This Northeast Texas
Northeast Texas
Northeast Texas is a region in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Texas. It is geographically centered around two metropolitan areas strung along Interstate 20: Tyler in the west and Longview/Marshall to the east...
district encompasses the Ark-La-Tex
Ark-La-Tex
The Ark-La-Tex, Arklatex, or ArkLaTex is a U.S. socio-economic region where Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma intersect. Some prefer the more inclusive Arklatexoma...
, the Rockwall County
Rockwall County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 43,080 people, 14,530 households, and 11,972 families residing in the county. The population density was 334 people per square mile . There were 15,351 housing units at an average density of 119 per square mile...
suburbs of Dallas, and the Sherman
Sherman, Texas
Sherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's estimated population as of 2009 was 38,407. It is also one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
-Denison
Denison, Texas
Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The population was 22,773 at the 2000 census; it is estimated to have grown to 24,127 in 2009. Denison is one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
area.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 5
Jeb Hensarling
Jeb Hensarling
Jeb Hensarling has been the Republican congressman representing Texas' 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2003.-Early life:...
, a Republican from Dallas, was first elected in 2002 to a heavily Republican district comprising east Dallas and its neighboring suburbs, and stretching to the south and east to a number of small East Texas counties. A favorite among fiscal conservatives in Texas, Hensarling is a potential challenger for the U.S. Senate in 2012 should the incumbent Republican, Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kathryn Ann Bailey Hutchison, known as Kay Bailey Hutchison , is the senior United States Senator from Texas.She is a member of the Republican Party. In 2001, she was named one of the thirty most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. The first woman to represent Texas in the U.S....
, retire. In 2008, Hensarling is expected to win another term in this district despite recent Democratic gains in Dallas County
Dallas County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,218,899 people, 807,621 households, and 533,837 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,523 people per square mile . There were 854,119 housing units at an average density of 971/sq mi...
. Hensarling was renominated, while no Democrats ran in the 2008 Primary. Hensaring was re-elected with 83.6% of the vote.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 6
Twelve-term Republican Joe Barton
Joe Barton
Joseph Linus "Joe" Barton is a Republican politician, representing in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1985, and a member of the Tea Party Caucus...
of Ennis
Ennis, Texas
Ennis is a city in Ellis County, Texas, United States, and a southeastern suburb of Dallas. The population was 16,045 at the 2000 census.In 1871, the Houston and Texas Central Railroad purchased of land in Ellis County at a price of , establishing the line's northern terminus. On May 8, 1872,...
was the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee until Democrats took over the House in 2006. The district stretches from Arlington
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census results, the city had a population of 365,438, making it the third largest municipality in the Metroplex...
southward to several east central Texas counties all the way to Trinity County, which is west of Lufkin and is heavily Republican. Barton won the 2008 primary, and faced Democratic winner Ludwig Otto in the general election, which Barton won 62.0-35.6%.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 7
Incumbent Republican John Culberson
John Culberson
John Abney Culberson is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party and the Tea Party caucus...
faced Democratic businessman Michael Skelly in this Houston area district. CQ Politics considered this race 'Leans Republican'.
Culberson won a surprisingly modest 59% of the vote in 2006 in what is otherwise a normally strong Republican district. He was still favored to win in 2008, given the 2006 anti-Republican trend and the normally Republican voting trend of this mainly suburban district, which is among the most affluent in the nation. Skelly, a former executive of Horizon Wind Energy
Horizon Wind Energy
EDP Renewables North America is a wind energy developer based in Houston, Texas...
, earned an MBA from Harvard after serving in the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
. He currently serves on Houston Mayor Bill White's Green Building Advisory Committee. Culberson defeated Skelly 55.9-42.3%.
The district, which was once represented by former President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, includes much of heavily Republican west Houston—such as River Oaks, Uptown and Upper Kirby, Memorial/Spring Branch area, and the island cities of Bellaire, West University Place, and Jersey Village, as well as many unincorporated areas of northwest Harris County
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
including a large chunk of the Cypress-Fairbanks area. The district also includes the heavily Democratic Neartown area. No Democrat has served this district since 1966, before the district was based in its current location.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
- Polling from Pollster.com
District 8
Republican Kevin Brady
Kevin Brady
Kevin Patrick Brady is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes a large swath of suburban and rural territory around Houston and Beaumont....
of The Woodlands
The Woodlands, Texas
The Woodlands is a master-planned community and a Census-designated place in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. The population of the CDP was 55,649 at the 2000 census—a 90 percent increase over its 1990 population. According to the 2010 census, The Woodlands' population rose...
represents a strongly GOP district centered around the northern suburbs and exurbs of Houston and Beaumont as well as the Huntsville
Huntsville, Texas
Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. The population was 35,508 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area....
and Lake Livingston
Lake Livingston
Lake Livingston is a reservoir located in the East Texas Piney Woods. Lake Livingston was built, and is owned and operated, by the Trinity River Authority of Texas under contract with the City of Houston for water supply purposes. The lake is the largest lake constructed for water supply purposes...
areas, winning two-thirds of the vote in 2004 and 2006. The district was expected to remain in Republican hands; no Democrat has won this district since Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, the last Democrat to carry Texas in the presidential electoral college (in 1976), was President. Brady won the 2008 Primary and faced Democrat Kent Hargett who he defeated 72.6-24.8%.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 9
Sophomore Democrat Al Green
Al Green (politician)
Alexander N. "Al" Green is the U.S. Representative from Texas' 9th congressional district . The district includes most of southwestern Houston, including most of that city's share of Fort Bend County. It also includes most of Missouri City.-Early life and career:Green was born in New Orleans,...
