Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives | |
General Information | |
Party control: | Republican |
Session start: | No regular legislative session |
Session end: | No regular legislative session |
Term length: | 2 years |
Term limits: | None |
Redistricting: | Legislature-dominant |
Salary: | $7,200/year + per diem |
Members | |
Total: | 150 |
Democrats: | 63 |
Republicans: | 87 |
Other: | 0 |
Vacancies: | 0 |
Leadership | |
Speaker: | Dade Phelan (R) |
Elections | |
Last election: | November 8, 2022 |
Next election: | November 5, 2024 |
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Texas State Legislature. Alongside the Texas State Senate, it forms the legislative branch of the Texas state government and works alongside the governor of Texas to create laws and establish a state budget. Legislative authority and responsibilities of the Texas House of Representatives include passing bills on public policy matters, setting levels for state spending, raising and lowering taxes, and voting to uphold or override gubernatorial vetoes.
The Texas House of Representatives meets in the state capitol building in Austin, Texas.
Texas enacted new legislative district boundaries in June 2023 for use in 2024 and until the 2030 census. These districts were the same as those enacted by the state in October 2021. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed HB 1000—establishing state House district boundaries—on June 12, 2023, and he allowed SB 375—establishing state Senate district boundaries—to become law without his signature on June 18, 2023.[1][2] The Texas Tribune's James Barragan wrote in January 2023 that Senate Legislative Redistricting Committee Chairperson Joan Huffman (R) said the state was re-doing the redistricting process "to ensure that Legislature had met its constitutional requirement to apportion districts in the first regular session after the publishing of the results of the federal census, which is done every 10 years. Because of the pandemic, census numbers were not released until after the end of the last regularly scheduled legislative session on May 31, 2021. Redistricted maps were passed in a subsequent special session that year."[3] Texas had originally enacted new state legislative districts on October 25, 2021. Click here for more information about redistricting after the 2020 census.
Texas has a Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature. |
This page contains the following information on the Texas House of Representatives.
- Which party controls the chamber
- The chamber's current membership
- Partisan control of the chamber over time
- Elections in the chamber and how vacancies are filled
- A district map
- How redistricting works in the state
- Legislation currently under consideration
- Legislative session dates
- Legislative procedures, such as veto overrides and the state budget process
- A list of committees
Party control
Current partisan control
The table below shows the partisan breakdown of the Texas House of Representatives as of December 2024:
Party | As of December 2024 | |
---|---|---|
Democratic Party | 63 | |
Republican Party | 87 | |
Other | 0 | |
Vacancies | 0 | |
Total | 150 |
Members
Leadership
The speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the body.[4]
Leadership and members
- Speaker of the House: Dade Phelan (R)
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
State legislative salaries, 2024[5] | |
---|---|
Salary | Per diem |
$7,200/year | $221/day |
Swearing in dates
Texas legislators assume office at the beginning of the legislative session, which starts at noon on the second Tuesday in January in the year after the election.[6][7]
Membership qualifications
To be eligible to serve in the Texas House of Representatives, a candidate must be:[8]
- A U.S. citizen
- 21 years old before the general election
- A two-year resident of Texas before the general election
- A district resident for one year prior to the general election
Historical party control
Republicans won control of the Texas House of Representatives in 2002. In 2022, they won an 86-64 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Texas House following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Texas House of Representatives election results: 1992-2022
Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 | '22 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democrats | 91 | 89 | 82 | 79 | 78 | 62 | 63 | 69 | 74 | 51 | 55 | 52 | 55 | 67 | 67 | 64 |
Republicans | 58 | 61 | 68 | 71 | 72 | 88 | 87 | 81 | 76 | 99 | 95 | 98 | 95 | 83 | 83 | 86 |
Trifecta history
A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. Between 1992 and 2023, Texas was under the following types of trifecta control:
- Democratic trifecta: 1992-1994
- Republican trifecta: 2003-2023
- Divided government: 1995-2002
Texas Party Control: 1992-2024
Three years of Democratic trifectas • Twenty-two years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Governor | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Senate | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Elections
Elections by year
Texas state representatives serve two-year terms, with all seats up for election every two years. Texas holds elections for its legislature in even years.
2026
Elections for the Texas House of Representatives will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026.
2024
Elections for the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2024. The general election was on November 5, 2024. The primary was March 5, 2024, and the primary runoff was May 28, 2024. In 2024, minor party county conventions were held on March 16, 2024, and district conventions were held on March 24, 2024. The filing deadline was December 11, 2023.
