Texas Legislature elections, 2008
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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 served in the 81st Texas Legislature, that convened on January 13, 2009 at the Texas State Capitol in Austin through June 1, 2009.
Texas Senate
Fifteen Senate seats were up for re-election in 2008. The previous composition was twenty Republicans and eleven Democrats. Of the seats up for re-election in 2008, nine were held by Republicans and six by Democrats.
There were two new members of the Senate. Their predecessors were not up for reelection.
| District | Outgoing Senator | Party | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Kim Brimer | Republican | Defeated in General Election |
| 17 | Kyle Janek | Republican | Resigning June 2, 2008 [1] |
Notable races
District 10: The Democratic Party ran City Councilwoman Wendy Davis against Republican and Sunset Advisory Commission chairperson Kim Brimer. The district had been Republican-leaning, having been won by George W. Bush in 2004 and by Governor Rick Perry in 2002 and 2006. Davis won that race with 49.91% of the vote. In 2014, she is a Democratic candidate for governor to succeed Perry.
District 11: The Democrats ran former Galveston city counsel member Joseph Jaworski against Republican candidate Mike Jackson. The district encompasses the southeast Houston suburbs and part of Galveston County that has consistently voted for Republicans including George W. Bush in 2004, Governor Perry in 2002 and 2006, and U.S. Senator John Cornyn in 2002. Mike Jackson won that race with 56.48% of the vote.
District 17: The Incumbent 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. As a result of this the Republican Party's candidate was Joan Huffman. The Democrats ran former U.S. Representative Christopher Bell, the party's 2006 nominee for governor. Huffman won that race with 56% of the vote.
District 21: Democratic candidate Judith Zaffirini prevailed in her historically Democratic state Senate seat, which includes Laredo. The seat was held from 1967-1973 by her mentor, Wayne Connally, a younger brother of John Connally. 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 for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell in 2006.
House of Representatives
Notable races
District 23: The incumbent Democratic Party Representative Craig Eiland was challenged by Libertarian Party Candidate Charles L. Earley. Eiland won the election with 86.80% of the vote.
House race summary, Districts 1–25
| District | Party | Incumbent | Status | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Change from 2006 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Democratic | Stephen Frost (Texarkana) | Running
|
Democratic | Stephen Frost | 29,580 | 53.59% | |||
| Republican | George Lavender | 24,834 | 44.99% | |||||||
| Libertarian | Tim Eason | 779 | 1.41% | |||||||
| 2 | Republican | Dan Flynn (Greenville) | Running
|
Republican | Dan Flynn | 39,238 | 85.03% | |||
| Libertarian | Michael French | 6,903 | 14.96% | |||||||
| 3 | Democratic | Mark Homer (Paris) | Running
|
Democratic | Mark Homer | 26,694 | 48.27% | |||
| Republican | Kirby Hollingsworth | 26,694 | 51.72% | |||||||
| 4 | Republican | Betty Brown (Athens/Terrell) | Running
|
Republican | Betty Brown | 39,209 | 62.61% | |||
| Democratic | Victor Morales | 22,027 | 35.17% | |||||||
| Libertarian | James C. Yow | 1,381 | 2.20% | |||||||
| 5 | Republican | Bryan Hughes (Marshall) | Running
|
Republican | Bryan Hughes | Unknown | 100% | |||
| 6 | Republican | Leo Berman (Tyler) | Running
|
Republican | Leo Berman | 44,411 | 87.77% | |||
| Libertarian | Gene Moody | 6,188 | 12.22% | |||||||
