1986 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas

1986 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas
All 27 Texas seats to the United States House of Representatives
Democratic 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 90>%	Republican 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% 90>%

The 1986 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas occurred on November 4, 1986, to elect the members of the state of Texas's delegation to the United States House of Representatives. Texas had twenty-seven seats in the House, apportioned according to the 1980 United States census.^[1]

These elections occurred simultaneously with the United States Senate elections of 1986, the United States House elections in other states, and various state and local elections.

Democrats maintained their majority of U.S. House seats from Texas, but Republicans retained the four seats they gained in 1984 under the coattails of Ronald Reagan's re-election.^[2]

Overview

1986 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas^[3]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats before	Seats after	+/–
	Democratic	1,716,978	57.03%	17	17	-
	Republican	1,263,413	41.97%	10	10	-
	Libertarian	13,005	0.43%	0	0	-
	Independent	17,010	0.57%	0	0	-
Totals		3,010,406	100.00%	27	27	-

Congressional districts

District 1

Incumbent Democrat Sam B. Hall resigned to become a U.S. District Judge.^[4] This prompted a special election to be held. Republicans saw this special election as a prime opportunity to demonstrate the political realignment of East Texas, as the district had supported Republicans Ronald Reagan and Phil Gramm in 1984. Gramm had arranged Hall's appointment to the judiciary in an attempt to see a Republican elected from the area.^[5] In the end, however, Democrat Jim Chapman narrowly won the election in a runoff.^[6]^[7] He ran for re-election unopposed.

Texas's 1st congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Chapman (incumbent)	84,445	100.00
Total votes			84,445	100
	Democratic hold

District 2

Incumbent Democrat Charlie Wilson ran for re-election.

Texas's 2nd congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charlie Wilson (incumbent)	78,529	56.76
	Republican	Julian Gordon	55,986	40.47
	Independent	Sam Paradice	3,838	2.77
Total votes			138,353	100
	Democratic hold

District 3

Incumbent Republican Steve Bartlett ran for re-election.

Texas's 3rd congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Bartlett (incumbent)	143,381	94.09
	Independent	Brent Barnes	6,268	4.11
	Libertarian	Don Goush	2,736	1.80
Total votes			152,385	100
	Republican hold

District 4

Incumbent Democrat Ralph Hall ran for re-election.

Texas's 4th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ralph Hall (incumbent)	97,540	71.66
	Republican	Thomas Blow	38,578	28.34
Total votes			136,118	100
	Democratic hold

District 5

Incumbent Democrat John Wiley Bryant ran for re-election.

Texas's 5th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Wiley Bryant (incumbent)	57,410	58.52
	Republican	Tom Carter	39,945	40.72
	Libertarian	Bob Brewer	749	0.76
Total votes			98,104	100
	Democratic hold

District 6

Incumbent Republican Joe Barton ran for re-election.

Texas's 6th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Barton (incumbent)	86,190	55.80
	Democratic	Pete Geren	68,270	44.20
Total votes			154,460	100
	Republican hold

District 7

Incumbent Republican Bill Archer ran for re-election.

Texas's 7th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Archer (incumbent)	129,673	87.38
	Democratic	Harry Kniffen	17,635	11.88
	Libertarian	Roger Plail	1,087	0.73
Total votes			148,395	100
	Republican hold

District 8

Incumbent Republican Jack Fields ran for re-election.

Texas's 8th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jack Fields (incumbent)	66,280	68.40
	Democratic	Blaine Mann	30,617	31.60
	Write-in	Wesley Moshay	6	0.01
Total votes			96,903	100
	Republican hold

District 9

Incumbent Democrat Jack Brooks ran for re-election.

Texas's 9th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack Brooks (incumbent)	73,285	61.52
	Republican	Lisa Duperier	45,834	38.48
Total votes			119,119	100
	Democratic hold

District 10

Incumbent Democrat J. J. Pickle ran for re-election.

Texas's 10th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	J. J. Pickle (incumbent)	135,863	72.32
	Republican	Carole Keeton Rylander	52,000	27.68
Total votes			187,863	100
	Democratic hold

District 11

Incumbent Democrat Marvin Leath ran for re-election unopposed.

Texas's 11th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Marvin Leath (incumbent)	84,201	100.00
Total votes			84,201	100
	Democratic hold

District 12

Incumbent Democrat Jim Wright ran for re-election. He was subsequently elected Speaker of the House.^[8]^[9]

Texas's 12th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Wright (incumbent)	84,831	68.72
	Republican	Don McNeil	38,620	31.28
Total votes			123,451	100
	Democratic hold

District 13

Incumbent Republican Beau Boulter ran for re-election.

Texas's 13th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Beau Boulter (incumbent)	84,980	64.93
	Democratic	Doug Steal	45,907	35.07
Total votes			130,887	100
	Republican hold

District 14

Incumbent Republican Mac Sweeney ran for re-election.

Texas's 14th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mac Sweeney (incumbent)	74,471	52.33
	Democratic	Greg Laughlin	67,852	47.67
Total votes			142,323	100
	Republican hold

District 15

Incumbent Democrat Kika de la Garza ran for re-election unopposed.

Texas's 15th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (incumbent)	70,777	100.00
Total votes			70,777	100
	Democratic hold

District 16

Incumbent Democrat Ronald D. Coleman ran for re-election.

Texas's 16th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ronald D. Coleman (incumbent)	50,590	65.69
	Republican	Roy Gillia	26,421	34.31
Total votes			77,011	100
	Democratic hold

District 17

Incumbent Democrat Charles Stenholm ran for re-election unopposed.

Texas's 17th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charles Stenholm (incumbent)	97,791	100.00
Total votes			97,791	100
	Democratic hold

District 18

Incumbent Democrat Mickey Leland ran for re-election.

