1992 Texas Senate election

1992 Texas Senate election

← 1990 November 3, 1992 1994  →
All 31 seats in the Texas State Senate 16 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Dem Rep Party Democratic Republican Last election 23 8 Seats before 22 9 Seats won 18 13 Seat change 4 4
Senate results by district      Democratic hold      Republican hold     Republican gain
President Pro Tempore before election Democratic Elected President Pro Tempore Democratic

The 1992 Texas Senate elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Texas voters elected state senators in all 31 State Senate districts due to redistricting. Originally, half of the seats were elected for two-year terms and the other half were elected for four-year terms, but subsequent redistricting forced all Senators to run for re-election again in 1994. The winners of this election served in the 73rd Texas Legislature.

Background

Democrats had controlled the Texas Senate since the 1872 elections. Democrats had regained a full government trifecta following the election of Ann Richards to the governorship in 1990, giving them a substantial redistricting advantage following the 1990 census. ^[1] The legislature drew maps for the Senate in its 1991 regular session, but federal courts struck them down as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders. ^[2] Democrats then tried to pass a new set of maps for the courts to allow in a January 1992 special session, but the courts rejected the Senate map and imposed their own. ^{[3] [4]}

Democrats took issue with the presence of Judge James Robertson Nowlin on the panel. Nowlin was a former Republican state representative who had taken part in the controversial 1981 redistricting. Nowlin would later admit to being in contact with multiple Republican House members concerning the districts the courts were drawing. Democrats sought Nowlin's recusal from the case because of this, but the plans had already been enacted by the time this had occurred. ^[5]

Results

The court-imposed maps were seen as highly favorable to Republicans, and they believed they had the opportunity to win the chamber for the first time sine Reconstruction under them. ^{[6] [7]} Republicans made substantial gains, winning four seats from the Democrats, but they failed to win control. ^[8]

References

1. Kennedy, J. Michael (November 7, 1990). "Democrat Richards Wins Bitter Contest With Williams : Texas: The governor's race was the state's longest, most expensive and perhaps most rancorous. GOP oilman's verbal gaffes damaged his chances". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
2. "History". redistricting.capitol.texas.gov. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
3. "Justices reject Texas request to block redistricting by court". The Chicago Tribune . January 17, 1992. p. 4. ProQuest   283309390 . Retrieved March 16, 2023.
4. Schwartz, Maralee (January 17, 1992). "Texas Redistricting Rift". The Washington Post . p. a16. ProQuest   307500868 . Retrieved March 16, 2023.
5. Bickerstaff, Steve (2020). Heath, C. Robert (ed.). Gerrymandering Texas. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press. pp. 122–125. ISBN   978-1-68283-073-4.
6. Suro, Roberto (January 17, 1992). "Texas G.O.P. Wins on Redistricting". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
7. "Texas Democrats and Republicans Battle Over Redistricting". The Christian Science Monitor. February 4, 1992. ProQuest   291194035. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
8. Kingston, Mike (1993). Texas Almanac, 1994-1995. Dallas: The Dallas Morning News. p. 410. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.