Political party strength in Texas

The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Texas:

• Governor
• Lieutenant Governor
• Attorney General
• State Comptroller of Public Accounts
• State Land Commissioner
• State Agriculture Commissioner
• Treasurer (before 1996)

The table also indicates the historical party composition in the:

• State Senate
• State House of Representatives
• State Railroad Commission
• State delegation to the U.S. Senate
• State delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives

For years in which a presidential election was held, the table indicates which party's nominees received the state's electoral votes.

1846–1890

Year	Executive offices						State Legislature		United States Congress			Electoral votes
	Governor	Lieutenant Governor	Attorney General	Comptroller	Treasurer	Land Comm.	State Senate	State House	U.S. Senator (Class I)	U.S. Senator (Class II)	U.S. House
1846	J. Pinckney Henderson (D)	Albert Clinton Horton (D)	Volney Howard (D)	James B. Shaw (D)	James H. Raymond (D)	Thomas W. Ward (D)	D maj.	D maj.	Thomas Jefferson Rusk (D)	Sam Houston (D)	2D
1847	George Tyler Wood (D)	John Alexander Greer (D)	John Woods Harris (D)
1848						George W. Smyth (D)	D maj.	D maj.				Cass/ Butler (D)N
1849	Peter Hansborough Bell (D) [a]		Henry Percy Brewster (D)
1850			Andrew Jackson Hamilton (D)				D maj.	D maj.
1851		James W. Henderson (D)	Ebenezer Allen (D)			Stephen Crosby (D)
1852			Thomas J. Jennings (D)				D maj.	D maj.				Pierce/ King (D)Y
1853	James W. Henderson (D) [b]	vacant
	Elisha M. Pease (D)	David Catchings Dickson (D)
1854							D maj.	D maj.
1855		Hardin Richard Runnels (D)								Sam Houston (D)	1D, 1KN
1856			James Willie (D)				20D, 9KN, 4?	60D, 30KN				Buchanan/ Breckinridge (D)Y
1857	Hardin Richard Runnels (D)	Francis Lubbock (D)							J. Pinckney Henderson (D)		2D
1858			Malcolm D. Graham (D)	Clement R. Johns (D)	Cyrus H. Randolph (D)	Francis M. White (D)	27D, 6KN	81D, 9KN	Matthias Ward (D)
1859	Sam Houston (CU) [c]	Edward Clark (D)								John Hemphill (D)
1860			George M. Flournoy (D)				D maj.	D maj.	Louis Wigfall (D)			Breckinridge/ Lane (SD)N
1861	Edward Clark (D) [b]	vacant
	Francis Lubbock (D)	John McClannahan Crockett (D)							Expelled following Texas's secession from the U.S.
1862			Nathan G. Shelley (D)				American Civil War		American Civil War/no delegations seated
1863	Pendleton Murrah (D) [d]	Fletcher Stockdale (D)				Stephen Crosby (D)
1864			Benjamin E. Tarver (D)									no electors counted
1865	Fletcher Stockdale (D) [b]	vacant	William Alexander (U)	Willis L. Robards (D)
	Andrew Jackson Hamilton (DM) [e]				Samuel Harris (D)	Francis M. White (D)			Reconstruction/no delegations seated
1866	James W. Throckmorton (D) [f]	George Washington Jones (D) [f]	William M. Walton (D)	Albert H. Latimer (R)	W. M. Royston (D)	Stephen Crosby (D)
1867	Elisha M. Pease (R) [g]	vacant [h]	Ezekiel B. Turner (U)	Morgan C. Hamilton (R)	John T. Allan (R)	Joseph Spence (R)
1868
1869		J. W. Flanagan (R) [i]			George W. Honey (R)
1870	Edmund J. Davis (R) [j]	Donald Campbell (R) [k]	William Alexander (R)	Albert A. Bledsoe (R)		Jacob Kuechler (R)	19R, 11D	54R, 36D	J. W. Flanagan (R)	Morgan C. Hamilton (R)	3R, 1D
1871		Webster Flanagan (R) [k]					18R, 12D [l]				3D, 1R
1872		Albert Jennings Fountain (R) [k]									4D	Hendricks/ Brown (D)N
1873		Edward Bradford Pickett (D) [k]			B. Graham (R)		17D, 13R	72D, 16R, 2?		Morgan C. Hamilton (LR)	6D
1874	Richard Coke (D) [m]	Richard B. Hubbard (D)	George Clark (D)	Stephen Heard Darden (D)	Andrew Jackson Dorn (D)	J. J. Gross (D)	26D, 4R	79D, 11R
1875									Samuel B. Maxey (D)	Morgan C. Hamilton (R)
1876	Richard B. Hubbard (D) [b]	vacant	Hannibal Boone (D)									Tilden/ Hendricks (D)N
1877							27D, 3R, 1I	81D, 6R, 6I		Richard Coke (D)
1878			George McCormick (D)			William C. Walsh (D)
1879	Oran Milo Roberts (D)	Joseph D. Sayers (D)			Francis Lubbock (D)		25D, 4R, 2G	74D, 10G, 9R			5D, 1GB
1880			James H. McLeary (D)	William M. Brown (D)								Hancock/ English (D)N
1881		Leonidas Jefferson Storey (D)					29D, 1R, 1G	82D, 8R, 3G
1882			John D. Templeton (D)
1883	John Ireland (D)	Francis Marion Martin (D)		William Jesse Swain (D)			30D, 1I	96D, 7I, 3R			10D, 1I
1884												Cleveland/ Hendricks (D)Y
1885		Barnett Gibbs (D)					31D [n]	103D, 3R			11D
1886			Jim Hogg (D)
1887	Lawrence Sullivan Ross (D)	Thomas Benton Wheeler (D)		John D. McCall (D)		R. M. Hall (D)		103D, 5R, 1Pop	John H. Reagan (D)
1888												Cleveland/ Thurman (D)N
1889								102D, 3R, 1I
1890

