2018 Texas State Senate election

2018 Texas State Senate election

← 2016 November 6, 2018 2020 →
15 of the 31 seats in the Texas State Senate 16 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Jane Nelson Kirk Watson Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat 12th 14th Last election 20 11 Seats before 21[1] 10[1] Seats won 19 12 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 2,280,884 2,026,761 Percentage 52.14% 46.33%
Senate results by district      Republican hold      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Democratic gain      No election
President Pro Tempore before election Kel Seliger Republican Elected President Pro Tempore Kirk Watson Democratic

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The 2018 Texas State Senate elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Texas voters elected state senators in 15 of the state senate's 31 districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the Texas State Senate. A statewide map of Texas's state Senate districts can be obtained from the Texas Legislative Council here, and individual district maps can be obtained from the U.S. Census here.

A primary election on March 6, 2018, determined which candidates appeared on the November 6 general election ballot. Primary election results can be obtained from the Texas Secretary of State's website.^[2]

Following the 2016 state senate elections, Republicans maintained effective control of the Senate with 20 members. However, they gained an extra seat by flipping the 19th District in the August 2018 special election.^[1]

To claim control of the chamber from Republicans, the Democrats would have needed to net six Senate seats. The Democratic Party gained two seats, leaving the Republicans with a 19 to 12 majority in the chamber.

Summary of race results[]

Summary of the November 6, 2018 Texas Senate election results

Party		Candidates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	Before	Up	Won	After	+/–
	Republican	14	2,280,884	52.14	21	12	10	19	2
	Democratic	14	2,026,761	46.33	10	3	5	12	2
	Libertarian	7	67,062	1.90	0	0	0	0
Total			3,525,443	100.00	35	15	15	35
Source:[3]

Popular vote Republican   52.14% Democratic   46.33% Libertarian   1.90%

Senate seats won Republican   66.67% Democratic   33.33%

Retirements[]

One incumbent did not run for re-election in 2020:

Republican[]

1. District 8: Van Taylor is running for U.S House of Texas's 3rd district.

Incumbents defeated[]

In the primary election[]

Republicans[]

1. District 30: Craig Estes lost to Pat Fallon.

Close races[]

District	Winner	Margin
District 8	Republican	2.36%
District 10	Democratic (flip)	3.04%
District 17	Republican	4.64%
District 9	Republican	8.06%
District 16	Democratic (flip)	8.26%
District 5	Republican	13.87%
District 25	Republican	15.36%
District 7	Republican	17.41%
District 2	Republican	18.7%

Summary of results by State Senate District[]

Race results:^[3]

District	Democratic		Republican		Libertarian		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 2	104,897	40.65%	153,151	59.35%	-	-	258,048	100.00%	Republican hold
District 3	56,398	20.53%	215,058	78.27%	3,301	1.20%	274,757	100.00%	Republican hold
District 5	136,792	41.47%	182,550	55.34%	10,500	3.18%	329,842	100.00%	Republican hold
District 7	124,232	40.34%	177,864	57.75%	5,878	1.91%	307,974	100.00%	Republican hold
District 8	162,157	48.82%	169,995	51.18%	-	-	332,152	100.00%	Republican hold
District 9	112,537	45.97%	132,256	54.03%	-	-	244,793	100.00%	Republican hold
District 10	148,959	51.73%	138,968	48.27%	-	-	287,927	100.00%	D GAIN from R
District 14	276,052	71.93%	96,834	25.23%	10,889	2.84%	383,775	100.00%	Democratic hold
District 15	153,016	65.18%	75,518	32.17%	6,229	2.65%	234,763	100.00%	Democratic hold
District 16	159,228	54.13%	134,933	45.87%	-	-	294,161	100.00%	D GAIN from R
District 17	143,978	46.80%	158,263	51.44%	5,396	1.75%	307,637	100.00%	Republican hold
District 23	192,148	100.00%	-	-	-	-	192,148	100.00%	Democratic hold
District 25	173,698	42.32%	236,753	57.68%	-	-	410,451	100.00%	Republican hold
District 30	82,669	26.08%	234,374	73.92%	-	-	317,043	100.00%	Republican hold
District 31	-	-	174,367	87.52%	24,869	12.48%	199,236	100.00%	Republican hold
Total	2,026,761	46.33%	2,280,884	52.14%	67,062	1.53%	4,374,707	100.00%

Source:^[4]

• Note: For districts not displayed re-election not scheduled until 2020.

