Texas Senate

Texas Senate
Texas Senate
Texas State Legislature
Type
Type	Upper house of the Texas Legislature
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 8, 2019
Leadership
President of the Senate	Dan Patrick (R) ; since January 20, 2015
President Pro Tempore	Joan Huffman (R) ; since May 27, 2019
Structure
Seats	31
Political groups	Majority Republican (19); Minority Democratic (12);
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article 3, Texas Constitution
Salary	$7,200/year + per diem
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	November 3, 2020; (16 seats)
Next election	November 8, 2022; (15 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place
	State Senate Chamber; Texas State Capitol; Austin, Texas
Website
	Texas State Senate

The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature. It has 31 members who each represent one district. They serve for 4-year terms with no term limits. The house meets at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas. The Republican Party currently controls the house.^[1]^[2]

Leaders[change | change source]

Position	Name	Party	Residence	District
Lieutenant Governor/President of the Senate	Dan Patrick	Republican	Houston
President Pro Tempore	Joan Huffman	Republican	Houston	17

Current composition[change | change source]

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Republican	Democratic		Vacant
Begin 2013^[3]	19	11	30	1
March 3, 2013^[4]	19	12	31	0

Begin 2015	20	11	31	0

Begin 2017	20	11	31	0
End 2018	21	10	31	0

Begin 2019	19	12	31	0
Latest voting share	61.3%	38.7%

Senate Districts and Party Affiliation as of 2019 Republican Party Democratic Party

Senate Districts and Party Affiliation after the 2020 election Republican Party Democratic Party

List of members[change | change source]

