Texas Legislature elections, 2008

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This article may need to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information, and remove this template when finished. Please see the talk page for more information. (August 2009)

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 state's 32 congressional representatives.

Successful candidates will serve in the 81st Texas Legislature, scheduled to convene January 13, 2009 at the Texas State Capitol in Austin through June 1, 2009.

Texas Senate

Fifteen Senate seats will be up for re-election in 2008. The current composition is twenty Republicans and eleven Democrats. Of the seats up for re-election in 2008, nine are held by Republicans and six by Democrats.

There will be two new members of the Senate. The current senators will not be back:

Notable races

District 10: Republican and Sunset Advisory Commission chairperson Kim Brimer was held to just under 60% in both of his races for this Fort Worth-based district which also includes a significant portion of Arlington. The district was won by George W. Bush in 2004 and by Governor Rick Perry in 2002 and 2006, but both have underperformed in all three elections. Democrats have recruited Fort Worth city councilwoman Wendy Davis to run against Brimer, but she is facing a challenge over her eligibility status, citing a Texas law stating that sitting council members cannot run for the Legislature. [2]

District 11: Republican Mike Jackson represents a district in the southeast Houston suburbs and part of Galveston County that has consistently voted for Republicans including George W. Bush in 2004, Governor Rick Perry in 2002 and 2006, and Senator John Cornyn in 2002. Jackson has been attacked by the Texas League of Conservation Voters for his legislation on an environmental bill that prevented municipalities from regulating air standards through an ordinance. [3] Democrats have fielded two candidates, NASA engineer/consultant Bryan Hermann and former Galveston city councilman Joe Jaworski.

District 17: Republican Kyle Janek announced he would be resigning from the State Senate effective June 2, 2008 to spend more time with his family, who had moved to Austin; Janek's official residence in District 17 had been a rental house. [4] Republican candidates in the November 4 special election included Austen H. Furse (born 1960), a former staffer to U.S. President George H.W. Bush and an anti-tax activist; engineer Kenneth R. Sherman (born 1962), Grant Harjold (born 1963), and former felony court district judge Joan Huffman (born 1956). The Democrats ran two candidates, the best known being Chris Bell, the former U.S. representative who lost the 2006 gubernatorial general election to Perry. Former Houston Oilers running back and sports broadcaster Spencer Tillman expressed interest in the Republican race but deferred because he does not reside in District 17. State law mandates that candidates reside in the district for at least one year before taking office. [5]Ultimately, Bell and Huffman, as the two top votegetters, met in a special election runoff held on December 16. Huffman prevailed, 56-44 percent, to hold the seat for the GOP.^[1] The district stretches from the Bellaire area, which includes West University Place and Houston's Meyerland neighborhood, to several affluent and coastal suburban areas such as the Greater Katy area, western portions of the Addicks/Park Ten area, Sugar Land, Lake Jackson and Galveston Island, stretching all the way to Port Arthur. The district favors Republicans (George W. Bush won 58 percent of the vote here), with Republicans favored in the Katy, Lake Jackson and Sugar Land portions, Democrats usually prevail in Galveston and Port Arthur. The Bellaire portion of the district is considered a swing area.^[2]

District 21: Democrat Judith Zaffirini easily prevailed in her historically Democratic state Senate seat based in Laredo. The seat was once held by her mentor, Wayne Connally, a younger brother of John Connally, from 1967-1973. Republicans fielded former Webb County administrative judge Louis Henry Bruni (born 1949), who switched parties in December 2007 to run against Zaffirini. The district voted for George W. Bush in 2004 and Kay Bailey Hutchison in 2006, but voted for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell in 2006.

House of Representatives

The Texas House of Representatives is currently controlled by 79 Republicans and 71 Democrats. Democrats will need to win four seats to split the chamber and five to take control of the House, provided that no Republican gains are made. An air of controversy has stirred over the House races due to the controversial speakership of Republican House Speaker Tom Craddick.

Notable races

District 23: Libertarian Charles Earley is running against Democrat Craig Eiland. As the Libertarian candidate, Charles Earley has opposed the actions of Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas and County Judge Yarbrough when they were denying residents access to their homes after Hurricane Ike. According to the Houston Chronicle, Craig Eiland moved to Austin after Ike, even though his home was not flooded. Charles Earley has raised the issue that a representative who is not living in the area cannot effectively represent the residents of District 23.

There will be at least seventeen new members of the House of Representatives. These current representatives will not be back:

The candidates in Districts 77, 119, 140, and 146 (all Democrats who defeated incumbents in the primary election, except for District 119 where the incumbent resigned from office) are unopposed in the general election. None of the Republican candidates who defeated incumbents are running unopposed.

House race summary, Districts 1–25

House race summary, Districts 26–50

House race summary, Districts 51–75

House race summary, Districts 76–100

House race summary, Districts 101–125

House race summary, Districts 126–150

External links

Candidate listings

• Texas Republican Party candidates
• Texas Democratic Party candidates
• Texas Libertarian Party candidates

References

1. ^ Houston Chronicle, December 17, 2008, p. 1
2. ^ http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/07//08//0708bell.html