was not expected to face a serious challenge in 2008 for his heavily Democratic district, which is situated in southwest Houston and includes Houston’s Southside, as well as the Mission Bend and Alief areas (which have large Asian-American populations) and several heavily black and Hispanic northeastern neighborhoods of Missouri City. He was elected by a 3 to 1 margin in 2004 after defeating displaced incumbent Congressman and fellow Democrat Chris Bell
Chris Bell (politician)
Robert Christopher "Chris" Bell is a Democratic Party politician. He last served as a one-term congressman in the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 25th congressional district in Houston from 2003 to 2005 before being defeated in the Democratic primary by Justice of the Peace Al...
in the primary (Bell was moved out of his previous district in the controversial 2003 redistricting engineered by then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
Tom DeLay
Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
), and won a second term unopposed in 2006. Green was renominated, while no Republicans ran in the 2008 Primary. Green was re-elected with 93.6% of the overall vote.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 10
Incumbent Republican nominee Michael McCaul
Michael McCaul
Michael Thomas McCaul, Sr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district stretches from Austin to Houston.-Early life, education and career:...
of Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
was challenged by Democratic nominee Larry Joe Doherty
Larry Joe Doherty
Larry Joe Doherty or LJD is a Texas legal ethics attorney and former television star of the syndicated courtroom show Texas Justice. He was the Democratic candidate for the 10th Congressional District of Texas in 2008, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent Republican Michael McCaul...
,a legal ethics attorney and former TV courtroom judge. CQ Politics considered this race 'Republican Favored'. In 2006, McCaul won only 55% of the vote against Democratic challenger, Ted Ankrum, and Libertarian
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
Michael Badnarik
Michael Badnarik
Michael J. Badnarik is an American software engineer, political figure, and former radio talk show host. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2004 elections, and placed fourth in the race, behind independent candidate Ralph Nader...
. Ultimately McCaul won 53.9-43.1%.
This Republican-leaning district stretches from north Austin into Brenham
Brenham, Texas
Brenham is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, Texas, United States, with a population of 16,147 according to the 2009 census. It is the county seat of Washington County...
traveling all the way to several far western and northwestern suburbs of Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
- Polling from Pollster.com
District 11
Midland Republican Mike Conaway
Mike Conaway
Kenneth Michael "Mike" Conaway, is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is located in West Texas and includes Midland, Odessa, San Angelo, Brownwood and Fredericksburg....
represents George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
’s strongest district in the 2004 election. He won 77% of the vote in 2004 and was one of only a handful of Republicans who ran unopposed in 2006. Conaway’s district stretches from the Midland
Midland, Texas
Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. As of 2010, the population of Midland was 111,147. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas...
and San Angelo
San Angelo, Texas
San Angelo is a city in the state of Texas. Located in West Central Texas it is the county seat of Tom Green County. As of 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total population of 93,200...
areas to several mostly rural areas northwest of Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. No Democrat ran in the 2008 primary and Conaway received 88.3% of the vote over minor party opposition.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 12
Republican Kay Granger
Kay Granger
Kay Granger , a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Texas, currently represents the 12th congressional district in the U.S...
, who is considered a moderate by Texas Republican standards, won two-thirds of the vote in 2006, outperforming most of her fellow Texas Republican colleagues. The popular Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
-based Granger was expected to win re-election in 2008 in this district comprising western areas of Fort Worth and surrounding areas. Granger defeated Democrat nominee Tracey Smith 67.6-30.6%.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 13
Mac Thornberry
Mac Thornberry
William McClellan "Mac" Thornberry is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1995. He is a member of the Republican Party....
represents this Texas Panhandle
Texas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
district that encompasses Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
and Wichita Falls
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
. The Clarendon
Clarendon, Texas
Clarendon is a city in Donley County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,974 at the 2000 census. The county seat of Donley County, Clarendon is located on United States Highway 287 in the Texas Panhandle some sixty miles east of Amarillo. It was established in 1878 by Methodist clergyman L.H...
Republican won by a 3 to 1 margin in 2006 and faced only a Libertarian candidate in 2004. Thornberry defeated Democrat nominee Roger Waun 77.6-22.4%.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 14
Republican Ron PaulRon Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
is best known for his strong libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
views. His slogan, “The Taxpayers’ Best Friend”, emphasizes his strong — and sometimes controversial — takes on fiscal conservatism, while his social policies, which includes ending the federal War on Drugs
War on Drugs
The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
and legalizing marijuana, as well as his belief that the federal government should not be involved in wedge issues such as gay marriage, leading to a more negative nickname, "Dr. No", for his votes against much of the legislative agenda of both parties in Congress.
The 73-year-old physician is a resident of Surfside
Surfside Beach, Texas
Surfside Beach is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, United States that is situated on the Gulf of Mexico just west of Galveston Island. The city is part of the Greater Houston area. The population was 763 at the 2000 census...
. Paul was a Republican candidate in the 2008 presidential election (his second, following his run as Libertarian Party nominee in 1988
United States presidential election, 1988
The United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...
), and ran un-opposed for re-election.
