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16 of the 31 seats in the Texas Senate 16 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Texas |
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The 1998 Texas Senate elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Texas voters elected state senators in 16 State Senate districts. All of the seats up for this election were for four-year terms, with senators up for re-election in the 2002 elections. The winners of this election served in the 76th Texas Legislature.
Background
[edit]The 1996 elections had initially left the Senate with a 15–15 tie between the Republicans and the Democrats, with one outstanding special election runoff in the West Texas-based 28th district.[1] Republicans won the December runoff, winning a majority of seats and breaking over 100 years of continuous Democratic control of the chamber.[2]
District 5 special election
[edit]Democratic Senator Jim Turner resigned his seat after winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1996 elections. A special election was held for his seat in January 1997, which Republican Steve Ogden won, flipping the district and expanding the Republicans' newfound majority.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve Ogden | 21,245 | 55.46% | ||
| Democratic | Mary M. Moore | 17,062 | 44.54% | ||
| Total votes | 38,307 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican gain from Democratic | |||||
Results
[edit]Despite Republican governor George W. Bush's landslide re-election, his party only won a narrow 16–15 majority in the Senate.[4] Democrats gained one seat in the chamber, with David Bernsen's victory in Beaumont-based 4th district.[5] Bernsen defeated incumbent Republican Michael Galloway, who himself had flipped the seat in an upset victory in 1994.[6]
Results by district
[edit]| District | Democratic | Republican | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
| District 1 | - | - | 90,024 | 100.00% | 90,024 | 100.00% | Republican hold |
| District 4 | 76,540 | 55.15% | 62,237 | 44.85% | 138,777 | 100.00% | Democratic gain |
| District 5 | 61,508 | 44.33% | 77,227 | 55.67% | 138,735 | 100.00% | Republican hold |
| District 6 | 37,746 | 100.00% | - | - | 37,746 | 100.00% | Democratic hold |
| District 11 | 47,696 | 42.90% | 63,492 | 57.10% | 111,188 | 100.00% | Republican hold |
| District 13 | 86,631 | 100.00% | - | - | 86,631 | 100.00% | Democratic hold |
| District 16 | - | - | 80,802 | 100.00% | 80,802 | 100.00% | Republican hold |
| District 17 | 40,331 | 29.40% | 96,846 | 70.60% | 137,177 | 100.00% | Republican hold |
| District 18 | 85,291 | 59.44% | 58,195 | 40.56% | 143,486 | 100.00% | Democratic hold |
| District 19 | 55,544 | 100.00% | - | - | 55,544 | 100.00% | Democratic hold |
| District 20 | 57,298 | 58.09% | 41,338 | 41.91% | 98,636 | 100.00% | Democratic hold |
| District 22 | - | - | 83,933 | 100.00% | 83,933 | 100.00% | Republican hold |
| District 23 | 61,685 | 100.00% | - | - | 61,685 | 100.00% | Democratic hold |
| District 28 | - | - | 82,368 | 100.00% | 82,368 | 100.00% | Republican hold |
| District 30 | 49,483 | 37.35% | 82,996 | 62.65% | 132,479 | 100.00% | Republican hold |
| District 31 | - | - | 98,165 | 100.00% | 98,165 | 100.00% | Republican hold |
| Total | 659,753 | 41.83% | 917,623 | 58.17% | 1,577,376 | 100.00% | Source:[7] |
References
[edit]- ^ Barboza, David (November 29, 1996). "Republicans Strike Deep In the Heart of Texas". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ "Rep. Stockman loses in Texas Congress runoff GOP claims majority in one house of state legislature, 1st since 1872". Baltimore Sun. December 12, 1996. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ "Race Summary Report - January 1997 Special Elections". Texas Secretary of State.
- ^ Barta, Carolyn (1999). "Republicans Sweep Statewide Offices". Texas Almanac, 2000-2001. Dallas, Texas. p. 418.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Election Results". www.austinchronicle.com. November 6, 1998. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
- ^ Ramsey, By Ross (March 24, 2014). "Analysis: Handful of Candidates Hoping to Regain Voters' Favor". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
- ^ "Race Summary Report - 1998 General Election". Texas Secretary of State.
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