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2018 Texas Senate election

← 2016 November 6, 2018 2020 →
15 of the 31 seats in the Texas State Senate 16 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Paul Bettencourt José R. Rodríguez Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat 7th 29th Last election 20 11 Seats before 21 10 Seats won 19 12 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 2,280,884 2,026,761 Percentage 52.14% 46.33%
Results by seat gains Results by vote share     Republican hold      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Democratic gain      No election Republican:      50–60%      70–80%      80–90% Democratic:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      >90%

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Government
v t e

The 2018 Texas Senate elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Texas voters elected state senators in 15 of the state senate's 31 districts. The winners of this election served in the 86th Texas Legislature. State senators serve four-year terms in the Texas State Senate. A statewide map of Texas's state Senate districts can be obtained from the Texas Legislative Council here, and individual district maps can be obtained from the U.S. Census here.

A primary election on March 6, 2018, determined which candidates appeared on the November 6 general election ballot. Primary election results can be obtained from the Texas Secretary of State's website.

Following the 2016 elections, Republicans maintained control of the Senate with 20 members. However, they gained an extra seat by flipping the 19th District in a September special election, giving them a 21-seat supermajority.

To claim control of the chamber from Republicans, the Democrats would have needed to net six Senate seats. The Democratic Party gained two seats, leaving the Republicans with a 19 to 12 majority in the chamber. Republicans maintained their supermajority, however, due to a 2015 rule change that reduced the effective vote threshold to pass legislation from 21 to 19.

Summary of race results

Summary of the November 6, 2018 Texas Senate election results

Party		Candidates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	Before	Up	Won	After	+/–
	Republican	14	2,280,884	52.14	21	12	10	19	2
	Democratic	14	2,026,761	46.33	10	3	5	12	2
	Libertarian	7	67,062	1.90	0	0	0	0
Total			3,525,443	100.00	35	15	15	35
Source:

Retirements

One incumbent did not run for re-election in 2018:

Republican

1. District 8: Van Taylor ran for Texas's 3rd congressional district.

Seats gained in preceding special elections

Republicans

1. District 19: Pete Flores defeated Pete Gallego in a preceding special election on September 18, 2018, to flip this seat. The seat was vacated by Carlos Uresti, who resigned after multiple convictions on fraud and laundering charges.

Incumbents defeated

In the primary election

Republicans

1. District 30: Craig Estes lost to Pat Fallon.

In the general election

Republicans

1. District 10: Konni Burton lost to Beverly Powell.
2. District 16: Don Huffines lost to Nathan M. Johnson.

Close races

Summary of results by Senate District

Race results:

For districts not displayed, re-election is not scheduled until 2020.

Detailed results by Senate District

Sources:

District 2

Incumbent Republican Bob Hall ran for re-election. Hall, a member of the Tea Party movement, was challenged in the Republican primary by state representative Cindy Burkett, who ran as a moderate alternative to Hall. Hall narrowly defeated Burkett in the primary and went on to defeat Democrat Kendall Scudder in the general election by a wide margin.

District 3

Incumbent Republican Robert Nichols won re-election.

District 5

Incumbent Republican Charles Schwertner won re-election.

District 7

Incumbent Republican Paul Bettencourt won re-election.

District 8

2018 Texas's 8th senate district election

← 2014 November 6, 2018 2022 →

Nominee Angela Paxton Mark Phariss Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 169,995 162,157 Percentage 51.18% 48.82%

Precinct results Paxton:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Phariss:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%

Texas Senator before election Van Taylor Republican Party Elected Texas Senator Angela Paxton Republican Party

Incumbent Republican Van Taylor retired to run for Texas's 3rd congressional district, which was being vacated by incumbent Republican Sam Johnson. Prior to Taylor's retirement announcement, businessman Phillip Huffines, the brother of senator Don Huffines, announced his bid for the seat on the assumption that Taylor would run for the House. Educator Angela Paxton, the wife of attorney general Ken Paxton, later joined the race. Both candidates ran highly negative campaigns, spending millions of dollars on advertisements on what would become the most expensive senate primaries in state history. Paxton won the Republican primary while Mark Pharris, a plaintiff in the lawsuit to overturn Texas's ban on same-sex marriage, won the Democratic primary. Paxton won the general election in the heavily Republican Collin County district. This was the closest senate election in the state during the 2018 elections.

District 9

Incumbent Republican Kelly Hancock won re-election.

