Texas's 15th congressional district

Texas's 15th congressional district
Texas's 15th congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
Representative	Vicente Gonzalez D–McAllen
Distribution	86.67% urban[1] 13.33% rural
Population (2019)	804,562[2]
Median household income	$48,113[3]
Ethnicity	81.87% Hispanic 15.1% White 1.58% Black 1.17% Asian 0.28% Native American
Cook PVI	D+3[4]

Texas's 15th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives includes a thin section of the far south of the state of Texas. The district's current Representative is Democrat Vicente Gonzalez, who was first elected in 2016.

The current boundaries of the gerrymandered district include the entire Brooks, Duval, Jim Hogg, Karnes, and Live Oak counties, and parts of Guadalupe, Hidalgo, and Wilson counties. The largest city fully in the district is McAllen, on the Mexico border.

The district has generally given its congressmen very long tenures in Washington; only seven people, all Democrats, have ever represented it. The district's best-known Representative was John Nance Garner, who represented the district from its creation in 1903 until 1933, and was Speaker of the House from 1931 to 1933. He ran with Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 and 1936 presidential campaigns, and was elected Vice President of the United States, serving from 1933 to 1941. The district was one of the first Latino-majority districts in the country, and has been represented by Latino congressmen since 1965.

Notably, this district narrowly voted more Republican in the House elections than the nation as a whole in 2020. Vincente Gonzalez won by 2.9 points while Democrats won the national vote by a combined 3.1 percentage points. It also voted more Republican than the national average while voting Democratic in the 2020 United States presidential election, and the difference between the national vote and the result was wider in the presidential election than the House.

Election results from presidential races[]

Year	Office	Result
2000	President	Gore 54 - 44%
2004	President	Bush 51 - 49%
2008	President	Obama 60 - 40%
2012	President	Obama 57 - 42%
2016	President	Clinton 56.2 - 39.7%
2020	President	Biden 50.4 - 48.5%

List of members representing the district[]

Member	Party	Years	Cong ess	Electoral history	Counties
District created March 4, 1903
John N. Garner	Democratic	March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1933	58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 69th 70th 71st 72nd	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. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Re-elected in 1932. Resigned to become Vice President of the United States.	1903–1911 [data unknown/missing]
					1911–1919 [data unknown/missing]
					1919–1935 [data unknown/missing]
Vacant		March 4, 1933 – April 23, 1933	73rd
Milton H. West	Democratic	April 23, 1933 – October 28, 1948	73rd 74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th	Elected to finish Garner's term. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Died.
					1935–1959 [data unknown/missing]
Vacant		October 28, 1948 – December 4, 1948	80th
Lloyd Bentsen	Democratic	December 4, 1948 – January 3, 1955	80th 81st 82nd 83rd	Elected to finish West's term. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Retired.
Joe M. Kilgore	Democratic	January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1965	84th 85th 86th 87th 88th	Elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Retired.
					1959–1967 [data unknown/missing]
Kika de la Garza	Democratic	January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1997	89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th	Elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Retired.
					1967–1969 [data unknown/missing]
					1969–1973 [data unknown/missing]
					1973–1975 [data unknown/missing]
					1975–1983 [data unknown/missing]
					1983–1985 [data unknown/missing]
					1985–1993 [data unknown/missing]
					1993–2003 Bee, Brooks, De Witt, Goliad, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kleberg, Live Oak, San Patricio, and Willacy
Rubén Hinojosa	Democratic	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2017	105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th	Elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Retired.
					2003–2005 Bee, Brooks, Goliad, Hidalgo, Kleberg, Live Oak, Nueces, and San Patricio
					2005–2007 Bastrop, Bee, Brooks, Cameron, Colorado, De Witt, Fayette, Goliad, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Lavaca, Refugio, and San Patricio
					2007–2013 Bee, Brooks, Cameron, De Witt, Duval, Goliad, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Karnes, Live Oak, Refugio, and San Patricio
					2013–present Brooks, Duval, Guadalupe, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Karnes, Live Oak, and Wilson
Vicente Gonzalez	Democratic	January 3, 2017 – present	115th 116th 117th	Elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Redistricted to the 34th district.

Election results[]

1920 • 1922 • 1924 • 1926 • 1928 • 1930 • 1932 • 1934 • 1936 • 1938 • 1940 • 1942 • 1944 • 1946 • 1948 • 1950 • 1952 • 1954 • 1956 • 1958 • 1960 • 1962 • 1964 • 1966 • 1968 • 1970 • 1972 • 1974 • 1976 • 1978 • 1980 • 1982 • 1984 • 1986 • 1988 • 1990 • 1992 • 1994 • 1996 • 1998 • 2000 • 2002 • 2004 • 2006 (Special) • 2008 • 2010 • 2012 • 2014 • 2016 • 2018 • 2020

1920[]

1920 United States House of Representatives elections^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John N. Garner (incumbent)	10,265	100.00
Total votes			10,265	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1922[]