In 2006, Ron Paul won 60% of the vote against Democratic opponent Shane Sklar, a young rancher and Executive Director of the Independent Cattlemen’s Association of Texas (ICA) who ran on a promise to serve as a fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrat
Blue Dog Democrat
The Blue Dog Coalition, commonly known as the Blue Dogs, is a group of United States Congressional Representatives from the Democratic Party who identify themselves as moderates....
and received a slightly more favorable rating from the NRA
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
, in attempt to defeat the popular Paul. Paul was renominated, while no Democrats ran in the 2008 Primary. Libertarian Eugene J. Flynn filed to run on December 20 http://thirdpartywatch.com/2007/12/20/libertarian-files-for-pauls-cd-14-seat/http://lptexas.org/candidates.shtml. The district extends from several far southern and southeastern areas of Houston, including Galveston
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
and Brazoria County
Brazoria County, Texas
Brazoria County[p] is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located on the Gulf Coast within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. Regionally, parts of the county are within the extreme southern-most fringe of the regions locally known as Southeast Texas. Brazoria County is among a...
, to the Bay City
Bay City, Texas
Bay City is a city in Matagorda County, Texas, United States. The population was 18,667 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Matagorda County. The current mayor is Mark Bricker.-Geography:Bay City is located at...
, Wharton County, and Victoria
Victoria, Texas
Victoria is a city in and the seat of Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 60,603 at the 2000 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 at the 2000 census,...
areas.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 15
Democrat Rubén HinojosaRubén Hinojosa
Rubén E. Hinojosa is the U.S. House of Representative for , serving since 1997. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district stretches from the Rio Grande Valley to historic Goliad County and the Coastal Bend region...
of Mercedes
Mercedes, Texas
Mercedes is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,570 at the 2010 census. It is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas.-Geography:Mercedes is located at ....
won 62% of the vote in 2004 in a South Texas district that had to be realigned following a Supreme Court decision that made the neighboring 23rd District unconstitutional. Hinojosa, who was 68 in 2008, won the Democrat nomination and defeated Republican nominee Eddie Zamora 65.7-32.0%.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 16
Democrat Silvestre ReyesSilvestre Reyes
Silvestre "Silver" Reyes is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997, and the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the primary Committee in the U.S...
represents El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
and is the Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
The United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is a committee of the United States House of Representatives, currently chaired by Mike Rogers. It is the primary committee in the U.S...
, which could make him a target of some conservative Republicans over issues relating to immigration in spite of the fact that Reyes was a former border patrol agent. Still, the district remains overwhelmingly Democratic due to its large Hispanic population, and Reyes is popular with his constituents. He won two-thirds of the 2004 vote in a district that swung strongly in favor of John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, and won with no Republican challenger in 2006. Reyes was renominated, while no Republican ran in the 2008 Primary. Reyes won re-election with 82.1% of the vote.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 17
Democrat Chet Edwards
Chet Edwards
Thomas Chester "Chet" Edwards is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas. He represented a district based in Waco, Texas from 1991 to 2011, and served in the Texas Senate from 1983 until 1990. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
has been targeted for defeat in many recent elections. His district is widely seen as arguably the most heavily Republican district held by a Democrat, and won a close election in 2004, but recovered in 2006 with a strong eighteen point win. The district, which includes the official residence of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, stretches from several rural areas south of Fort Worth to Edwards’ hometown of Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
and the Brazos Valley
Brazos Valley
The Brazos Valley is a region in the U.S. state of Texas consisting of Brazos County, Robertson County, Grimes County, Washington County, Burleson County, Madison County, and Leon County, with Brazos County and the cities of College Station and Bryan at its center...
region, which comprises the Bryan
Bryan, Texas
Bryan is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 76,201. It is the county seat of Brazos County and is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley . It shares its border with the city of College Station, which lies to its south...
-College Station
College Station, Texas
College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley. The city is located within the most populated region of Texas, near three of the 10 largest cities in the United States - Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio...
area. This district gave George W. Bush 70% of the vote in 2004. Edwards won the 2008 Democrat nomination and defeated Republican nominee Rob Curnock 53.0-45.5%.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 18
Democrat Sheila Jackson LeeSheila Jackson Lee
Sheila Jackson Lee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1995. The district includes most of inner-city Houston. She is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life and education:...
represents one of the most heavily Democratic areas in the state, covering several largely poor and African-American areas of Houston (including downtown Houston) and whose three previous representatives (Barbara Jordan
Barbara Jordan
Barbara Charline Jordan was an American politician who was both a product and a leader, of the Civil Rights movement. She was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction and the first southern black female elected to the United States House of Representatives...
, Mickey Leland
Mickey Leland
George Thomas "Mickey" Leland was an anti-poverty activist who later became a congressman from the Texas 18th District and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus...
, and Craig Washington) were all African-Americans and took staunch liberal stances.