District 10

2018 Texas's 10th senate district election

← 2014 November 6, 2018 2022 →

Nominee Beverly Powell Konni Burton Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 148,959 138,968 Percentage 51.73% 48.27%

Precinct results Powell:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Burton:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      50% No vote:

Texas Senator before election Konni Burton Republican Party Elected Texas Senator Beverly Powell Democratic Party

Incumbent Republican Konni Burton ran for re-election. She was initially elected in 2014, flipping the seat after incumbent Democrat Wendy Davis retired to run for governor. Democrats Allison Campolo and Beverly Powell ran in the Democratic primary to challenge Burton, with Campolo running from the progressive wing of the Democratic party while Powell ran from the moderate wing of the party. Powell advanced to the general election, which saw large spending from conservative groups such as Empower Texans to defend Burton's seat. Powell narrowly defeated Burton in the general election, flipping the seat back to the Democrats.

District 14

Incumbent Democrat Kirk Watson won re-election.

District 15

Incumbent Democrat John Whitmire won re-election.

District 16

2018 Texas's 16th senate district election

← 2014 November 6, 2018 2022 →

Nominee Nathan Johnson Don Huffines Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 159,228 134,933 Percentage 54.13% 45.87%

Precinct results Johnson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Huffines:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      >90% Tie:      50% No vote:

Texas Senator before election Don Huffines Republican Party Elected Texas Senator Nathan Johnson Democratic Party

Incumbent Republican Don Huffines ran for re-election. Despite Republicans having held the 16th district for over 30 years, Huffines was seen as vulnerable due to the district's shifting demographics and Huffines' ultraconservative voting record. The district had voted for Hillary Clinton by 5 percentage points in 2016. Nathan Johnson, the Democratic nominee, defeated Huffines in the general election.

District 17

2018 Texas's 17th senate district election

← 2014 November 6, 2018 2022 →

Nominee Joan Huffman Rita Lucido Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 158,263 143,978 Percentage 51.44% 46.80%

Precinct results Huffman:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Lucido:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Tie:      40–50%      50% No vote:

Texas Senator before election Joan Huffman Republican Party Elected Texas Senator Joan Huffman Republican Party

Incumbent Republican Joan Huffman ran for re-election. Although she was considered potentially vulnerable due to Donald Trump's narrow victory in the district in 2016, she defeated Democrat Rita Lucido in the general election by 5 percentage points.

District 19 (special)

2018 Texas's 19th senate district special election

← 2016 September 18, 2018 2020 →

Nominee Pete Flores Pete Gallego Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 25,330 19,367 Percentage 56.67% 43.33%

County results Flores:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Gallego:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Texas Senator before election vacant Democratic Party Elected Texas Senator Pete Flores Republican Party

Incumbent Democrat Carlos Uresti resigned after multiple convictions on fraud and laundering charges. Former U.S. Representative Pete Gallego and Texas House representative Roland Gutierrez ran as Democrats against Republican Pete Flores in the special election. Flores placed first in the election, a boon to Republicans in the Democratic-leaning district, but he failed to win a majority of the vote, forcing him into a runoff with Gallego. Despite stirrings of an upcoming Democratic wave election, Flores defeated Gallego in the runoff on September 18, 2018, to flip this seat, giving Republicans a supermajority of 21 seats in the Senate.

District 23

Incumbent Democrat Royce West won re-election unopposed.

District 25

Incumbent Republican Donna Campbell won re-election.

District 30

Incumbent Craig Estes, considered a centrist Republican, faced conservative state representative Pat Fallon in a primary race. As the primary election approached, both campaigns grew increasingly combinative, including spars over an ad by Estes' campaign featuring Fallon in a Catholic confessional. Polling on behalf of Fallon paid for by lieutenant governor Dan Patrick suggested that Patrick supported Fallon's primary challenge, although he made no official endorsement. Fallon defeated Estes in the primary by a wide margin and went on to win the general election by an even larger margin.

District 31

Incumbent Republican Kel Seliger ran for re-election. Seliger was considered vulnerable to a primary challenge due to his refusal to back many conservative bills during previous sessions. He narrowly won his primary in 2014, voted against a 20-week abortion ban, opposed school voucher legislation, and refused to endorse lieutenant governor Dan Patrick's re-election campaign. He drew two primary challengers, including Mike Canon, whom Seliger had narrowly defeated in 2014 and had the support of conservative groups such as Empower Texans. Seliger won the primary, narrowly avoiding a runoff. He faced nominal third-party opposition in the general election and easily won.