1922 United States House of Representatives elections^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John N. Garner (incumbent)	14,366	100.00
Total votes			14,366	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1924[]

1924 United States House of Representatives elections^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John N. Garner (incumbent)	22,776	100.00
Total votes			22,776	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1926[]

1926 United States House of Representatives elections^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John N. Garner (Incumbent)	13,548	82.75
	Republican	Hardie F. Jefferies	2,823	17.25
Total votes			16,371	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1928[]

1928 United States House of Representatives elections^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John N. Garner (Incumbent)	28,417	99.99
	Independent	J.L. Burd	1	0.003
Total votes			28,418	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1930[]

1930 United States House of Representatives elections^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John N. Garner (Incumbent)	20,733	77.50
	Republican	Carlos G. Watson	6,016	22.50
Total votes			26,749	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1932[]

1932 United States House of Representatives elections^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John N. Garner (Incumbent)	44,318	85.75
	Republican	Carlos G. Watson	7,362	14.25
Total votes			51,680	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1933 (Special)[]

1933 Texas's 15th congressional district special election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Milton H. West	13,546	91.20
	Republican	Carlos G. Watson	1,302	8.80
Total votes			14,848	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1934[]

1934 United States House of Representatives elections^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Milton H. West (Incumbent)	20,102	100.00
Total votes			20,102	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1936[]

1936 United States House of Representatives elections^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Milton H. West (Incumbent)	29,508	82.53
	Independent	J.A. Simpson	6,244	17.47
Total votes			35,752	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1938[]

1938 United States House of Representatives elections^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Milton H. West (Incumbent)	18,558	99.99
	Other write-in votes	Write-in votes	2	0.010
Total votes			18,560	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1940[]

1940 United States House of Representatives elections^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Milton H. West (Incumbent)	31,800	92.36
	Republican	J.A. Simpson	2,628	7.64
Total votes			34,428	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1942[]

1942 United States House of Representatives elections^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Milton H. West (Incumbent)	12,169	100.00
Total votes			12,169	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1944[]

1944 United States House of Representatives elections^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Milton H. West (Incumbent)	36,362	99.98
	Other write-in votes	Write-in votes	5	0.013
Total votes			36,367	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1946[]

1946 United States House of Representatives elections^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Milton H. West (Incumbent)	14,623	99.98
	Other write-in votes	Write-in votes	3	0.020
Total votes			14,626	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1948 (Special)[]

1948 Texas's 15th congressional district special election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lloyd Bentsen	2,396	100.00
	Other write-in votes	Charles McNelly	1	0.00
Total votes			2,397	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1948[]

1948 United States House of Representatives elections^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lloyd Bentsen (Incumbent)	27,402	100.00
Total votes			27,402	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1950[]

1950 United States House of Representatives elections^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lloyd Bentsen (Incumbent)	18,524	100.00
Total votes			18,524	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1952[]

1952 United States House of Representatives elections^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lloyd Bentsen (Incumbent)	63,767	100.00
Total votes			63,767	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1954[]

1954 United States House of Representatives elections^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe M. Kilgore	29,113	100.00
Total votes			29,113	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1956[]

1956 United States House of Representatives elections^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe M. Kilgore (Incumbent)	64,011	100.00
Total votes			64,011	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1958[]

1958 United States House of Representatives elections^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe M. Kilgore (Incumbent)	28,404	100.00
Total votes			28,404	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1960[]

1960 United States House of Representatives elections^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe M. Kilgore (Incumbent)	76,421	100.00
Total votes			76,421	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1962[]

1962 United States House of Representatives elections^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe M. Kilgore (Incumbent)	53,552	100.00
Total votes			53,552	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1964[]

1964 United States House of Representatives elections^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza	66,897	69.36
	Republican	Joe B. Coulter	29,551	30.64
Total votes			96,448	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1966[]

1966 United States House of Representatives elections^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (Incumbent)	33,129	100.00
Total votes			33,129	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1968[]

1968 United States House of Representatives elections^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (Incumbent)	57,618	100.00
Total votes			57,618	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1970[]

1970 United States House of Representatives elections^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (Incumbent)	54,498	76.16
	Republican	Ben A. Martinez	17,049	23.82
	Other write-in votes	Write-in votes	1	0.020
Total votes			71,548	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1972[]

1972 United States House of Representatives elections^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (Incumbent)	73,994	100.00
Total votes			73,994	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1974[]

1974 United States House of Representatives elections^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (Incumbent)	42,567	100.00
Total votes			42,567	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1976[]

1976 United States House of Representatives elections^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (Incumbent)	102,837	74.36
	Republican	R.L. (Lendy) McDonald	35,446	25.64
Total votes			138,283	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1978[]

1978 United States House of Representatives elections^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (Incumbent)	54,560	66.20
	Republican	R.L. (Lendy) McDonald	27,853	33.80
Total votes			82,413	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1980[]