2022
Elections for the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2022. The general election was on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for March 1, 2022, and a primary runoff was scheduled for May 24, 2022. The filing deadline was December 13, 2021.
In the 2022 elections, Republicans increased their majority from 83-65 with two vacancies to 86-64.
Texas House of Representatives | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 8, 2022 | After November 9, 2022 | |
Democratic Party | 65 | 64 | |
Republican Party | 83 | 86 | |
Vacancy | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 150 | 150 |
2020
Elections for the office of Texas House of Representatives took place in 2020. The general election was held on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for March 3, 2020, and a primary runoff was scheduled for July 14, 2020. The filing deadline was December 9, 2019.
In the 2020 elections, Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives maintained their 83-67 majority.
Texas House of Representatives | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 3, 2020 | After November 4, 2020 | |
Democratic Party | 67 | 67 | |
Republican Party | 83 | 83 | |
Total | 150 | 150 |
2018
Elections for the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2018. An open primary election took place on March 6, 2018.[9] A primary runoff election took place on May 22, 2018. The general election was held on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was December 11, 2017.[10]
In the 2018 elections, the Republican majority in the Texas House of Representatives was reduced from 93-55 to 83-67.
Texas House of Representatives | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 6, 2018 | After November 7, 2018 | |
Democratic Party | 55 | 67 | |
Republican Party | 93 | 83 | |
Vacancy | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 150 | 150 |
2016
Elections for the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 14, 2015.[11] All 150 seats in the Texas House of Representatives were up for election in 2016.
Heading into the election, Republicans held a 99-50 majority with one vacancy. Republicans lost five seats in the election, giving them a 95-55 majority.
Texas House of Representatives | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 7, 2016 | After November 8, 2016 | |
Democratic Party | 50 | 55 | |
Republican Party | 99 | 95 | |
Independent | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 150 | 150 |
Click [show] to see election information dating back to 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2014Elections for all 150 seats in the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on March 4, 2014. Those candidates who did not receive 50 percent or more of the vote in their party primary on March 4 faced an additional May 27 primary runoff. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was December 9, 2013. Heading into the election, Republicans held a 94-55 majority with one vacancy. Republicans gained four seats in the election, giving them a 98-52 majority.
2012Elections for the office of Texas House of Representatives took place in 2012. The primary election was held on May 29, 2012, and the general election was held on November 6, 2012. A primary runoff election was scheduled for July 31, 2012. The candidate filing deadline was December 19, 2011. All 150 seats were up for election. Heading into the election, Republicans held a 100-48 majority with two vacancies. Republicans lost five seats in the election, giving them a 95-55 majority.
The following table details the 10 districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6 general election.
2010Elections for the office of Texas House of Representatives took place in 2010. The primary election was held on March 2, 2010, and the general election was held on November 2, 2010. The runoff election was held on April 13, 2010. The candidate filing deadline was January 4, 2010. All 150 seats were up for election in 2010. Heading into the election, Republicans held a 76-73 majority with one vacancy. Republicans gained 22 seats in the election, giving them a 98-51 majority with one vacancy.
In 2010, the candidates for state House raised a total of $78,482,292 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were:[12]
2008Elections for the office of Texas House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on March 4, 2008, and a general election on November 4, 2008. During the 2008 election, the total value of contributions to House candidates was $71,266,729. The top 10 contributors were:[13]
2006Elections for the office of Texas House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on March 7, 2006, and a general election on November 7, 2006. During the 2006 election, the total value of contributions to House candidates was $65,368,501. The top 10 contributors were:[14]
2004Elections for the office of Texas House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on March 9, 2004, and a general election on November 2, 2004. During the 2004 election, the total value of contributions to House candidates was $44,062,003. The top 10 contributors were:[15]
2002Elections for the office of Texas House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on March 12, 2002, and a general election on November 5, 2002. During the 2002 election, the total value of contributions to House candidates was $37,274,594. The top 10 contributors were:[16]
2000Elections for the office of Texas House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on March 14, 2000, and a general election on November 7, 2000. During the 2000 election, the total value of contributions to House candidates was $20,074,748. The top 10 contributors were:[17]
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Vacancies
If there is a vacancy in the Texas State Legislature, the governor must call a special election to fill the vacant seat.[18] A governor's proclamation to hold a special election must be delivered to county judges in the legislative district no later than 36 days before the scheduled election.[19]
The secretary of state can declare a candidate duly elected in a special election if there is no opposition.[20]
See sources: Texas Elec. Code § 203.001 et. seq.
District map
- See also: Texas state legislative districts
The state of Texas has 150 state House districts. Each district elects one representative.
Use the interactive map below to find your district.