1891–1998

Year	Executive offices							State Legislature		R. R. Comm.	United States Congress			Electoral votes
	Governor	Lieutenant Governor	Attorney General	Comptroller	Treasurer	Land Comm.	Ag. Comm.	State Senate	State House		U.S. Senator (Class I)	U.S. Senator (Class II)	U.S. House
1891	Jim Hogg (D)	George C. Pendleton (D)	Charles A. Culberson (D)	John D. McCall (D)	William B. Wortham (D)	William L. McGaughey (D)	Lafayette L. Foster (D) [o]	31D [p]	104D, 2R	3D	Horace Chilton (D)	Richard Coke (D)	11D
1892							no such office				Roger Q. Mills (D)			Cleveland/ Stevenson (D)Y
1893		Martin McNulty Crane (D)						30D, 1Pop	119D, 8Pop, 1R				13D
1894
1895	Charles A. Culberson (D)	George Taylor Jester (D)	Martin McNulty Crane (D)	Richard W. Finley (D)		Andrew Jackson Baker (D)		29D, 2Pop	101D, 22Pop, 4R, 1I [q]			Horace Chilton (D)	12D, 1R
1896														Bryan/ Sewall (D)N
1897								28D, 2Pop, 1R	120D, 6Pop, 2R
1898			Thomas Slater Smith (D)
1899	Joseph D. Sayers (D)	James Browning (D)			John W. Robbins (D)	Charles Rogan (D)		30D, 1R	118D, 9Pop, 1R		Charles A. Culberson (D)
1900														Bryan/ Stevenson (D)N
1901			Charles K. Bell (D)	Robert M. Love (D) [r]				31D	126D, 1Pop, 1IR			Joseph W. Bailey (D)	13D
1902
1903	S. W. T. Lanham (D)	George D. Neal (D)		J. W. Stephen (D) [s]		John J. Terrell (D)			130D, 1R, 1Pop, 1IR				16D
1904			Robert V. Davidson (D)											Parker/ Davis N
1905									131D, 2R
1906
1907	Thomas Mitchell Campbell (D)	Asbury Bascom Davidson (D)			Sam Sparks (D)		Robert Teague Milner (D) [t]		132D, 1R
1908							Edward R. Kone (D)							Bryan/ Kern (D)N
1909						James T. Robison (D)		30D, 1R	131D, 2R
1910			Jewel P. Lightfoot (D)
1911	Oscar Branch Colquitt (D)			W. P. Lane (D)					131D, 1R
1912					J. M. Edwards (D)									Wilson/ Marshall (D)Y
			James D. Walthall (D)
1913		William Harding Mayes (D)	B. F. Looney (D)						141D, 1R			Rienzi Melville Johnston (D)	18D
												Morris Sheppard (D)
1914
1915	James E. Ferguson (D) [u]	William P. Hobby (D)		Henry B. Terrell (D)			Fred Davis (D)	31D	140D, 1R, 1I
1916
1917	William P. Hobby (D) [v]	vacant							142D
1918
1919		Willard Arnold Johnson (D)	Calvin Maples Cureton (D)		John W. Baker (D)				141D, 1R
1920				M. L. Wiginton (D)			George B. Terrell (D)							Cox/ Roosevelt (D)N
1921	Pat Morris Neff (D)	Lynch Davidson (D)		Lon A. Smith (D)	Charles Vernon Terrell (D)			30D, 1R	137D, 4A, 1R				17D, 1R
1922			Walter Angus Keeling (D)
1923		Thomas Whitfield Davidson (D)							149D, 1R		Earle B. Mayfield (D)
1924					Sidney Lee Staples (D)									Davis/ Bryan (D)N
1925	Miriam A. Ferguson (D)	Barry Miller (D)	Dan Moody (D)	Sam Houston Terrell (D)	W. Gregory Hatcher (D)
1926
1927	Dan Moody (D)		Claude Pollard (D)
1928														Hoover/ Curtis (R)Y
1929								31D			Tom Connally (D)		18D
			Robert L. Bobbitt (D)			J. H. Walker (D)
1930													17D, 1R [w]
1931	Ross S. Sterling (D)	Edgar E. Witt (D)	James Allred (D)	George H. Sheppard (D)	Charley Lockhart (D)		James E. McDonald (D)		150D [x]
