2023 Texas elections

2023 Texas elections

←  2022 November 7, 2023 2024  →

The 2023 Texas elections were held on November 7, 2023. ^[1]

Texas voters statewide voted on 14 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution. A special election took place to fill the vacancy from Texas's 2nd House of Representatives district, ^[2] which was followed by a runoff on January 30, 2024. ^[3] In addition, Texas counties, cities, and school and other special districts had local elections and other ballot issues, such as bond proposals.

State

Ballot measures

Main article: 2023 Texas constitutional amendment election

14 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution appeared on the November 7, 2023 general election ballot in Texas. ^[4]

• Proposition 1 protected the "right to engage in farming, ranching, timber production, horticulture, and wildlife management".   Passed
• Proposition 2 provided an exemption from county and municipal property taxes for "all or part of the appraised value of real property used to operate a child-care facility".   Passed
• Proposition 3 prohibited any future imposition of a wealth tax.   Passed
• Proposition 4 made numerous changes to property tax calculation, notably an increase in the homestead exemption from school property taxes from $40,000 to $100,000, and would also add voter-elected members to larger county appraisal districts.   Passed
• Proposition 5 created the Texas University Fund, which would provide a dedicated funding mechanism for universities that aren't part of either the University of Texas System or the Texas A&M University System but which have achieved "national prominence as research universities".   Passed
• Proposition 6 created a new dedicated water fund to assist in various water projects.   Passed
• Proposition 7 created a new dedicated energy fund "to support the construction, maintenance, modernization, and operation of electric generating facilities".   Passed
• Proposition 8 created a new dedicated broadband fund "to expand high-speed broadband access and assist in the financing of connectivity projects".   Passed
• Proposition 9 authorized a cost-of-living adjustment to certain annuitants of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.   Passed
• Proposition 10 provided an exemption from property taxes for "equipment or inventory held by a manufacturer of medical or biomedical products to protect the Texas healthcare network and strengthen our medical supply chain".   Passed
• Proposition 11 permitted conservation and reclamation districts in El Paso County to issue bonds supported by ad valorem taxes to fund the development and maintenance of parks and recreational facilities.   Passed
• Proposition 12 abolished the office of County Treasurer in Galveston County (the text of the amendment requires not only the approval of a majority of voters statewide, but also a majority of voters within Galveston County).   Passed
• Proposition 13 would have increased the mandatory retirement age for state justices and judges.   Defeated
• Proposition 14 created a new dedicated parks fund (the "centennial parks conservation fund") for the creation and improvement of state parks.   Passed

Special elections

2023 Texas's 2nd House of Representatives district special election

2023 Texas's 2nd House of Representatives district special election (runoff)

←  2022 January 30, 2024 2024  →
Texas's 2nd House of Representatives district
Candidate Jill Dutton Brent Money Party Republican Republican First round 7,132 25.3% 8,965 31.7% Runoff 6,830 50.4% 6,719 49.6%
Representative before election Bryan Slaton Texas Republican Party Elected Representative Jill Dutton Texas Republican Party

A special election took place in Texas's 2nd House of Representatives district to fill the vacancy created by the expulsion of Bryan Slaton. ^[5] Slaton resigned from the seat on May 8, 2023, amid a sexual misconduct controversy and was subsequently expelled from the House. ^[6] As no candidate reached the necessary 50% votes for victory in the November 7 election, Greg Abbott set January 30, 2024 as the date for the runoff election between Brent Money and Jill Dutton. ^[3] Dutton defeated Money in the runoff by 111 votes. ^[7]

November 7, 2023

Candidates

Declared

• Kristen Washington (Democratic), former member of the Greenville City Council ^[8]
• Jill Dutton (Republican), trustee for the Van Independent School District ^[9]
• Heath Hyde (Republican), farmer ^[10]
• Brent Money (Republican), member of the Greenville City Council. ^[11]
• Doug Roszhart (Republican), member of the Greenville City Council ^[11]
• Krista Schild (Republican), state convention delegate ^[11]

Withdrew

• Neal Barker (Republican), former board member and treasurer of the Northeast Texas Rural Rail Transportation District ^[12]

Endorsements

Jill Dutton

Executive branch officials

• Rick Perry, former United States Secretary of Energy (2017–2019) and former Governor of Texas (2000–2015) ^[13]

State legislators

• Dade Phelan, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives (2021–present) from the 21st district (2015–present) ^[13]

Brent Money

Statewide officials

• Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas (2015–present) ^[13]
• Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas (2015–present) ^[13]

Results

Texas House of Representatives 2nd district special election, November 7, 2023

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brent Money	8,965	31.7%
	Republican	Jill Dutton	7,132	25.3%
	Republican	Heath Hyde	6,065	21.5%
	Democratic	Kristen Washington	3,156	11.2%
	Republican	Doug Roszhart	2,204	7.8%
	Republican	Krista Schild	715	2.5%
Total votes			28,237	100.00%

January 30, 2024 (Runoff)

Texas House of Representatives 2nd district special election, January 30, 2024 (Runoff) ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jill Dutton	6,830	50.41%
	Republican	Brent Money	6,719	49.59%
Total votes			13,549	100.00%

Local

Ron Nirenberg, incumbent mayor of San Antonio, was re-elected. ^[14] John Whitmire won the open mayoral seat in Houston. ^[15]

See also

• 2023 United States state legislative elections

References

1. "Important Election Dates 2023-2024". Texas Secretary of State. Government of Texas. Archived from the original on November 21, 2023.
2. "Governor Abbott Sets Special Election for Texas House District 2". Archived from the original on August 23, 2023.
3. "Gov. Greg Abbott sets January date for Texas House special election runoff". Texas Tribune . Archived from the original on November 22, 2023.
4. "Texas 2023 ballot measures". Ballotpedia . Archived from the original on November 8, 2023.
5. "Governor Abbott Sets Special Election for Texas House District 2". Archived from the original on August 23, 2023.
6. Barragán, James (May 8, 2023). "State Rep. Bryan Slaton resigns ahead of expulsion vote over inappropriate relationship with aide". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on November 18, 2023.
7. "Jill Dutton wins race to fill seat vacated by expelled member". NBC DFW . January 30, 2024. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024.
8. "Kristen Washington speaks on being lone Democrat in running for former Rep. Bryan Slaton's seat". KLTV. October 27, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
9. Svitek, Patrick (October 27, 2023). "Defend Texas Liberty backs Brent Money in special election to replace Bryan Slaton". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
10. Klein, Ethan (May 22, 2023). "Local Farmer, Rancher and Attorney Heath Hyde Launches Campaign for State House". Ksst Radio. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
11. "Republican candidates for House District 2 lay out plans during Monday night debate". KETK.com | FOX51.com. August 29, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
12. "Texas House of Representatives District 2". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
13. Svitek, Patrick (January 30, 2024). "Voters in northeast Texas choose Jill Dutton over Brent Money for special election runoff". The Texas Tribune . Retrieved February 1, 2024.
14. Torres, Raquel; Drusch, Andrea (May 6, 2023). "Ron Nirenberg cruises to fourth and final term as San Antonio mayor". San Antonio Report. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
15. "Democrat John Whitmire wins Houston mayoral runoff over Sheila Jackson Lee". CBS News . December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.