1980 United States House of Representatives elections^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (Incumbent)	105,325	70.02
	Republican	R.L. (Lendy) McDonald	45,090	29.98
Total votes			150,145	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1982[]

1982 United States House of Representatives elections^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (Incumbent)	76,544	95.67
	Libertarian	Frank L. Jones III	3,458	4.33
Total votes			80,002	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1984[]

1984 United States House of Representatives elections^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (Incumbent)	104,863	100.00
Total votes			104,863	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1986[]

1986 United States House of Representatives elections^[38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (Incumbent)	70,077	100.00
Total votes			70,077	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1988[]

1988 United States House of Representatives elections^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (Incumbent)	93,672	93.85
	Libertarian	Gloria Joyce Hendrix	6,133	6.15
Total votes			99,805	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1990[]

1990 United States House of Representatives elections^[40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (Incumbent)	72,461	100.00
Total votes			138,283	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1992[]

1992 United States House of Representatives elections^[41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (Incumbent)	86,351	60.42
	Republican	Tom Haughey	56,549	39.58
Total votes			142,900	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1994[]

1994 United States House of Representatives elections^[42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (Incumbent)	61,527	58.95
	Republican	Tom Haughey	41,119	39.39
	Independent	John c.c. Hamilton	1,720	1.64
Total votes			104,366	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1996[]

1996 United States House of Representatives elections^[43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rubén Hinojosa	86,347	62.28
	Republican	Tom Haughey	50,914	36.72
	Natural Law	Rob Wofford	1,333	1.00
Total votes			138,621	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

1998[]

1998 United States House of Representatives elections^[44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rubén Hinojosa (Incumbent)	47,957	58.35
	Republican	Tom Haughey	34,221	41.65
Total votes			82,178	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2000[]

2000 United States House of Representatives elections^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rubén Hinojosa (Incumbent)	106,570	88.47
	Libertarian	Frank Jones	13,167	10.93
	Write-in	Israel Cantu	711	0.60
Total votes			120,448	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2002[]

2002 United States House of Representatives elections^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rubén Hinojosa (Incumbent)	66,311	100.0
Total votes			66,311	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2004[]

2004 United States House of Representatives elections^[47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rubén Hinojosa (Incumbent)	96,089	57.76
	Republican	Michael D. Thamm	67,917	40.82
	Libertarian	William R. Cady	2,352	1.41
Total votes			166,358	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2006 (Special)[]

2006 United States House of Representatives elections^[48]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rubén Hinojosa (Incumbent)	43,236	61.77
	Republican	Paul B. Haring	16,601	23.72
	Republican	Eddie Zamora	10,150	14.51
Total votes			69,987	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2008[]

2008 United States House of Representatives elections^[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rubén Hinojosa (Incumbent)	107,578	67.28
	Republican	Eddie Zamora	52,303	32.72
Total votes			159,881	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2010[]

2010 United States House of Representatives elections^[50]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rubén Hinojosa (Incumbent)	53,546	55.73
	Republican	Eddie Zamora	39.964	41.59
	Libertarian	Aaron I. Cohn	2,570	2.68
Total votes			96,080	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2012[]

2012 United States House of Representatives elections^[51]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rubén Hinojosa (Incumbent)	89,296	60.88
	Republican	Dale Brueggemann	54,056	36.85
	Libertarian	Ron Finch	3,309	2.27
Total votes			146,661	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2014[]

2014 United States House of Representatives elections^[52]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rubén Hinojosa (Incumbent)	48,708	54.01
	Republican	Eddie Zamora	39,016	43.26
	Libertarian	Johnny Partain	2,460	2.73
Total votes			90,184	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2016[]

2016 United States House of Representatives elections^[53]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Vicente Gonzalez	101,712	57.31
	Republican	Tim Westley	66,877	37.68
	Green	Vanessa S. Tijerina	5,448	3.07
	Libertarian	Ross Lynn Leone	3,442	1.94
Total votes			177,479	100.0
	Democratic hold

2018[]

2018 United States House of Representatives elections

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Vicente Gonzalez (incumbent)	98,333	59.07
	Republican	Tim Westley	63,862	38.07
	Libertarian	Anthony Cristo	2,607	1.06
Total votes			164,802	100.0
	Democratic hold

2020[]

2020 United States House of Representatives elections

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Vicente Gonzalez (incumbent)	115,605	50.05
	Republican	Monica De la Cruz-Hernandez	109,017	47.06
	Libertarian	Ross Lynn Leone	4,295	1.09
Total votes			228,917	100.0
	Democratic hold

Historical district boundaries[]

See also[]

• List of United States congressional districts

References[]

• 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.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Ohio's 1st congressional district	Home district of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives December 7, 1931 – March 4, 1933	Succeeded by Illinois's 20th congressional district

Coordinates: 27°45′00″N 98°15′48″W / 27.75000°N 98.26333°W / 27.75000; -98.26333