A regular during C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
’s gavel-to-gavel coverage of the House while it is in session, Jackson Lee has also been seen as controversial, and is considered by some to be one of the “meanest” members of the House, as she is known to have one of the highest turnover rates of any congressional staff. Still, she is a well-respected figure in the district, and has been re-elected with at least 80% of the vote many times. Jackson Lee won the Democrat nomination and defeated Republican nominee John Faulk 77.3-20.3% in the 2008 November general election.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 19
Republican Randy Neugebauer
Randy Neugebauer
Robert Randolph "Randy" Neugebauer is the U.S. Representative for , serving since a special election in 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes a large swath of West Texas, including Lubbock and Abilene...
of Lubbock
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
won re-election in 2006 with 68% of the vote. His district is heavily Republican and stretches from Lubbock to Big Spring
Big Spring, Texas
Big Spring is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Texas, United States, at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20. With a population of 25,233 at the 2000 census, it is the largest city between Midland to the west, Abilene to the east, Lubbock to the north, and San Angelo...
and Abilene
Abilene, Texas
Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in west central Texas. The population was 117,063 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County...
and was created in the controversial 2003 Texas redistricting, which in 2004 led to the defeat of Neugebauer’s challenger, conservative Democrat Charles Stenholm
Charles Stenholm
Charles Walter "Charlie" Stenholm, is a politician from the state of Texas. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives for 13 terms, from 1979 to 2005....
. Neugebauer won re-election over 2008 Democrat nominee Dwight Fullingim 72.5 to 24.9%.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 20
Democrat Charlie Gonzalez
Charlie Gonzalez
Charles A. "Charlie" Gonzalez , is a Democratic politician from Texas. He has represented Texas's 20th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1999. The district includes more than half of San Antonio....
represents much of heavily Democratic, largely Hispanic inner San Antonio, including the downtown area. Gonzalez won 87% of the vote in 2006 against a Libertarian opponent and two-thirds of the 2004 vote. Gonzalez is heavily favored to win re-election to this seat, which was once held by his father, Henry Gonzalez
Henry B. Gonzalez
Henry Barbosa González was a Democratic politician from the state of Texas. He represented Texas's 20th congressional district from 1961 to 1999.-Background:...
for nearly four decades. The Gonzalez family have represented this district for 47 years as of 2008. Charlie defeated 2008 Republican nominee Robert Litoff 71.9-25.2% in the November general election.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 21
Longtime representative Lamar S. Smith
Lamar S. Smith
Lamar Seeligson Smith is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1987. The district includes most of the wealthier sections of San Antonio and Austin, as well as nearly all of the Texas Hill Country...
was the only Republican to win among the five congressional districts realigned as a result of a Supreme Court ruling that declared the nearby 23rd District unconstitutional as a result of allegations of diluted Hispanic voting power during the controversial 2003 Texas redistricting
2003 Texas redistricting
The 2003 Texas redistricting refers to a controversial mid-decade congressional redistricting plan appealed to the United States Supreme Court in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry...
. Smith ended up being moved into a district that now encompasses several northern San Antonio suburbs as well as the Texas Hill Country
Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...
and western parts of Travis County. The district includes a heavily Democratic portion of Austin, including the area around the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. However, it is no match for the heavily Republican areas around San Antonio. The Supreme Court decision restored a large amount of territory that had been shifted to Henry Bonilla
Henry Bonilla
Henry Bonilla is a former congressman who represented Texas's 23rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He was defeated in his bid for re-election by Ciro Davis Rodriguez, a former Democratic member of Congress, in a special election runoff held on December 12, 2006...
's district in 2003. Smith won 60% of the vote in 2006 against six challengers, including two Democrats, in a special election that resulted from the ruling. Smith was renominated, while no Democrats ran in the 2008 primary. In the general election, Smith won with 80.0% of the vote.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 22
The seat was held by Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Nick Lampson
Nick Lampson
Nicholas Valentino 'Nick' Lampson is an American politician from the state of Texas and was a Congressman representing the 22nd Congressional District of Texas. He was defeated by Pete Olson on November 4, 2008 in his re-election bid....
, who was defeated by Republican Pete Olson
Pete Olson
Peter Graham "Pete" Olson is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes much of southeastern Houston, as well as most of the city's southern suburbs such as Pearland, Sugar Land, and Pasadena.-Early life, education, and military...
,a former Senate aide on November 4, 2008.
2006 election
In 2006, the 11-term Republican incumbent, former House Majority Leader
Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives
Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives are elected by their respective parties in a closed-door caucus by secret ballot and are also known as floor leaders. The U.S. House of Representatives does not officially use the term "Minority Leader", although the media frequently does...
Tom DeLay
Tom DeLay
Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
, was indicted and then resigned amid allegations of corruption surrounding his campaign finance activities for ARMPAC and its Texas division, TRMPAC. DeLay's resignation came too late for another Republican to replace him on the ballot. Democrat Nick Lampson
Nick Lampson
Nicholas Valentino 'Nick' Lampson is an American politician from the state of Texas and was a Congressman representing the 22nd Congressional District of Texas. He was defeated by Pete Olson on November 4, 2008 in his re-election bid....
, who had moved from Beaumont
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
to Stafford
Stafford, Texas
Stafford is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County with a small portion in Harris County. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, Stafford's population was 15,681....
to run against DeLay, ended up winning the seat after Republicans were forced to run a write-in campaign
Write-in candidate
A write-in candidate is a candidate in an election whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person's name. Some states and local jurisdictions allow a voter to affix a sticker with a write-in candidate's name on it to the ballot in lieu...
for Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
Shelley Sekula-Gibbs is a physician and a former member of the United States House of Representatives representing from November 13, 2006, until January 3, 2007. She has also served as a City Councilwoman in Houston, Texas for three terms...
, a dermatologist and former Houston City Councilwoman who won a special election to fill the remaining seven weeks of DeLay’s unexpired term.