Texas's 18th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mickey Leland (incumbent)	63,335	90.20
	Independent	Joanne Kuniansky	6,884	9.80
Total votes			70,219	100
	Democratic hold

District 19

Incumbent Republican Larry Combest ran for re-election.

Texas's 19th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Larry Combest (incumbent)	68,695	61.99
	Democratic	Gerald McCathern	42,129	38.01
Total votes			110,824	100
	Republican hold

District 20

Incumbent Democrat Henry B. González ran for re-election unopposed.

Texas's 20th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Henry B. Gonzalez (incumbent)	55,363	100.00
Total votes			55,363	100
	Democratic hold

District 21

Incumbent Republican Tom Loeffler retired to run for governor.^[2]^[10]

Texas's 21st congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lamar Smith	100,346	60.61
	Democratic	Pete Snelson	63,779	38.52
	Libertarian	Jim Robinson	1,432	0.86
	Write-in	Others	10	0.01
Total votes			165,567	100
	Republican hold

District 22

Incumbent Republican Tom DeLay ran for re-election.

Texas's 22nd congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom DeLay (incumbent)	76,459	71.77
	Democratic	Susan Director	30,079	28.23
Total votes			106,538	100
	Republican hold

District 23

Incumbent Democrat Albert Bustamante ran for re-election.

Texas's 23rd congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Albert Bustamante (incumbent)	68,131	90.68
	Libertarian	Ken Hendrix	7,001	9.32
Total votes			75,132	100
	Democratic hold

District 24

Incumbent Democrat Martin Frost ran for re-election.

Texas's 24th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Martin Frost (incumbent)	69,368	67.22
	Republican	Bob Burk	33,819	32.77
	Write-in	Others	4	0.00
Total votes			103,191	100
	Democratic hold

District 25

Incumbent Democrat Michael A. Andrews ran for re-election unopposed.

Texas's 25th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael A. Andrews (incumbent)	67,435	100.00
Total votes			67,435	100
	Democratic hold

District 26

Incumbent Republican Dick Armey ran for re-election. Former representative Tom Vandergriff had considered running to regain the seat he had previously held from 1983 to 1985, but he ultimately declined.^[11]

Texas's 26th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dick Armey (incumbent)	101,735	68.10
	Democratic	George Richardson	47,651	31.90
Total votes			149,386	100
	Republican hold

District 27

Incumbent Democrat Solomon Ortiz ran for re-election unopposed.

Texas's 27th congressional district, 1986^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Solomon Ortiz (incumbent)	64,165	100.00
Total votes			64,165	100
	Democratic hold

References

^ "Historical Apportionment Data (1910-2020)". Census.gov. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Texas State Historical Association; Brown, Sue Ellen (1987). "Texas Almanac, 1988-1989". The Portal to Texas History. The Dallas Morning News. p. 493. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab Federal Elections 86 (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Federal Election Commission. 1987. pp. 88–91.
^ "Sam B. Hall, Jr". University Libraries | Baylor University. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
^ King, Wayne; Times, Special To the New York (August 2, 1985). "U.S. COURT SAYS TEXAS ERRED BUT DOESN'T DELAY ELECTION". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
^ Taylor, Paul (August 4, 1985). "Democrat Narrowly Wins Texas House Election". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
^ "Our Campaigns - TX District 1 - Special Election Runoff Race - Aug 03, 1985". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
^ Texas State Historical Association; Brown, Sue Ellen (1987). "Texas Almanac, 1988-1989". The Portal to Texas History. The Dallas Morning News. p. 512. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
^ "House of Representatives–Tuesday, January 6, 1987" (PDF). Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 100th Congress, 1st Session. Volume 133–Part 1. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1987. pp. 2–3. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
^ Reinhold, Robert; Times, Special To the New York (May 5, 1986). "TEXAS PRIMARY SETS STAGE FOR REMATCH FOR GOVERNOR". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
^ Dunham, Richard (January 1, 1985). "Defeated congressman ponder political future". Dallas Times Herald.

[1] "Historical Apportionment Data (1910-2020)". Census.gov. Retrieved June 17, 2022.

[:0-2] Texas State Historical Association; Brown, Sue Ellen (1987). "Texas Almanac, 1988-1989". The Portal to Texas History. The Dallas Morning News. p. 493. Retrieved June 22, 2022.

[Election_Results-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab Federal Elections 86 (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Federal Election Commission. 1987. pp. 88–91.

[4] "Sam B. Hall, Jr". University Libraries | Baylor University. Retrieved June 22, 2022.

[5] King, Wayne; Times, Special To the New York (August 2, 1985). "U.S. COURT SAYS TEXAS ERRED BUT DOESN'T DELAY ELECTION". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 20, 2022.

[:1-6] Taylor, Paul (August 4, 1985). "Democrat Narrowly Wins Texas House Election". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 22, 2022.

[7] "Our Campaigns - TX District 1 - Special Election Runoff Race - Aug 03, 1985". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved June 22, 2022.

[8] Texas State Historical Association; Brown, Sue Ellen (1987). "Texas Almanac, 1988-1989". The Portal to Texas History. The Dallas Morning News. p. 512. Retrieved June 22, 2022.

[9] "House of Representatives–Tuesday, January 6, 1987" (PDF). Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 100th Congress, 1st Session. Volume 133–Part 1. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1987. pp. 2–3. Retrieved February 14, 2019.

[10] Reinhold, Robert; Times, Special To the New York (May 5, 1986). "TEXAS PRIMARY SETS STAGE FOR REMATCH FOR GOVERNOR". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 22, 2022.

[future-11] Dunham, Richard (January 1, 1985). "Defeated congressman ponder political future". Dallas Times Herald.

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