2004 Texas Senate election

The 2004 Texas Senate elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Texas voters elected state senators in 15 State Senate districts. All of the seats up for this election were for two-year terms, with senators up for re-election in the 2008 elections. The winners of this election served in the 79th Texas Legislature.

2004 Texas Senate election

← 2002 November 2, 2004 2006 →

15 of the 31 seats in the Texas State Senate
16 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Rep
Dem
Party Republican Democratic
Seats before 19 12
Seats won 19 12
Seat change Steady Steady
Popular vote 1,589,684 901,490
Percentage 63.50% 36.01%

Senate results by district
     Republican hold      Democratic hold
     No election

President Pro Tempore before election


Republican

Elected President Pro Tempore


Republican

Following the 2002 elections, the Republicans maintained effective control of the Senate with nineteen members to the Democrats' twelve.

To claim control of the chamber from Republicans, the Democrats needed to gain four seats. In the end, no seats changed hands.

Background

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The Republican Party had held the State Senate since the 1996 elections. In 2002, Republicans gained control of the Texas House of Representatives, giving them unified control of the state's government.[1] This led to the 2003 Texas redistricting, where Republicans redrew the state's congressional districts which had been implemented by federal courts for the 2002 elections.[2] During that session, eleven members of the Texas Senate left the state to break quorum in an attempt to prevent the plan from passing.[3] This strategy eventually failed due to the defection of Senator John Whitmire of Houston.[4]

Summary of race results

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Summary of the November 2, 2004 Texas Senate election results
 
Party Candidates Votes Seats
No. % Before Up Won After +/–
Republican 10 1,589,684 63.50 19 9 9 19  
Democratic 9 901,490 36.01 12 6 6 12  
Libertarian 2 11,903 0.48 0 0 0 0  
Write-in 1 160 0.01 0 0 0 0  
Total 2,503,243 100.00 31 15 15 31  
Source:[5]
Popular vote
Republican
63.50%
Democratic
36.01%
Libertarian
0.48%
Write-in
0.01%
Senate seats won
Republican
60.00%
Democratic
40.00%

Summary of results by State Senate district

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District Democratic Republican Others Total Result
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %
District 4 - - 176,464 100.00% - - 176,464 100.00% Republican hold
District 6 75,318 91.75% - - 6,774 8.25% 82,092 100.00% Democratic hold
District 9 - - 143,501 100.00% - - 143,501 100.00% Republican hold
District 10 107,853 40.75% 156,831 59.25% - - 264,684 100.00% Republican hold
District 11 - - 177,554 100.00% - - 177,554 100.00% Republican hold
District 16 - - 142,542 100.00% - - 142,542 100.00% Republican hold
District 20 116,723 100.00% - - - - 116,723 100.00% Democratic hold
District 21 127,573 100.00% - - - - 127,573 100.00% Democratic hold
District 23 150,244 100.00% - - - - 150,244 100.00% Democratic hold
District 24 - - 189,778 100.00% - - 189,778 100.00% Republican hold
District 26 105,625 57.10% 74,070 40.04% 5,295 2.86% 184,990 100.00% Democratic hold
District 27 89,984 100.00% - - - - 89,984 100.00% Democratic hold
District 28 176,588 100.00% - - - - 176,588 100.00% Republican hold
District 30 81,614 30.95% 182,057 69.05% - - 263,671 100.00% Republican hold
District 31 46,556 21.47% 170,299 78.53% - - 216,855 100.00% Republican hold
Total 901,490 36.01% 1,589,684 63.50% 12,069 0.48% 2,503,243 100.00% Source:[6]

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ Halbfinger, David M.; Yardley, Jim (November 7, 2002). "THE 2002 ELECTIONS: THE SOUTH; Vote Solidifies Shift of South To the G.O.P." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  2. ^ McKee, Seth; Teigen, Jeremy; Turgeon, Mathieu (June 2006). "The Partisan Impact of Congressional Redistricting: The Case of Texas, 2001-2003". Social Science Quarterly. 87 (2): 308–317. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6237.2006.2006.00382.x. JSTOR 42956125.
  3. ^ Alvarez, Elizabeth Cruce (2004). "Texas Almanac, 2004-2005". The Portal to Texas History. p. 398. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  4. ^ Toobin, Jeffrey (February 26, 2006). "Drawing the Line - Will Tom DeLay's redistricting in Texas cost him his seat?". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  5. ^ Office of the Secretary of State. "2004 General Election". elections.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  6. ^ "Office of the Secretary of State Race Summary Report 2010 General Election". elections.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved December 30, 2021.