U.S. House district for Texas
Texas's 13th congressional district Texas's 13th congressional district since January 3, 2013
Representative Distribution Population (2019) 714,733[1] [2] Median household income $54,004[2] Ethnicity 65.07% White 26.96% Hispanic 5.1% Black 2.1% Asian 0.77% Native American Cook PVI R+33[3]
Texas's 13th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Texas that includes most of the Texas Panhandle , parts of Texoma and northeastern parts of North Texas . The principal cities in the district are Amarillo , Gainesville and Wichita Falls .[4] It winds across the Panhandle into the South Plains , then runs east across the Red River Valley . Covering over 40,000 square miles (100,000 km2 ), it is the 19th-largest district by area in the nation, the 14th-largest that does not cover an entire state, as well as the second-largest in Texas behind the 23rd congressional district . It covers more land mass than thirteen entire states.
The district has been represented in the United States House of Representatives by Republican Ronny Jackson since 2021, and previously by Republican Mac Thornberry , from 1995 until his decision not run for reelection in 2020 .[5] As late as 1976 , Jimmy Carter won 33 of the 44 counties in the district, getting 60% to 70% of the vote in many of them. While voters in the Panhandle began splitting their tickets as early as the 1940s, Democrats continued to hold most local offices, as well as most of the area's seats in the state legislature, well into the 1990s.
Since Thornberry's ouster of three-term Democrat Bill Sarpalius in 1994 , however, a Democrat has only crossed the 30 percent mark in 1996 , 1998 and 2000 . Republicans now dominate at nearly every level of government, and there are almost no elected Democrats left above the county level. In 2012 , it gave Barack Obama his lowest percentage of the vote in a congressional district. He received 18.5% of the vote. In 2016 , it was Hillary Clinton 's second largest margin of defeat in a congressional district after Alabama's 4th congressional district . She received an even lower percentage than President Obama four years prior, gathering 16.9% of the vote compared to Donald Trump 's 79.9%.
Election results from presidential races [ ]
Year
Office
Result
2000
President
Bush 68% – 31%
2004
President
Bush 78% – 22%
2008
President
McCain 77% – 22%
2012
President
Romney 80% – 19%
2016
President
Trump 80% – 17%
2020
President
Trump 79% – 19%
List of members representing the district [ ]
Member
Party
Term
Congress
Election history
District created March 4, 1893
Jeremiah V. Cockrell
Democratic
March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1897
53rd 54th
Elected in 1892 .Re-elected in 1894 .[data unknown/missing ]
John H. Stephens
Democratic
March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1917
55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th
Elected in 1896 .Re-elected in 1898 .Re-elected in 1900 .Re-elected in 1902 .Re-elected in 1904 .Re-elected in 1906 .Re-elected in 1908 .Re-elected in 1910 .Re-elected in 1912 .Re-elected in 1914 .[data unknown/missing ]
J. Marvin Jones
Democratic
March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1919
65th
Elected in 1916 . Redistricted to the 18th district .
Lucian W. Parrish
Democratic
March 4, 1919 – March 27, 1922
66th 67th
Elected in 1918 .Re-elected in 1920 . Died.
Vacant
March 27, 1922 – May 22, 1922
67th
Guinn Williams
Democratic
May 22, 1922 – March 3, 1933
67th 68th 69th 70th 71st 72nd
Elected to finish Parrish's term .Re-elected in 1922 .Re-elected in 1924 .Re-elected in 1926 .Re-elected in 1928 .Re-elected in 1930 .[data unknown/missing ]
William D. McFarlane
Democratic
March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1939
73rd 74th 75th
Elected in 1932 .Re-elected in 1934 .Re-elected in 1936 .[data unknown/missing ]
Ed Gossett
Democratic
January 3, 1939 – July 31, 1951
76th 77th 78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd
Elected in 1938 .Re-elected in 1940 .Re-elected in 1942 .Re-elected in 1944 .Re-elected in 1946 .Re-elected in 1948 .Re-elected in 1950 . Resigned.
Vacant
July 31, 1951 – September 8, 1951
82nd
Frank N. Ikard
Democratic
September 8, 1951 – December 15, 1961
82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th
Elected to finish Gossett's term .Re-elected in 1952 .Re-elected in 1954 .Re-elected in 1956 .Re-elected in 1958 .Re-elected in 1960 . Resigned.
Vacant
December 15, 1961 – January 27, 1962
87th
Graham B. Purcell Jr.
Democratic
January 27, 1962 – January 3, 1973
87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd
Elected to finish Ikard's term .Re-elected in 1962 .Re-elected in 1964 .Re-elected in 1966 .Re-elected in 1968 .Re-elected in 1970 . Lost reelection after redistricting.
Bob Price
Republican
January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1975
93rd
Redistricted from the 18th district and re-elected in 1972 . Lost reelection.
