The North Texas Legislative Delegation is made up of 42 members of the House and 9 members of the Senate. Texas House members run for office every two years, and Texas Senate members typically have a staggered election cycle. This year, due to redistricting, every member of the Texas Senate was up for re-election.
In the North Texas Delegation Senate districts, 3 districts had contested primaries. Of these three, all were decided in March without any runoffs.
In the House districts, 20 had contested primaries. Of these 20 districts, 9 went to runoff races. Two of these races included incumbents running for re-election, Stephanie Klick(HD91) and Glenn Rodgers(HD60). These were the outcomes of those races:
Final results in R #TxLege House races:
HD60 Rodgers(i) 52% vs Olcott 48%
HD61 Frazier 64% vs Chabot 36%
HD63 Bumgarner 62% vs Younger 38%
HD70 Jolly 52% vs Bowlin 48%
HD91 Klick(i) 55% vs Lowe 45%
HD93 Schatzline 65% vs Hill 35%
Final results in D #TxLege House races:
HD70 Plesa 55% vs Hernandez 45%
HD100 Jones 69% vs Crenshaw 31%
HD114 Bryant 59% vs Guio 41%
In Texas, the election of consequence is the March Primary, meaning most of these elections were decided in the primaries. After the state was redistricted, the partisan lean of each district created safer republican or democratic districts. Because of this, it is likely we won’t see much partisan change in the makeup of the delegation.
3 of the 9 Texas Senators up for election in November do not face a challenger from the other major party. It is likely these Senators will win without any upset. Only one Senate seat in the remaining 6 districts is an open seat. This seat was vacated by Jane Nelson. The favorite to win this race is Tan Parker.
In the Texas House races, 21 of the 42 seats do not have an opponent in November. Of the other 21 seats, 8 are open seats. While it is likely that many of the incumbents in the Texas House up for re-election will win in November, there are 3 Texas House races (HD70, HD92, and HD112) we consider to be a toss-up. Based on partisan projections, these three districts are more competitive than other districts in the region. HD70 in Collin County was drawn as a very close district. That race will be between Republican candidate Jamee Jolly and Democratic candidate Mihaela Plesa. HD92 in Tarrant County previously was a republican district that was redrawn to be a democratic seat. That race will be between Republican candidate Joe Livingston and Democratic candidate Salman Bhojani. Lastly, in HD112, incumbent Angie Chen Button(R) will face Elva Curl(D) in November in a close election. Button has proven to beat out challengers in tight races in the past, but with new district lines, anything is possible.
These predictions are based on information we have gathered from various election sources. Only time and turnout will tell who will be the elected leaders to represent the North Texas Region in Austin. The Commission will continue to monitor and report on elections throughout the fall. Stay tuned for more!