CQ Politics forecasts this race as 'No Clear Favorite'. Many other election experts agree the race is highly competitive, including Stuart Rothenberg
Stuart Rothenberg
Stuart Rothenberg is an American editor, publisher, and political analyst best known for his Washington-based, biweekly, self-proclaimed non-partisan political newsletter The Rothenberg Political Report...
, Electoral-vote.com
Electoral-vote.com
Electoral-Vote.com is the website of computer scientist Andrew S. Tanenbaum. The site's primary content is poll analysis to project the outcome of U.S. elections. The site also includes commentary on related news stories. Well known for its color-coded electoral map of the United States, the...
, The Hill
The Hill (newspaper)
The Hill, a subsidiary of News Communications Inc., is a newspaper published in Washington, D.C. since 1994.Its first editor was Martin Tolchin, a veteran correspondent in the Washington bureau of The New York Times....
, The Southern Political Report, and Chris Cillizza.
An October 22, 2008, poll by John Zogby
John Zogby
John Zogby is an American political pollster and first senior fellow at The Catholic University of America's Life Cycle Institute. He is the founder, president and CEO of Zogby International, a polling firm known for both phone polling and interactive, Internet-based polling.-Early years:Zogby...
and the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
has stated that Olson has a 17 point lead over Lampson.
Lampson had been mentioned as a potential candidate for the Senate in 2008, where he would face Republican incumbent John Cornyn
John Cornyn
John Cornyn, III is the junior United States Senator for Texas, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 111th U.S. Congress....
, but Lampson instead chose to run for re-election to his congressional seat. Lampson topped a list of Democrats targeted by Republican campaign operative Karl Rove
Karl Rove
Karl Christian Rove was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush until Rove's resignation on August 31, 2007. He has headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives...
in 2008. The Republican primary was a hard-fought contest, and Olson easily defeated 2006 nominee Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
Shelley Sekula-Gibbs is a physician and a former member of the United States House of Representatives representing from November 13, 2006, until January 3, 2007. She has also served as a City Councilwoman in Houston, Texas for three terms...
in the run-off election on April 8. Olson defeated Lampson 52.4-45.4% in the general election.
The heavily Republican district includes several of Houston’s affluent southern suburbs, including all of Sugar Land, affluent areas of Missouri City
Missouri City, Texas
Missouri City is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County with a small portion within Harris County. As of the 2000 U.S...
, Pearland
Pearland, Texas
Pearland , is a city located along the Gulf Coast region in the US state of Texas within the metropolitan area and is in the counties of Brazoria, Fort Bend, and Harris. As of the census of 2000, the city's population was 37,640. As of 2008, Pearland is estimated to have a population of 90,700...
, Pasadena
Pasadena, Texas
Pasadena is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Harris County, 17th-largest in Texas, and 162nd largest in the United States. The area was founded in 1893 by John H. Burnett of Galveston....
and its surrounding smaller municipalities, and the Clear Lake
Clear Lake City, Houston, Texas
Clear Lake City is a master-planned community located in southeast Harris County, Texas, within the Bay Area of Greater Houston. It is the second-largest master-planned community in Houston — behind Kingwood...
master-planned community. The district is also home to the NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Johnson Space Center, which houses Mission Control
Mission Control Center
A mission control center is an entity that manages aerospace vehicle flights, usually from the point of lift-off until the landing or the end of the mission. A staff of flight controllers and other support personnel monitor all aspects of the mission using telemetry, and send commands to the...
, and Ellington Field
Ellington Field
Ellington International Airport is a joint civil-military airport located in the U.S. state of Texas within the city of Houston— southeast of Downtown. Established by the Army Air Service on 21 May 1917, Ellington Field was one of the initial World War I Army Air Service installations when...
.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 23
Ciro Rodriguez, a former Democratic congressman from San Antonio, faced Republican nominee Bexar County Commissioner Lyle Larson and Libertarian Lani Connolly in this majority-Hispanic district. CQ Politics considered this race 'Leans Democratic'.
Rodriquez defeated incumbent Republican Henry Bonilla
Henry Bonilla
Henry Bonilla is a former congressman who represented Texas's 23rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He was defeated in his bid for re-election by Ciro Davis Rodriguez, a former Democratic member of Congress, in a special election runoff held on December 12, 2006...
in a December runoff after finishing in second place to Bonilla during the November general election, when Rodriguez himself ran out of money but was later helped by the DCCC
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. They play a critical role in recruiting candidates, raising funds, and organizing races in districts that are expected to yield...
. He was a former congressman who represented the nearby 28th District until a controversial redistricting plan that made this district more heavily Republican and favorable to Bonilla resulted in his defeat by that district’s current representative, Henry Cuellar
Henry Cuellar
Henry Roberto Cuellar is the U.S Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district extends from the Rio Grande to the suburbs of San Antonio, including Guadalupe County and nearby Wilson County.Outside of politics, he has served as a professor at the...
. Bonilla was seen as an ally of Tom DeLay, who engineered the redistricting. Also, a Supreme Court ruled Bonilla’s district, which was situated in the Hill Country suburbs of San Antonio, unconstitutional over claims that Hispanic voting rights were diluted in the redistricting. This resulted in the 23rd becoming much more Democratic with the addition of south San Antonio, which is Rodriguez’s home base, and the removal of the Hill Country portions from the district, which were moved to Lamar S. Smith
Lamar S. Smith
Lamar Seeligson Smith is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1987. The district includes most of the wealthier sections of San Antonio and Austin, as well as nearly all of the Texas Hill Country...