| 7 | Republican | Tommy Merritt (Longview) | Running
|
Republican | Tommy Merritt | 40,629 | 88.34% | |||
| Libertarian | Joey Stroman | 5,359 | 11.65% | |||||||
| 8 | Republican | Byron Cook (Corsicana/Palestine) | Running
|
Republican | Byron Cook | Unknown | 100% | |||
| 9 | Republican | Wayne Christian (Nacogdoches) | Running
|
Republican | Wayne Christian | 32,650 | 62.74% | |||
| Democratic | Kenneth D. Franks | 18,425 | 35.40% | |||||||
| Libertarian | Joe Allport | 961 | 1.84% | |||||||
| 10 | Republican | Jim Pitts (Hillsboro/Waxahachie) | Running
|
Republican | Jim Pitts | 49,323 | 85.51% | |||
| Libertarian | Phil Smart | 8,353 | 14.48% | |||||||
| 11 | Democratic | Chuck Hopson (Jacksonville) | Running
|
Democratic | Chuck Hopson | 26,030 | 49.27% | |||
| Republican | Brian K. Walker | 25,928 | 49.07% | |||||||
| Libertarian | Paul Bryan | 872 | 1.65% | |||||||
| 12 | Democratic | Jim McReynolds (Lufkin) | Running
|
Democratic | Jim McReynolds | 28,746 | 57.05% | |||
| Republican | Van Brookshire | 21,637 | 42.94% | |||||||
| 13 | Republican | Lois Kolkhorst (Brenham/Huntsville) | Running
|
Republican | Lois Kolkhorst | Unknown | 100% | |||
| 14 | Republican | Fred Brown (Bryan/College Station) | Running
|
Republican | Fred Brown | 37,187 | 82.20% | |||
| Libertarian | Ron Darby | 8,052 | 17.79% | |||||||
| 15 | Republican | Rob Eissler (The Woodlands) | Running
|
Republican | Rob Eissler | Unknown | 100% | |||
| 16 | Republican | Brandon Creighton (Conroe) | Running
|
Republican | Brandon Creighton | Unknown | 100% | |||
| 17 | Democratic | Robby Cook (Bastrop/La Grange) | Retiring
|
Democratic | Donnie Dippel | 25,561 | 42.84% | |||
| Republican | Tim Kleinschmidt | 32,208 | 53.98% | |||||||
| Libertarian | Alan Duesterhoft | 1,888 | 3.16% | |||||||
| 18 | Republican | John Otto (Liberty/Livingston) | Running
|
Republican | John Otto | 32,415 | 68.54% | |||
| Democratic | Arlan Foster | 14,872 | 31.45% | |||||||
| 19 | Republican | Mike Hamilton (Lumberton/Vidor) | Running
|
Republican | Mike Hamilton | 32,531 | 63.91% | |||
| Democratic | Larry Hunter | 17,304 | 33.99% | |||||||
| Libertarian | William Galvin | |||||||||
| Libertarian | Richard Ramsey | |||||||||
| 20 | Republican | Dan Gattis (Cedar Park/Georgetown) | Running
|
Republican | Dan Gattis | |||||
| Democratic | Jim Dillon | |||||||||
| Libertarian | Craig C. Weems | |||||||||
| 21 | Democratic | Allan Ritter (Western Beaumont/rural Jefferson County) | Running
|
Democratic | Allan Ritter | |||||
| 22 | Democratic | Joe Deshotel (Beaumont/Port Arthur) | Running
|
Democratic | Joe Deshotel | |||||
| 23 | Democratic | Craig Eiland (Galveston/Texas City) | Running
|
Democratic | Craig Eiland | |||||
| Libertarian | Charles L. Earley | |||||||||
| 24 | Republican | Larry Taylor (Hitchcock/League City) | Running
|
Republican | Larry Taylor | |||||
| Libertarian | Rafael E. Ramos | |||||||||
| 25 | Republican | Dennis Bonnen (Angleton/Lake Jackson) | Running
|
Republican | Dennis Bonnen | |||||
| Libertarian | Richard Cole | |||||||||
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
| District | Party | Incumbent | Status | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Change from 2006 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 126 | Republican | Patricia Harless (northwest Harris County | Running
|
Republican | Patricia Harless | |||||
| Democratic | Chad Khan | |||||||||
| Libertarian | Oscar J. Palma, Jr. | |||||||||
| 127 | Republican | Joe Crabb (northeast Houston - Kingwood) | Running
|
Republican | Joe Crabb | |||||
| Democratic | Joe Montemayor | |||||||||
| Libertarian | Justo Perez | |||||||||
| 128 | Republican | Wayne Smith (Baytown/Deer Park) | Running
|
Republican | Wayne Smith | |||||