Jack Hightower
Democratic
January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1985
94th 95th 96th 97th 98th
Elected in 1974 .Re-elected in 1976 .Re-elected in 1978 .Re-elected in 1980 .Re-elected in 1982 . Lost reelection.
Beau Boulter
Republican
January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1989
99th 100th
Elected in 1984 .Re-elected in 1986 .Retired to run for U.S. Senator .
Bill Sarpalius
Democratic
January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995
101st 102nd 103rd
Elected in 1988 .Re-elected in 1990 .Re-elected in 1992 . Lost reelection.
Mac Thornberry
Republican
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2021
104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th
Elected in 1994 .Reelected in 1996 .Reelected in 1998 .Reelected in 2000 .Reelected in 2002 .Reelected in 2004 .Reelected in 2006 .Reelected in 2008 .Reelected in 2010 .Reelected in 2012 .Reelected in 2014 .Reelected in 2016 .Reelected in 2018 . Retired.
Ronny Jackson
Republican
January 3, 2021 – Present
117th
Elected in 2020 .
Election results [ ]
Often in recent years, the incumbent has either run unopposed or has only a third/fourth party candidate who is opposing them. Generally, the incumbent gets over 70% of the vote, even during years with huge opposition party pickups.
Texas 13th congressional district 1994[6]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Mac Thornberry
79,466
55.42
Democratic
Bill Sarpalius (incumbent)
63,923
44.58
Total votes
143,389
100.00
Texas 13th congressional district 1996[6]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Mac Thornberry (incumbent)
116,098
66.87
Democratic
Samuel Brown Silverman
56,066
32.29
Independent
Don Harkey
1,463
0.84
Total votes
173,627
100.00
Texas 13th congressional district 1998[6]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Mac Thornberry (incumbent)
81,141
67.92
Democratic
Mark Harmon
37,027
30.99
Libertarian
Georganne Baker Payne
1,298
1.09
Total votes
119,466
100.00
Texas 13th congressional district 2000[6]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Mac Thornberry (incumbent)
117,995
67.63
Democratic
Curtis Clinesmith
54,343
31.15
Libertarian
Brad Clardy
2,137
1.22
Total votes
174,475
100.00
Texas 13th congressional district 2002[6]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Mac Thornberry (incumbent)
119,401
79.27
Democratic
Zane Reese
31,218
20.73
Total votes
150,619
100.00
Texas 13th congressional district 2004[6]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Mac Thornberry (incumbent)
189,448
92.31
Libertarian
John Robert Deek
15,793
7.69
Total votes
205,241
100.00
Texas 13th congressional district 2006[6]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Mac Thornberry (incumbent)
108,107
74.35
Democratic
Roger J. Waun
33,460
23.01
Libertarian
Keith Dyer
3,829
2.63
Total votes
145,396
100.00
Texas 13th congressional district 2008[6]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Mac Thornberry (incumbent)
180,078
77.65
Democratic
Roger James Waun
51,841
22.35
Total votes
231,919
100.00
Texas 13th congressional district 2010[6]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Mac Thornberry (incumbent)
113,201
87.05
Independent
Keith Dyer
11,192
8.61
Libertarian
John T. Burwell Jr.
5,650
4.34
Total votes
130,043
100.00
Texas 13th congressional district 2012[6]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Mac Thornberry (incumbent)
187,775
90.98
Libertarian
John Robert Deek
12,701
6.15
Green
Keith F. Houston
5,912
2.86
Total votes
206,388
100.00
Texas 13th congressional district 2014[6]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Mac Thornberry (incumbent)
110,842
84.3
Democratic
Mike Minter
16,822
12.8
Libertarian
Emily Pivoda
2,863
2.2
Green
Don Cook
924
0.7
Total votes
131,451
100
Texas 13th congressional district 2016[7]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Mac Thornberry (incumbent)
199,050
90.0
Libertarian
Calvin DeWeese
14,725
6.7
Green
H.F. "Rusty" Tomlinson
7,467
3.4
Total votes
221,242
100
Texas 13th congressional district 2018[8]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Mac Thornberry (incumbent)
168,090
81.6
Democratic
Greg Sagan
34,859
16.9
Libertarian
Calvin DeWeese
3,144
1.5
Total votes
206,093
100
Texas 13th congressional district 2020
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Ronny Jackson
217,124
79.4
Democratic
Gus Trujillo
50,477
18.5
Libertarian
Jack B. Westbrook
5,907
2.1
Total votes
273,508
100
Historical district boundaries [ ]
See also [ ]
References [ ]
Citations [ ]
General sources [ ]
Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress . New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts . New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
External links [ ]
hide
The at-large district is obsolete. The 37th and 38th districts will be established in 2023.
See also
Texas's past and present representatives , senators , and delegations
Authority control
Coordinates : 34°50′16″N 100°35′52″W / 34.83778°N 100.59778°W / 34.83778; -100.59778