’s district.
Larson is a public official and businessman in San Antonio. A graduate of Texas A&M University, he worked as a salesman for Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company is listed among the Fortune 500....
. In 1991 and 1993, Larson was elected to the San Antonio City Council. In 1996, he was elected Bexar County Commissioner. He defeated attorney and banker Quico Canseco
Quico Canseco
Francisco "Quico" R. Canseco is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life and education:...
in the Republican primary for the U.S. House in 2008. Rodriguez then defeated Larson 55.8-41.9%. In 2010, Larson was elected in District 122 to the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
to fill the seat formerly held by the Republicans Frank Corte, Jr.
Frank Corte, Jr.
Frank Julius Corte, Jr. , is a real estate businessman in San Antonio, Texas, who served as a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from Bexar County between 1993 and 2011....
, and, earlier John Shields
John Shields (Texas politician)
John Howard Shields is an attorney in San Antonio, Texas, who is a Republican former member of the Texas House of Representatives from Bexar County. Shields is also an investor in Retama Park racetrack in San Antonio. His father-in-law is powerful San Antonio businessman B. J. "Red" McCombs...
.
In addition to southern San Antonio and Bexar County, the district also includes several northwestern areas of San Antonio. Other areas represented in the district include the border towns of Del Rio
Del Rio, Texas
Del Rio is a border city in and the county seat of Val Verde County, Texas, United States.. Del Rio is connected with Ciudad Acuña via the Lake Amistad Dam International Crossing and Del Río-Ciudad Acuña International Bridge...
and Eagle Pass
Eagle Pass, Texas
Eagle Pass is a city in and the county seat of Maverick County The population was 27,183 as of the 2010 census.Eagle Pass borders the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, which is to the southwest and across the Rio Grande. The Eagle Pass-Piedras Negras Metropolitan Area is one of six...
, as well as Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park is a national park located in the U.S. state of Texas. Big Bend has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States, which includes more than 1,200 species of plants, more than 450 species of birds, 56...
and eastern El Paso County. It includes more than 600 miles of the Texas-Mexico border.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 24
Republican Kenny MarchantKenny Marchant
Kenny Ewell Marchant is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes several wealthy areas around Dallas and Fort Worth.-Early life, education and career:...
of Coppell
Coppell, Texas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 35,958 people, 12,211 households, and 9,781 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,418.5 people per square mile . There were 12,587 housing units at an average density of 846.6 per square mile...
won 60% of the vote in this Republican-leaning district that gave George W. Bush 65% of the vote in 2004. Marchant is heavily favored to win re-election to this district, which is located in the middle of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area, a title designated by the U.S. Census as of 2003, encompasses 12 counties within the U.S. state of Texas. The area is divided into two metropolitan divisions: Dallas–Plano–Irving and Fort Worth–Arlington. Residents of the area...
and includes the suburbs of Duncanville
Duncanville, Texas
Duncanville is a city in Dallas County, Texas . Duncanville's population was 36,081 at the 2000 census, and estimated at 42,500 in 2008. Duncanville is a suburb of Dallas and is part of the Best Southwest area, which includes Duncanville, Cedar Hill, DeSoto, and Lancaster.-Geography:Duncanville is...
and Cedar Hill
Cedar Hill, Texas
Cedar Hill is a city in Dallas and Ellis Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located approximately sixteen miles southwest of downtown Dallas and is situated along the eastern shore of Joe Pool Lake and Cedar Hill State Park. The population was 32,093 at the 2000 census...
in the south, Grand Prairie
Grand Prairie, Texas
Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Ellis, and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas and is a part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Grand Prairie is a suburb of both Dallas and Fort Worth and had a population of 175,396 at the 2010 census.- History :The city of...
and part of Irving
Irving, Texas
Irving is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 216,290. Irving is within the Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, designated...
in the central area of the district, and Colleyville
Colleyville, Texas
Colleyville is a city in northeast Tarrant County, Texas, United States. Located roughly from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the population was 22,807 at the 2010 census. Emerging from a number of small, rural settlements along the Cotton Belt Route, Colleyville was established in the...
, Grapevine
Grapevine, Texas
Grapevine is a city in northeast Tarrant County, Texas, United States located within the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census the city population was 46,334. The city's moniker is derived from the native grapes prevalent in the area. In recent years several wineries have...
and the Carrollton
Carrollton, Texas
-Climate:*On average, the warmest month is July.*The highest recorded temperature was 112°F in 1980.*The average coolest month is January.*The lowest recorded temperature was 1°F in 1989.*The most precipitation on average occurs in May....
-Farmers Branch
Farmers Branch, Texas
Farmers Branch is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. It is both an inner-ring suburb of Dallas and is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. The population was 27,508 at the 2000 census. A July 1, 2008 U.S...
area in the north, as well as Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Marchant’s district was previously represented by Martin Frost
Martin Frost
Jonas Martin Frost III is an American politician, who was the Democratic representative to the U.S. House of Representatives for Texas's 24th congressional district from 1979 to 2005.-Personal life:...
