2012 Texas State Senate election

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2012 Texas State Senate election
Flag of Texas.svg
  2010 November 6, 2012 2014  

All 31 seats in the Texas State Senate
16 seats needed for a majority
 Majority partyMinority partyThird party
 
Party Republican Democratic Libertarian
Last election19 seats, 70.65% [1] 12 seats, 22.71% [1] 0 seats, 6.61% [1]
Seats before19120
Seats won19120
Seat changeSteady2.svgSteady2.svgSteady2.svg
Popular vote4,327,8632,272,085355,249
Percentage62.65%32.76%5.12%
SwingDecrease2.svg 8.00%Increase2.svg 10.05%Decrease2.svg 1.49%

TxSen2012Results.png
Election Results
     Republican hold
     Democratic hold

President Pro Tempore before election


Republican

Elected President Pro Tempore


Republican

The 2012 Texas State Senate elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Texas voters elected state senators in all 31 State Senate districts. Typically, State senators serve four-year terms in the Texas State Senate; however, all Senate seats come up for election in the cycle after decennial redistricting. Due to this, senators elected in 2008 served only two-year terms, and half of the senators elected in this election served two-year terms, coming up for re-election again in 2014. 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.

Contents

Following the 2010 State Senate elections, the Republicans maintained effective control of the Senate with nineteen members to the Democrats' twelve. As the first election after the 2010 United States Census, all senate districts had to be redrawn to account for population changes over the preceding decade. The map passed by the Republican state government was challenged through various avenues for racial gerrymandering, and ultimately a somewhat less biased map was used.

To claim control of the chamber from Republicans, the Democrats needed to gain four seats. In the end, no seats changed hands.

Background

The Republican Party had held the State Senate since the 1996 elections. Most observers, as well as the national parties, viewed Texas as a safe red state, as Republican candidates had swept statewide elections since 1998. State Republicans reached a new zenith after the 2010 elections, when backlash to the presidency of Barack Obama kept the State Senate firmly in their control and led to a record number of victories in the State House of Representatives.

Challenges to Republican-drawn Senate map

After retaining the Governor's mansion and State Senate and flipping the Texas House of Representatives in the 2002 elections, the Republicans held the trifecta for the first time in state history and kept it for the rest of the decade (see also: Political party strength in Texas). As such, after the 2010 census, they had sole control over redistricting the state's U.S. House delegation and both state legislative chambers for the 2012 elections. The 10th Senate District, the most-altered in the body, belonged to Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth), whose seat was drawn to add more Republican voters from greater Tarrant County while placing voters from Democratic areas out of the district. However, the proposed Senate map for 2012 was challenged under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and in U.S. District Court for racial gerrymandering. The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled with the plaintiffs and proposed its own example map, undoing the racial gerrymander in Senate District 10, and ordered the legislature to draw a new map based on its own. Ultimately, this election used boundaries made with input from both the Court and Republican legislators. [2]

Summary of results

Summary of the November 6, 2012 Texas Senate election results
Texas State Senate 2012.svg
PartyCandidatesVotesSeats
No. %BeforeUpWonAfter+/–
Republican 274,275,67661.65%19191919Steady2.svg
Democratic 182,272,08532.76%12121212Steady2.svg
Libertarian 12355,2495.12%0000Steady2.svg
Green 231,8400.46%0000Steady2.svg
Write-in 19660.00%0000Steady2.svg
Total6,987,503100.00%31151531Steady2.svg
Source: [3]
Popular vote
Republican
61.65%
Democratic
32.76%
Libertarian
5.12%
Green
0.46%
Write-in
0.00%
Senate seats won
Republican
61.29%
Democratic
38.71%
DistrictDemocraticRepublicanOthersTotalResult
Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%
District 1 84,26228.63%210,09171.37%--294,353100.00%Republican hold
District 2 --172,451100.00%--172,451100.00%Republican hold
District 3 --226,978100.00%--226,978100.00%Republican hold
District 4 --216,07686.25%34,44513.75%250,521100.00%Republican hold
District 5 --182,55477.14%54,10722.86%236,661100.00%Republican hold
District 6 93,28970.95%38,20129.05%--131,490100.00%Democratic hold
District 7 90,79331.60%196,52668.40%--287,319100.00%Republican hold
District 8 99,10134.60%178,23862.29%8,8993.11%286,147100.00%Republican hold
District 9 89,25538.21%136,28858.35%8,0343.44%233,577100.00%Republican hold
District 10 147,10351.12%140,65648.88%--287,759100.00%Democratic hold
District 11 93,22733.98%181,10666.02%--274,333100.00%Republican hold
District 12 --203,98883.41%40,57016.59%244,558100.00%Republican hold
District 13 181,866100.00%----181,866100.00%Democratic hold
District 14 212,52780.29%--52,18719.71%264,714100.00%Democratic hold
District 15 135,82262.34%82,03837.66%--217,860100.00%Democratic hold
District 16 --181,746100.00%--181,746100.00%Republican hold
District 17 --185,42977.68%53,27822.32%238,707100.00%Republican hold
District 18 --211,230100.00%--211,230100.00%Republican hold
District 19 122,21459.40%83,52240.60%--205,736100.00%Democratic hold
District 20 112,62961.53%70,40938.47%--183,038100.00%Democratic hold
District 21 129,89467.63%56,03229.17%6,1473.20%192,073100.00%Democratic hold
District 22 --188,54485.57%31,78614.43%220,330100.00%Republican hold
District 23 187,40781.90%41,42918.10%--228,836100.00%Democratic hold
District 24 --209,319100.00%--209,319100.00%Republican hold
District 25 121,90634.42%232,26165.58%--354,167100.00%Republican hold
District 26 141,04080.33%--34,04319.67%175,583100.00%Democratic hold
District 27 113,542100.00%----113,542100.00%Democratic hold
District 28 --183,61986.39%28,93213.61%212,551100.00%Republican hold
District 29 116,20868.60%53,19031.40%--169,398100.00%Democratic hold
District 30 --217,87786.12%35,12713.88%253,004100.00%Republican hold
District 31 --195,878100.00%--195,878100.00%Republican hold
Total2,272,08532.76%4,275,67661.65%387,5555.59%6,935,316100.00%Source: [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Race Summary Report - 2010 General Election". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  2. Ramsey, Ross; Murphy, Ryan (2011-11-17). "Federal Judges Propose Map for Texas Legislative Districts". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on 2021-02-27. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  3. 1 2 "Race Summary Report - 2012 General Election". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2021-04-25. Retrieved 2021-06-04.