1932													18D [y]	Roosevelt/ Garner (D)Y
1933	Miriam A. Ferguson (D)								148D, 2I				21D
1934
1935	James Allred (D)	Walter Frank Woodul (D)	William McCraw (D)						149D, 1I
1936
1937						William H. McDonald (D)
1938
1939	W. Lee O'Daniel (D) [z]	Coke R. Stevenson (D)	Gerald Mann (D)			Bascom Giles (D)			150D
1940														Roosevelt/ Wallace (D)Y
1941
					Jesse James (D)							Andrew Jackson Houston (D)
	Coke R. Stevenson (D) [v]	vacant										W. Lee O'Daniel (D)
1942
1943		John Lee Smith (D)
1944			Grover Sellers (D)											Roosevelt/ Truman (D)Y
1945
1946
1947	Beauford H. Jester (D) [aa]	Allan Shivers (D)	Price Daniel (D)
1948														Truman/ Barkley (D)Y
1949	Allan Shivers (D) [v]	vacant		Robert S. Calvert (D)								Lyndon B. Johnson (D)
1950										20D, 1R [ab]
1951		Ben Ramsey (D)					John Coyle White (D)		149D, 1R [ac]	21D
1952													Eisenhower/ Nixon (R)Y
1953			John Ben Shepperd (D)						150D	Price Daniel (D)	22D
1954
1955						James Earl Rudder (D)					21D, 1R
1956
1957	Price Daniel (D)		Will Wilson (D)							William A. Blakley (D)
										Ralph Yarborough (D)
1958						Bill Allcorn (D)
1959									149D, 1I [ad]
1960													Kennedy/ Johnson (D)Y
1961						Jerry Sadler (D)			150D			William A. Blakley (D)
												John Tower (R)
1962									148D, 2R [ae]
1963	John Connally (D)	Preston Smith (D)	Waggoner Carr (D)						140D, 10R		21D, 2R
1964													Johnson/ Humphrey (D)Y
1965									149D, 1R [af]		23D
1966
1967			Crawford Martin (D)					30D, 1R	143D, 7R		21D, 2R
1968											20D, 3R [ag]		Humphrey/ Muskie (D)N
1969	Preston Smith (D)	Ben Barnes (D)						29D, 2R	141D, 8R, 1I [ah]
1970
1971						Bob Armstrong (D)			141D, 9R	Lloyd Bentsen (D)
1972													Nixon/ Agnew (R)Y
1973	Dolph Briscoe (D)	William P. Hobby Jr. (D)	John Hill (D)					28D, 3R	133D, 17R		20D, 4R
1974
1975				Bob Bullock (D)					132D, 18R		21D, 3R
1976											20D, 4R [ai]		Carter/ Mondale (D)Y
1977					Warren G. Harding (D)		Reagan V. Brown (D)		131D, 19R		22D, 2R
1978								27D, 4R
1979	Bill Clements (R)		Mark White (D)						127D, 23R		20D, 4R
1980													Reagan/ Bush (R)Y
1981								24D, 7R	113D, 37R		19D, 5R
1982
1983	Mark White (D)		Jim Mattox (D)		Ann Richards (D)	Garry Mauro (D)	Jim Hightower (D)	26D, 5R			21D, 6R [aj]
1984
1985								25D, 6R	95D, 55R		Phil Gramm (R)	17D, 10R
1986
1987	Bill Clements (R)								90D, 60R
1988													Bush/ Quayle (R)Y
1989								23D, 8R	91D, 59R			19D, 8R
1990
1991	Ann Richards (D)	Bob Bullock (D)	Dan Morales (D)	John Sharp (D)	Kay Bailey Hutchison (R)		Rick Perry (R)	22D, 9R [ak]	90D, 60R
1992													Bush/ Quayle (R)N
1993								18D, 13R	92D, 58R	2D, 1R		Bob Krueger (D)		21D, 9R
					Martha Whitehead (D) [al]							Kay Bailey Hutchison (R)
1994									91D, 59R [am]
1995	George W. Bush (R)							17D, 14R	89D, 61R	3R				19D, 11R
1996									87D, 63R [an]				18D, 12R [ao]	Dole/ Kemp (R)N
1997					office abolished [ap]			17R, 14D [aq]	82D, 68R				17D, 13R
1998