, who was moved out of this district in Tom DeLay’s controversial 2003 redistricting of the state. Marchant defeated 2008 Democrat nominee Tom Love (campaign website) and 2008 Libertarian nominee David A. Casey 55.9-41.1% in the November election.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 25
Austin Democrat Lloyd DoggettLloyd Doggett
Lloyd Alton Doggett II is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He previously represented from 1995 to 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
represents a Democratic-leaning constituency that is centered around the Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
area and several smaller rural areas to the south and east which either lean Republican or strongly favor Republicans. Doggett won 67% of the vote against a largely unknown Republican opponent who initially ran as a Libertarian until the previous 25th district was thrown out in a Supreme Court ruling that declared the nearby 23rd District of Henry Bonilla
Henry Bonilla
Henry Bonilla is a former congressman who represented Texas's 23rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He was defeated in his bid for re-election by Ciro Davis Rodriguez, a former Democratic member of Congress, in a special election runoff held on December 12, 2006...
unconstitutional; this district was realigned as a result of the controversial mid-decade redistricting engineered by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
Tom DeLay
Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
, which realigned Doggett's district into a linear form that was derisively referred to as the "fajita strip". Doggett defeated 2008 Republican nominee George Morovich 65.8-30.5% in the November election.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 26
Republican Michael Burgess
Michael Burgess
Michael John Clement Burgess OBE is the Coroner of the Queen's Household. He was educated at King's College London. He was appointed deputy coroner in 1991 and was appointed coroner in 2002...
of Lewisville
Lewisville, Texas
Lewisville is a city in Denton County in the U.S. state of Texas. The 2010 United States Census placed the population at 95,290 within . The city also includes of Lewisville Lake....
won 60% of the vote in 2006 against an underfunded Democratic opponent, a six-percent drop from his 2004 victory against another Democrat. However, Burgess remains assured of a safe seat, as his seat takes in most of Denton County
Denton County, Texas
Denton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 432,976; in 2009 the estimated population had reached 628,300. Part of the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex, it is one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States. The county seat is Denton. The county...
as well as parts of Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
and lean heavily in favor of the Republican Party. The district was once represented by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey
Dick Armey
Richard Keith "Dick" Armey is a former U.S. Representative from Texas's and House Majority Leader . He was one of the engineers of the "Republican Revolution" of the 1990s, in which Republicans were elected to majorities of both houses of Congress for the first time in four decades. Armey was...
, who engineered the 1994 Republican Revolution along with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
. Burgess defeated 2008 Democrat nominee Ken Leach (campaign website) 60.2-36.4% in the November election.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 27
The District is represented by Moderate Democrat Solomon Ortiz, the Dean of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus
Congressional Hispanic Caucus
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus comprises 21 Democratic members of the United States Congress most of whom are of Hispanic origin. The Caucus is dedicated to voicing and advancing, through the legislative process, issues affecting Hispanics and Latinos in the United States and Puerto Rico...
. Ortiz received 57% of the vote in 2006, a six-point decline from his 2004 performance, which was somewhat of an anomaly given the strong anti-Republican voting mood of 2006, where Democrats either performed above their 2004 performance or ran without opposition. In 2004, George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
carried this South Texas district, which includes Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
as well as Brownsville
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...
and South Padre Island
South Padre Island, Texas
South Padre Island is a town in Cameron County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Brownsville–Harlingen Metropolitan Statistical Area. It may be included as part of the Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville and the Matamoros–Brownsville metropolitan areas. The population was 2,816 at the...
. Ortiz won the Democrat nomination and defeated Republican nominee Willie Vaden 57.9-38.4% in November.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 28
Conservative Democrat Henry Cuellar
Henry Cuellar
Henry Roberto Cuellar is the U.S Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district extends from the Rio Grande to the suburbs of San Antonio, including Guadalupe County and nearby Wilson County.Outside of politics, he has served as a professor at the...
won 68% of the vote in 2006 against another Democrat who received 20% of the vote. Even though Cuellar is becoming a rising star in the Democratic Party, and has even been seen by some as a potential Democratic challenger to Senator John Cornyn
John Cornyn
John Cornyn, III is the junior United States Senator for Texas, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 111th U.S. Congress....
, Cuellar could face a challenge for his seat, which includes Laredo
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
(where Cuellar resides) and areas south of San Antonio, due to his somewhat conservative voting record. For instance, Cuellar received the backing of the conservative Club for Growth
Club for Growth
The Club for Growth is a politically conservative 527 organization active in the United States of America, with an agenda focussed on taxation and other economic issues, and with an affiliated political action committee . The Club advocates lower taxes, limited government, less government spending,...
during his 2006 primary campaign against Ciro Rodriguez, his predecessor, who later went on to win the 23rd District held by Republican Henry Bonilla
Henry Bonilla
Henry Bonilla is a former congressman who represented Texas's 23rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He was defeated in his bid for re-election by Ciro Davis Rodriguez, a former Democratic member of Congress, in a special election runoff held on December 12, 2006...
, whom Cuellar nearly defeated in 2002. Cuellar won the Democrat nomination and defeated Republican nominee Jim Fish 68.7-29.2% in November.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 29
Democrat Gene Green
Gene Green
Raymond Eugene "Gene" Green is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
of Houston has won re-election easily without facing a primary challenge in this strongly Latino, heavily Democratic district, which covers eastern portions of Houston as well as some of its suburbs. Green defeated Republican nominee Eric Story 74.7-23.9%.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 30
Incumbent Democratic nominee Eddie Bernice Johnson
Eddie Bernice Johnson
Eddie Bernice Johnson is a politician from the state of Texas, currently representing the state's in the United States House of Representatives. She is the first registered nurse elected to the US Congress....