State Senate District	Incumbent	Party		Elected Senator	Party
2nd	Bob Hall		Rep	Bob Hall		Rep
3rd	Robert Nichols		Rep	Robert Nichols		Rep
5th	Charles Schwertner		Rep	Charles Schwertner		Rep
7th	Paul Bettencourt		Rep	Paul Bettencourt		Rep
8th	Van Taylor		Rep	Angela Paxton		Rep
9th	Kelly Hancock		Rep	Kelly Hancock		Rep
10th	Konni Burton		Rep	Beverly Powell		Dem
14th	Kirk Watson		Dem	Kirk Watson		Dem
15th	John Whitmire		Dem	John Whitmire		Dem
16th	Don Huffines		Rep	Nathan Johnson		Dem
17th	Joan Huffman		Rep	Joan Huffman		Rep
19th	Vacant[5]		Dem	Pete Flores		Rep
23rd	Royce West		Dem	Royce West		Dem
25th	Donna Campbell		Rep	Donna Campbell		Rep
30th	Craig Estes		Rep	Pat Fallon		Rep
31st	Kel Seliger		Rep	Kel Seliger		Rep

Detailed results by State Senate District[]

District 2 • District 3 • District 5 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 19 • District 23 • District 25 • District 30 • District 31

Sources:^[6][2]

District 2[]

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Hall (incumbent)	35,530	53.2
	Republican	Cindy Burkett	31,216	46.8
Total votes			66,746	100.0

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kendall Scudder	20,573	100.0
Total votes			20,573	100.0

Texas's 2nd State Senate District General Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Hall (incumbent)	153,151	59.35
	Democratic	Kendall Scudder	104,897	40.65
Total votes			258,048	100.0
	Republican hold

District 3[]

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shirley Layton	12,452	100.0
Total votes			12,452	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert Nichols (incumbent)	78,434	100.0
Total votes			78,434	100.0

Texas's 3rd State Senate District General Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert Nichols (incumbent)	215,058	78.27
	Democratic	Shirley Layton	56,398	20.53
	Libertarian	Bruce Quarles	3,301	1.20
Total votes			274,757	100.0
	Republican hold

District 5[]

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles Schwertner (incumbent)	50,254	75.1
	Republican	Harold Ramm	16,648	24.9
Total votes			66,902	100.0

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Meg Walsh	22,605	71.1
	Democratic	Brian E. Cronin	5,383	16.9
	Democratic	Glenn "Grumpy" Williams	3,791	11.9
Total votes			31,779	100.0

Texas's 5th State Senate District General Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles Schwertner (incumbent)	182,550	55.34
	Democratic	Meg Walsh	136,792	41.47
	Libertarian	Amy Lyons	10,500	3.18
Total votes			329,842	100.0
	Republican hold

District 7[]

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Bettencourt (incumbent)	44,950	100.0
Total votes			44,950	100.0

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Romero	22,989	100.0
Total votes			22,989	100.0

Texas's 7th State Senate District General Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Bettencourt (incumbent)	177,864	57.75
	Democratic	David Romero	124,232	40.34
	Libertarian	Tom Glass	5,878	1.91
Total votes			307,974	100.0
	Republican hold

District 8[]

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Angela Paxton	32,756	54.3
	Republican	Phillip Huffines	27,545	45.7
Total votes			60,301	100.0

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mark Phariss	16,748	50.9
	Democratic	Brian Chaput	16,148	49.1
Total votes			32,896	100.0

Texas's 8th State Senate District General Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Angela Paxton	169,995	51.18
	Democratic	Mark Phariss	162,157	48.82
Total votes			332,152	100.0
	Republican hold

District 9[]

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gwenn Burud	21,382	100.0
Total votes			21,382	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kelly Hancock (incumbent)	31,188	100.0
Total votes			31,188	100.0

Texas's 9th State Senate District General Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kelly Hancock (incumbent)	132,256	54.03
	Democratic	Gwenn Burud	112,537	45.97
Total votes			244,793	100.0
	Republican hold

District 10[]

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Konni Burton (incumbent)	35,758	100.0
Total votes			35,758	100.0

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Beverly Powell	23,148	61.6
	Democratic	Allison Campolo	14,432	38.4
Total votes			37,580	100.0

Texas's 10th State Senate District General Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Beverly Powell	148,959	51.73
	Republican	Konni Burton (incumbent)	138,968	48.27
Total votes			287,927	99%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 14[]