1999–present

Year	Executive offices						State Legislature		R. R. Comm.	United States Congress			Electoral votes
	Governor	Lieutenant Governor	Attorney General	Comptroller	Land Comm.	Ag. Comm.	State Senate	State House		U.S. Senator (Class I)	U.S. Senator (Class II)	U.S. House
1999	George W. Bush (R)	Rick Perry (R)	John Cornyn (R)	Carole Keeton Strayhorn (R)	David Dewhurst (R)	Susan Combs (R)	16R, 15D	78D, 72R	3R	Kay Bailey Hutchison (R)	Phil Gramm (R)	17D, 13R
2000													Bush/ Cheney (R)Y
2001	Rick Perry (R)	Bill Ratliff (R)
2002
			Greg Abbott (R)
2003		David Dewhurst (R)			Jerry E. Patterson (R)		19R, 12D	88R, 62D			John Cornyn (R)	17D, 15R
2004												16D, 16R [ar]
2005								87R, 63D				21R, 11D
2006								86R, 64D [as]
2007				Susan Combs (R)		Todd Staples (R)	20R, 11D	81R, 69D				19R, 13D
2008								79R, 71D [at]					McCain/ Palin (R)N
2009							19R, 12D	76R, 74D				20R, 12D
2010								77R, 73D [au]
2011								101R, 49D [av]				23R, 9D
2012								102R, 48D [aw]					Romney/ Ryan (R)N
2013								95R, 55D		Ted Cruz (R)		24R, 12D
2014
2015	Greg Abbott (R)	Dan Patrick (R)	Ken Paxton (R)	Glenn Hegar (R) [ax]	George P. Bush (R)	Sid Miller (R)	20R, 11D	98R, 52D				25R, 11D
2016								99R, 50D, 1I [ay]					Trump/ Pence (R)Y
2017								95R, 55D
2018
							21R, 10D [az]
2019							19R, 12D	83R, 67D				23R, 13D
2020													Trump/ Pence (R)N
2021							18R, 13D
2022								85R, 65D [ba]				24R, 12D [bb]
2023					Dawn Buckingham (R)		19R, 12D	86R, 64D				25R, 13D
2024								87R, 63D [bc]					Trump Vance (R)Y
2025				Kelly Hancock (R) [bd]			20R, 11D	88R, 62D