(campaign website) of Dallas defeated Republican nominee Fred Wood
Fred Wood
Frederick Wood was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative half-back. He was vice-captain of the Wallabies on their first overseas tour in 1908-09 and later captained the side in Test matches in 1910 and 1914...
(campaign website) 82.6-15.8%. This district includes the inner city areas of Dallas, including its downtown areas, as well as several southern Dallas County
Dallas County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,218,899 people, 807,621 households, and 533,837 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,523 people per square mile . There were 854,119 housing units at an average density of 971/sq mi...
suburbs south of the city which boast a large African-American population. CQ Politics considered the race to be 'Safe Democrat'.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 31
John Carter
John Carter (Texas politician)
John Rice Carter is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. Carter was elected Secretary of the House Republican Conference by his colleagues on November 17, 2006....
of Round Rock
Round Rock, Texas
Round Rock is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the metropolitan area. The 2010 census places the population at 99,887....
won 59% of the vote in 2006 against a token Democratic opponent. His district, which was created as a result of the 2000 Census, stretches across a large segment of Central Texas from the northern Williamson County
Williamson County, Texas
Williamson County is a county located on both the Edwards Plateau to the west, consisting of rocky terrain and hills, and Blackland Prairies in the east consising of rich, fertile farming land, The two areas are roughly bisected by Interstate 35...
suburbs of Austin to the gigantic Fort Hood military base, all the way north to Stephenville
Stephenville, Texas
Stephenville is a city in and the county seat of Erath County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,921 at the 2000 census. Founded in 1856, it is home to Tarleton State University. Stephenville is among several communities that calls itself the "Cowboy Capital of the...
. This description of the district would make it an opportunity for the Fighting Dems
Fighting Dems
The Fighting Dems is a nickname given to more than 60 military veterans who ran for Congress as Democrats in the United States' 2006 congressional elections. Five of these candidates were elected to the House of Representatives and one was elected to the Senate...
, a faction of military veterans who are members of the Democratic Party. Radio producer Brian P. Ruiz (campaign website) of Hutto
Hutto, Texas
Hutto is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. The population was 1,250 at the 2000 census; it had grown to 7,401 in the 2005 census estimate and had reached 17,120 by January 2008....
won the Democratic nomination but was defeated by Carter 60.3-36.5% in the general election.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
District 32
Six-term incumbent and conservative Republican Pete Sessions
Pete Sessions
Peter Anderson Sessions is a politician from the state of Texas. He is a Republican, and currently represents the 32nd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the current Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee-Personal:Sessions was born in Waco,...
(campaign website) will face Democrat Eric Roberson (campaign website) in this Dallas district. CQ Politics considered the race 'Safe Republican'.
Sessions was considered to be a vulnerable candidate for a number of reasons. First, he is known to have close ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist and businessman. Convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy, he was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to the conviction of White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine...
, an issue that is likely to become the focus of his Democratic challenger’s campaign in 2008. Also, while Sessions improved on his margin from his hotly contested 2004 race against Democrat Martin Frost
Martin Frost
Jonas Martin Frost III is an American politician, who was the Democratic representative to the U.S. House of Representatives for Texas's 24th congressional district from 1979 to 2005.-Personal life:...
, who was displaced from his previous district as a result of the controversial 2003 redistricting engineered by former House Majority Leader and Abramoff ally, Tom DeLay
Tom DeLay
Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
, it was only by a 2% margin (from 54% in 2004 to 56% in 2006). Contrarily, George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
carried 59% of the vote in the district to 41% of the vote for John Kerry in 2004. Finally, in 2006, Democrats made unexpected gains in Dallas County
Dallas County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,218,899 people, 807,621 households, and 533,837 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,523 people per square mile . There were 854,119 housing units at an average density of 971/sq mi...
, winning the District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
office and all contested state district judgeships in the county, along with a number of countywide offices on the basis of corruption within the local Republican establishment as well as momentum gained from Democratic Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez
Lupe Valdez
Lupe Valdez is an American law enforcement official and the Sheriff of Dallas County, Texas. She is Texas's only elected female sheriff, as well as being the only openly lesbian holder of that office.-Early life:...
’s unexpected 2004 victory.
Roberson won against Steve Love in the April 8th party runoff election to determine the Democratic nominee., but lost to Sessions 57.2-40.6% in the general election.
This Republican-leaning district includes several northern affluent areas of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, including Highland Park
Highland Park, Texas
Highland Park is a town in central Dallas County, Texas, United States. The population was 8,842 at the 2000 census. Located between the Dallas North Tollway and U.S. Route 75 , four miles north of downtown Dallas....
, and significant chunks of the suburbs of Irving
Irving, Texas
Irving is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 216,290. Irving is within the Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, designated...
and Richardson
Richardson, Texas
Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 99,223. In 2011 the population was estimated to be 107,684. Richardson is an affluent inner suburb of Dallas and home of the Telecom Corridor with a high...
.
- Race ranking and details from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
External links
- Elections Division from the Texas Secretary of State
- U.S. Congress candidates for Texas at Project Vote SmartProject Vote SmartProject Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States...
- Texas U.S. House Races from 2008 Race Tracker
- Campaign contributions for Texas congressional races from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
- Election Results from the New York Times