See also

• United States elections, 2018
• United States Senate election in Texas, 2018
• United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2018
• Texas gubernatorial election, 2018
• 2018 Texas House of Representatives election
• Texas elections, 2018

References

1. ^ "Election Results". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
2. ^ Svitek, Patrick (September 20, 2018). "How Texas Democrats lost a state Senate seat amid talk of a blue wave". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
3. ^ Samuels, Alex (November 7, 2018). "Democrats Nathan Johnson and Beverly Powell defeat state Sens. Don Huffines and Konni Burton in Texas midterm". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
4. ^ "Race Summary Report - 2018 General Election". Office of the Secretary of State. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
5. "Texas State Senate elections, 2018". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
6. Svitek, Patrick (September 5, 2017). "State Rep. Cindy Burkett challenging state Sen. Bob Hall in primary". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
7. Leszcynski, Ray (March 7, 2018). "Sen. Bob Hall wins District 2 Republican primary, beats back challenge from four-term Rep. Cindy Burkett". Dallas News. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
8. Svitek, Patrick (August 23, 2017). "GOP state Sen. Van Taylor of Plano makes congressional run official". Texas Tribune. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
9. Svitek, Patrick (March 5, 2018). "End is near in bruising, expensive Huffines-Paxton battle". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
10. Connelly, Christopher (February 12, 2018). "Paxton, Huffines Spend Millions In GOP Bid For Texas' Only Open State Senate Seat". KERA News. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
11. Wigglesworth, Valerie (March 7, 2018). "Paxton beats Huffines in bitter Republican primary race for Texas Senate District 8". Dallas News. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
12. Ford, Holley (November 5, 2018). "Republican Angela Paxton Wins Over Democrat Mark Phariss for Texas District 8 Senate Seat". NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
13. Greene, Sydney (February 9, 2018). "In this Texas Democratic primary, the Clinton/Sanders divide still lingers". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
14. Barragán, James (October 11, 2018). "West Texas oil, fracking billionaires pump $1M into D-FW legislative races to prop up GOP candidates". Dallas News. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
15. ^ Leszcynski, Ray; Ayala, Eva-Marie (November 7, 2018). "Conservative stronghold in state Senate cracks as two North Texas incumbents defeated". Dallas News. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
16. Kuo, Stephanie (November 7, 2018). "A Democrat Takes Back A Tarrant County State Senate Seat". KERA News. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
17. Samuels, Alex (October 25, 2018). "In Dallas State Senate District Held By GOP For Decades, Don Huffines Is In A Tight Race". KERA News. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
18. Samuels, Alex (September 13, 2018). "With a supermajority, Republicans have complete control of the Texas Senate. That's at risk this election cycle". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
19. Barajas, Michael (October 26, 2018). "To Chip Away at Dan Patrick's Power, Dems Need a Crashing Blue Wave in SD 17". The Texas Observer. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
20. "Former state Sen. Carlos Uresti gets 12 years in prison in federal corruption case". Mysa. June 26, 2018.
21. Svitek, Patrick (July 31, 2018). "Republican Pete Flores, Democrat Pete Gallego set for runoff for Uresti seat". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
22. https://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist330_state.htm
23. https://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist332_state.htm
24. Jones, Mark P. (December 19, 2017). "Upcoming battles in the ongoing Texas GOP civil war". TribTalk. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
25. Svitek, Patrick (September 6, 2017). "State Rep. Pat Fallon says he's challenging state Sen. Craig Estes". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
26. Choate, Trish (February 24, 2018). "'Confessions' ad latest controversy in heated Senate battle". Times Record News. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
27. Svitek, Patrick (February 7, 2018). "Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick spends $5.1M on TV ads in January, $17K on polling for Sen. Estes opponent". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
28. Greene, Sydney; Formby, Brandon (March 7, 2018). "GOP state Sen. Craig Estes ousted; Sen. Bob Hall defeats Burkett". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
29. Collins, Christopher (February 12, 2018). "The Far-Right is Staging an Ouster of Moderate Republicans in the Panhandle. Will Incumbents Outlast the Attack?". The Texas Observer. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
30. STEIN, ROBERT. "State Sen. Kel Seliger opts not to back Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in re-election". Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
31. Stein, Robert (February 18, 2018). "The battle over State Senate District 31". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
32. Root, Jay (March 7, 2018). "It was a bad election night for Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas' best-funded Tea Party group". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 8, 2024.

• 2018 Texas elections
• Texas Senate elections
• 2018 state legislature elections in the United States