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George W. Hindman	24,168	100.0
Total votes			24,168	100.0

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kirk Watson (incumbent)	82,626	100.0
Total votes			82,626	100.0

Texas's 14th State Senate District General Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kirk Watson (incumbent)	276,052	71.93
	Republican	George Hindman	96,834	25.23
	Libertarian	Micah Verlander	10,889	2.84
Total votes			383,775	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 15[]

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Randy Orr	17,057	100.0
Total votes			17,057	100.0

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Whitmire (incumbent)	27,307	74.9
	Democratic	Damian Lacroix	6,520	17.9
	Democratic	Hank Segelke	2,619	7.2
Total votes			36,446	100.0

Texas's 15th State Senate District General Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Whitmire (incumbent)	153,016	65.18
	Republican	Randy Orr	75,518	32.17
	Libertarian	Gilberto Velsquez, Jr.	6,229	2.65
Total votes			234,763	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 16[]

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Don Huffines (incumbent)	30,311	100.0
Total votes			30,311	100.0

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Nathan Johnson	25,437	69.6
	Democratic	Joe Bogen	11,125	30.4
Total votes			36,562	100.0

Texas's 16th State Senate District General Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Nathan Johnson	159,228	54.13
	Republican	Don Huffines (incumbent)	134,933	45.87
Total votes			294,161	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 17[]

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joan Huffman (incumbent)	36,830	72.7
	Republican	Kristin Tassin	13,849	27.3
Total votes			50,679	100.0

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rita Lucido	17,669	49.0
	Democratic	Fran Watson	12,663	35.1
	Democratic	Ahmad R. Hassan	5,757	15.9
Total votes			36,089	100.0

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rita Lucido	10,533	57.8
	Democratic	Fran Watson	7,694	42.2
Total votes			18,227	100.0

Texas's 17th State Senate District General Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joan Huffman (incumbent)	158,263	51.44
	Democratic	Rita Lucido	143,978	46.80
	Libertarian	Lauren LaCount	5,396	1.75
Total votes			307,637	100.0
	Republican hold

District 19[]

^[7][8]

Texas's 19th State Senate district special election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pete Flores	8,965	34.37
	Democratic	Pete Gallego	7,541	28.91
	Democratic	Roland Gutierrez	6,351	24.35
	Republican	Carlos Antonio Raymond	912	3.49
	Democratic	Tomas Uresti	798	3.06
	Democratic	Charles Urbina Jones	783	3.0
	Republican	Jesse Alaniz	456	1.74
	Libertarian	Tony Valdivia	271	1.03
Total votes			26,077	100.0
General election
	Republican	Pete Flores	23,576	56.67
	Democratic	Pete Gallego	20,911	43.33
Total votes			44,487	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 23[]

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Royce West (incumbent)	50,226	100.0
Total votes			50,226	100.0

Texas's 23rd State Senate District General Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Royce West (incumbent)	192,148	100.0
Total votes			192,148	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 25[]

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donna Campbell (incumbent)	59,143	73.7
	Republican	Shannon K. McClendon	21,055	26.3
Total votes			80,198	100.0

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steven Kling	23,017	51.1
	Democratic	Jack Guerra	22,064	48.9
Total votes			45,081	100.0

Texas's 25th State Senate District General Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donna Campbell (incumbent)	236,753	57.68
	Democratic	Steven Kling	173,698	42.32
Total votes			410,451	100.0
	Republican hold

District 30[]

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pat Fallon	53,881	62.0
	Republican	Craig Estes (incumbent)	19,641	22.6
	Republican	Craig Carter	13,371	15.4
Total votes			86,893	100.0

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kevin Lopez	15,760	100.0
Total votes			15,760	100.0

Texas's 30th State Senate District General Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pat Fallon	234,374	73.92
	Democratic	Kevin Lopez	82,669	26.08
Total votes			317,043	100.0
	Republican hold

District 31[]

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kel Seliger (incumbent)	40,664	50.4
	Republican	Mike Canon	25,335	31.4
	Republican	Victor Leal	14,671	18.2
Total votes			80,670	100.0

Texas's 31st State Senate District General Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kel Seliger (incumbent)	174,367	87.52
	Libertarian	Jack Westbrook	24,869	12.48
Total votes			199,236	100.0
	Republican hold

See also[]

• United States elections, 2018
• United States Senate election in Texas, 2018
• United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2018
• Texas gubernatorial election, 2018
• 2018 Texas House of Representatives election
• Texas elections, 2018

References[]