Key to party colors and abbreviations for members of the U.S. Congress and other politicians or officials

Alaskan Independence (AKIP) Know Nothing (KN) American Labor (AL) Anti-Jacksonian (Anti-J) National Republican (NR) Anti-Administration (AA) Anti-Masonic (Anti-M) Conservative (Con) Covenant (Cov)

Democratic (D) Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) Democratic–NPL (D-NPL) Dixiecrat (Dix), States' Rights (SR) Democratic-Republican (DR) Farmer–Labor (FL) Federalist (F) Pro-Administration (PA)

Free Soil (FS) Fusion (Fus) Greenback (GB) Independence (IPM) Independent Democrat (ID) Independent Republican (IR) Jacksonian (J) Liberal (Lib)

Libertarian (L) National Union (NU) Nonpartisan League (NPL) Nullifier (N) Opposition Northern (O) Opposition Southern (O) Populist (Pop) Progressive (Prog)

Prohibition (Proh) Readjuster (Rea) Republican (R) Silver (Sv) Silver Republican (SvR) Socialist (Soc) Union (U) Unconditional Union (UU)

Vermont Progressive (VP) Whig (W) Independent (I) Nonpartisan (NP)

1. Resigned to take an elected seat in the United States House of Representatives.
2. As lieutenant governor, filled unexpired term.
3. Evicted from office due to his refusal to swear an oath to the Confederate States of America.
4. Fled Austin as it fell to Union forces.
5. Provisional military governor.
6. Was removed from office by General Philip Sheridan, commander of the Fifth Military District during Reconstruction.
7. Resigned due to disagreements with General Joseph J. Reynolds.
8. The office remained vacant until the 14th Legislature in 1874.
9. Elected lieutenant governor in 1869 but was not inaugurated. He presided over the provisional session but left office after being selected as an at-large representative to the United States Congress.
10. Elected in a special election held under military direction.
11. As president pro tempore of the state Senate, served as lieutenant governor ex officio while the office remained vacant.
12. Democrat James Eldrage Dillard won a special election to succeed Republican Mijamin Priest, who resigned after being declared ineligible by the military government. ^[1]
13. Resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.
14. Some sources list three Democratic senators as independents from 1885–1887
15. Commissioner of Agriculture, Insurance, Statistics & History. Governor Hogg appointed Foster to the First Railroad Commission of Texas in May.
16. Sen. George Washington Glasscock Jr. was elected in 1888 as an Independent but served as a Democrat.
17. Republican Arthur C. Tompkins won an election contest against Democrat William Joseph on February 15, 1895. Independent Frank Brooks was sworn in on April 16, 1895 after being elected to succeed Democrat Robert Harrell, who died.
18. Shot and killed in office by a former employee.
19. Appointed by Governor upon the death of his predecessor.
20. Governor appointed first incumbent when office was created by the Legislature.
21. Resigned due to the legislature's bringing impeachment proceedings against him.
22. As lieutenant governor, filled unexpired term, and was subsequently in his own right.
23. Republican Harry M. Wurzbach successfully contested the election of Democrat Augustus McCloskey.
24. Rep. Homer Leonard was elected as a write-in candidate as the candidate for the Good Government League. He officially served as a Democrat during his first term but as an independent during the following three.
25. Democrat Richard M. Kleberg won a special election to fill the seat of Republican Harry M. Wurzbach, who died.
26. Resigned after winning the Democratic primary for a United States Senate seat; he won the election.
27. Died in office.
28. Republican Ben H. Guill won a special election to succeed Democrat Eugene Worley, who resigned, flipping a seat.
29. Edward T. Dicker was the sole Republican in the legislature.
30. Democrat Howard Green served as an Independent during the 56th legislature
31. Kenneth Williams Kohler and George F. Korkmas were the two Republicans elected in a special election.
32. Frank Kell Cahoon was the sole Republican legislator.
33. Republican James M. Collins won a special election to fill the seat of Democrat Joe R. Pool, who died.
34. John Poerner won his seat as a Republican in a special election March, but changed to Independent once sworn into the House.
35. Republican Ron Paul won a special election to succeed Democrat Robert R. Casey, who resigned, flipping a seat.