District	Senator	Party	Residence	First elected	Next election	County(ies) represented
1	Bryan Hughes	Republican	Mineola	2016	2020	Bowie, Camp, Cass, Franklin, Gregg, Harrison, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Panola, Red River, Rusk, Smith, Titus, Wood, Upshur
2	Bob Hall	Republican	Edgewood	2014	2022	Dallas (part), Delta, Fannin, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains, Rockwall, Van Zandt
3	Robert Nichols	Republican	Jacksonville	2006	2022	Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Hardin, Henderson, Houston, Jasper, Liberty, Montgomery (part), Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity, Tyler
4	Brandon Creighton	Republican	The Woodlands	2014†	2020	Chambers, Galveston (part), Harris (part), Jefferson, Montgomery (part)
5	Charles Schwertner	Republican	Georgetown	2012	2022	Brazos, Freestone, Grimes, Leon, Limestone, Madison, Milam, Robertson, Walker, Williamson
6	Carol Alvarado	Democratic	Houston	2018†	2020	Harris (part)
7	Paul Bettencourt	Republican	Houston	2014	2022	Harris (part)
8	Angela Paxton	Republican	Plano	2018	2022	Collin (part), Dallas (part)
9	Kelly Hancock	Republican	Fort Worth	2012	2022	Dallas (part), Tarrant (part)
10	Beverly Powell	Democratic	Fort Worth	2018	2022	Tarrant (part)
11	Larry Taylor	Republican	Friendswood	2012	2020	Brazoria (part), Galveston (part), Harris (part)
12	Jane Nelson	Republican	Flower Mound	1992	2020	Denton (part), Tarrant (part)
13	Borris Miles	Democratic	Houston	2016	2020	Fort Bend (part), Harris (part)
14	Sarah Eckhardt	Democratic	Austin	2020†	2022	Bastrop, Travis (part)
15	John Whitmire	Democratic	Houston	1982	2022	Harris (part)
16	Nathan M. Johnson	Democratic	Dallas	2018	2022	Dallas (part)
17	Joan Huffman	Republican	Southside Place	2008†	2022	Brazoria (part), Fort Bend (part), Harris (part)
18	Lois Kolkhorst	Republican	Katy	2014	2020	Aransas, Austin, Burleson, Calhoun, Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Fort Bend (part), Goliad, Gonzales, Harris (part), Jackson, Lavaca, Lee, Matagorda, Nueces (part), Refugio, Victoria, Waller, Washington, Wharton
19	Pete Flores	Republican	Pleasanton	2018†	2020	Atascosa (part), Bexar (part), Brewster, Crockett, Dimmit, Edwards, Frio, Kinney, Maverick, Medina, Pecos, Real, Reeves, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde, Zavala
20	Juan Hinojosa	Democratic	McAllen	2002	2020	Brooks, Hidalgo (part), Jim Wells, Nueces (part)
21	Judith Zaffirini	Democratic	Laredo	1986	2020	Atascosa (part), Bee, Bexar (part), Caldwell, Duval, Guadalupe (part), Hays (part), Jim Hogg, Karnes, La Salle, Live Oak, McMullen, San Patricio, Starr, Travis (part), Webb, Wilson, Zapata
22	Brian Birdwell	Republican	Granbury	2010†	2020	Bosque, Ellis, Falls, Frio, Hill, Hood, Johnson, McLennan, Navarro, Somervell, Tarrant (part)
23	Royce West	Democratic	Dallas	1992	2022	Dallas (part)
24	Dawn Buckingham	Republican	Horseshoe Bay	2016	2020	Bandera, Bell, Blanco, Brown, Burnet, Callahan, Comanche, Coryell, Gillespie, Hamilton, Kerr, Lampasas, Llano, Mills, San Saba, Taylor (part), Travis(part)
25	Donna Campbell	Republican	New Braunfels	2012	2022	Bexar (part), Comal, Guadalupe (part) Hays (part), Kendall, Travis (part)
26	Jose Menendez	Democratic	San Antonio	2015†	2020	Bexar (part)
27	Eddie Lucio Jr.	Democratic	Brownsville	1990	2020	Cameron, Hidalgo (part), Kenedy, Kleberg, Willacy
28	Charles Perry	Republican	Lubbock	2014†	2020	Baylor, Borden, Childress, Coke, Coleman, Concho, Cottle, Crane, Crosby, Dawson, Dickens, Eastland, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Hale, Hardeman, Haskell, Hockley, Irion, Jones, Kent, Kimble, King, Knox, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Mason, McColluch, Menard, Mitchell, Motley, Nolan, Reagan, Runnels, Sleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Taylor (part), Terry, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Upton, Ward, Wilbarger
29	José R. Rodríguez	Democratic	El Paso	2010	2020	Culberson, El Paso, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Presidio
30	Pat Fallon	Republican	Prosper	2018	2022	Archer, Clay, Collin (part), Cooke, Denton (part), Erath, Grayson, Jack, Montague, Palo Pinto, Parker, Wichita, Wise, Young
31	Kel Seliger	Republican	Amarillo	2004†	2022	Andrews, Armstrong, Bailey, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Cochran, Collingsworth, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Donley, Ector, Gaines, Glasscock, Gray, Hall, Hansford, Hartley, Hemphill, Howard, Hutchinson, Lipscomb, Loving, Martin, Midland, Moore, Ochiltree, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Sherman, Swisher, Wheeler, Winkler, Yoakum

†Elected in a special election

References[change | change source]

↑ McGuinness, Dylan. Flores defeats Gallego in Senate District 19, San Antonio Express-News, September 19, 2018.
↑ Svitek, Patrick. Republican Pete Flores upsets Democrat Pete Gallego in race for Uresti seat, Texas Tribune, September 18, 2018.
↑ Democrat Mario Gallegos, Jr. (District 6) died October 16 and was reelected posthumously.
↑ Democrat Sylvia Garcia elected to succeed Gallegos

[1] McGuinness, Dylan. Flores defeats Gallego in Senate District 19, San Antonio Express-News, September 19, 2018.

[2] Svitek, Patrick. Republican Pete Flores upsets Democrat Pete Gallego in race for Uresti seat, Texas Tribune, September 18, 2018.

[3] Democrat Mario Gallegos, Jr. (District 6) died October 16 and was reelected posthumously.

[4] Democrat Sylvia Garcia elected to succeed Gallegos

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[2]

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