| 129 | Republican | John Davis (southeast Houston - Clear Lake City) | Running
|
Republican | John Davis | |||||
| Democratic | Sherrie Matula | |||||||||
| 130 | Republican | Corbin Van Arsdale (Tomball) | Defeated in primary
|
Republican | Allen Fletcher | |||||
| Libertarian | William B. Gray Jr. | |||||||||
| 131 | Democratic | Alma Allen (southwest Houston) | Running
|
Democratic | Alma Allen | |||||
| 132 | Republican | Bill Callegari (Greater Katy) | Running
|
Republican | Bill Callegari | |||||
| Libertarian | Phil Kurtz | |||||||||
| 133 | Republican | Jim Murphy (west Houston) | Running
|
Republican | Jim Murphy | |||||
| Democratic | Kristi Thibaut | |||||||||
| 134 | Democratic | Ellen Cohen (southwest Houston, including Bellaire) | Running
|
Democratic | Ellen Cohen | |||||
| Republican | Joe Agris | |||||||||
| Libertarian | Mhair S. Dekmezian | |||||||||
| Libertarian | Darcey Kobs | |||||||||
| 135 | Republican | Gary Elkins (Jersey Village) | Running
|
Republican | Gary Elkins | |||||
| Democratic | Trey Fleming | |||||||||
| Libertarian | Alfred N. Montestruc | |||||||||
| 136 | Republican | Beverly Woolley (west Houston (Memorial area)) | Running
|
Republican | Beverly Woolley | 41,007 | 87.1% | |||
| Libertarian | Gerald W. "Jerry" LaFleur | 6,066 | 12.9% | |||||||
| 137 | Democratic | Scott Hochberg (southwest Houston) | Running
|
Democratic | Scott Hochberg | 12,198 | 89.2% | |||
| Libertarian | Alex Cresswell | 1,472 | 10.8% | |||||||
| 138 | Republican | Dwayne Bohac (west and northwest Houston) | Running
|
Republican | Dwayne Bohac | |||||
| Democratic | Virginia McDavid | |||||||||
| Libertarian | Patrick Warren | |||||||||
| 139 | Democratic | Sylvester Turner (north Houston) | Running
|
Democratic | Sylvester Turner | |||||
| 140 | Democratic | Kevin Bailey (north Houston) | Defeated in primary
|
Democratic | Armando Walle | |||||
| 141 | Democratic | Senfronia Thompson (north Houston, including Bush IAH) | Running
|
Democratic | Senfronia Thompson | |||||
| Republican | Michael Bunch | |||||||||
| Libertarian | Richard Brown | |||||||||
| 142 | Democratic | Harold Dutton (northeast Houston) | Running
|
Democratic | Harold Dutton | |||||
| 143 | Democratic | Ana Hernandez (east Houston/Galena Park) | Running
|
Democratic | Ana Hernandez | |||||
| Republican | Dorothy Olmos | |||||||||
| Libertarian | Joe O. Marcom | |||||||||
| 144 | Republican | Robert Talton (Pasadena) | Unsuccessful bid for United States House District 22
|
Republican | Ken Legler | |||||
| Democratic | Joel Redmond | |||||||||
| 145 | Democratic | Rick Noriega (southeast Houston) | Running for U.S. Senate
|
Democratic | Carol Alvarado | |||||
| Republican | Patricia Rodriguez | |||||||||
| 146 | Democratic | Borris Miles (southwest Houston) | Defeated in primary
|
Democratic | Al Edwards | |||||
| 147 | Democratic | Garnet Coleman (downtown and southeast Houston, including Hobby Airport) | Running
|
Democratic | Garnet Coleman | |||||
| Libertarian | Joe Tirado | |||||||||
| 148 | Democratic | Jessica Farrar (northwest Houston, including Houston Heights) | Running
|
Democratic | Jessica Farrar | |||||
| Republican | Howard H. Gano, Jr. | |||||||||
| Libertarian | Walter Dawes | |||||||||
| 149 | Democratic | Hubert Vo (west and southwest Houston, including Alief area) | Running
|
Democratic | Hubert Vo | |||||
| Republican | Greg Meyers | |||||||||
| 150 | Republican | Debbie Riddle (Spring) | Running
|
Republican | Debbie Riddle | |||||
| Democratic | Brad Neal | |||||||||
| Libertarian | Ken Petty | |||||||||
External links
Candidate listings
- Texas Republican Party candidates
- Texas Democratic Party candidates
- Texas Libertarian Party candidates