36. Representative Phil Gramm resigned and switched parties from Democratic to Republican. He then won the ensuing special election to succeed himself.
37. Republican David Sibley won a February special election to fill the seat of Democrat Chet Edwards, who resigned to become a U.S. Representative.
38. Initially appointed to fill vacancy; later elected in his or her own right.
39. Representative Ric Williams switched parties. ^[2]
40. In February 1995, Republican Todd Staples won a special election to flip a seat. ^[3] Later in 1995, Representative Warren Chisum switched parties. ^[4]
41. Representative Greg Laughlin switched parties from Democratic to Republican.
42. In 1996, voters approved a constitutional amendment abolishing the Office of State Treasurer and transferring its functions to the Office of Comptroller of Public Accounts.
43. In January 1997, Republican Steve Ogden won a special election to flip a seat.
44. Representative Ralph Hall switched parties from Democratic to Republican.
45. Democrat Donna Howard won a special election to fill the unexpired term of Republican Todd Baxter.
46. Democrat Dan Barret won a special election to fill the unexpired term of Republican Anna Mowery, and Republican Kirk England switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democratic, flipping two seats. ^{[5] [6]}
47. Representative Chuck Hopson switched parties from Democratic to Republican in November 2009.
48. Representatives Allan Ritter and Aaron Peña switched parties from Democratic to Republican after the election.
49. Representative J.M. Lozano switched parties from Democratic to Republican in March.
50. Resigned.
51. Republican John Lujan won a special election to succeed Democrat Joe Farias, who resigned, flipping a seat. ^[7] Additionally, Independent Laura Thompson won a special election to succeed Democrat Ruth Jones McClendon, who resigned, flipping another seat. ^[8]
52. Republican Pete Flores won a special election to succeed Democrat Carlos Uresti, who resigned, flipping a seat. ^[9]
53. Republican John Lujan won a special election to succeed Democrat Leo Pacheco, who resigned, flipping a seat. ^[10] Additionally, Ryan Guillen switched parties from Democratic to Republican. ^[11]
54. Republican Mayra Flores won a special election to succeed Democrat Filemon Vela Jr., who resigned, flipping a seat. ^[12]
55. Shawn Thierry switched parties from Democratic to Republican in August.
56. Acting.

References

1. "Mijamin Priest". Legislative Reference Library of Texas. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
2. McNeely, Dave (December 21, 1993). "Williamson party switch no surprise". Austin American Statesman . pp. A15. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
3. "Republican wins District 11 seat in special vote". Houston Chronicle . February 13, 1995. p. 15.
4. Attlesey, Sam (June 27, 1995). "Laughlin, tops list of converts to GOP He says switch is about principles". The Dallas Morning News . pp. 11A. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
5. "Race Summary Report: Special Runoff Election State Representative District 97". Office of the Secretary of State of Texas. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
6. "State Representative Kirk England switches to Democratic Party | www.pegasusnews.com | Dallas/Fort Worth". 2014-02-22. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
7. Gonzalez, John W. (2016-01-27). "Republican Lujan captures South Side special legislative election". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
8. Gonzalez, John W. (2016-08-03). "Independent Thompson captures District 120 seat". mySA. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
9. Mikelionis, Lukas (2018-09-20). "Texas Republican wins state Senate race in district held by Democrats for 139 years". Fox News. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
10. Svitek, Patrick (2021-11-02). "Republican John Lujan wins special election runoff to flip Texas House seat in San Antonio". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
11. Svitek, Patrick (November 15, 2021). "State Rep. Ryan Guillen switches to GOP in latest blow to South Texas Democrats". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
12. Svitek, Patrick (2022-06-11). "Republicans flip U.S. House seat in South Texas, historically a Democratic stronghold". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2023-01-04.