1980 Texas Senate election

none September 2025 1980 Texas Senate election no Texas Democratic Party 27 24 3 Texas legislative 1978 Texas Senate election 1978 1982 Texas Senate election 1982 16 of the 31 seats in the Texas Senate 16 November 4, 1980 Republican Party of Texas 4 12 7 3 300px Senate results by district#92C5DE Democratic hold #0671B0 Democratic gain#F48882 Republican hold #CA0120 Republican gain#D3D3D3 No election President Pro Tempore Democratic Democratic The 1980 Texas Senate elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Texas voters elected state senators 16 of the 31 State Senate districts. The winners of this election served in the 67th Texas Legislature for two-year terms, with all senators up for election in 1982. Background Democrats had controlled the Texas Senate since the 1872 elections.May Janice C. The Evolution of the Texas Legislature: A Historical Overview https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/texas-legislature Texas State Historical Association 18 September 2025 en Texas had historically been a solidly-Democratic state, owing to its history as a part of the Solid South, but this changed dramatically in the 1970s. Republican Richard Nixon won the state in a landslide in the 1972 presidential election and Bill Clements became the first Republican to win the governorship in over 100 years in a narrow 1978 victory. These victories rarely extended far down the ballot, however, with Democrats still holding large supermajorities in both houses of the legislature.Kingston 1981, pp. 490–491 "Killer Bees" quorum bust Killer Bees (Texas Senate) The most controversial bill to come up during the regular session of the 66th legislature was a bill to split the state's primary election, creating a separate March primary for the state's presidential nominating delegates while retaining a May primary date for all other offices.2017-02-06 'Killer Bees' hid to prevent presidential primary change https://apnews.com/article/mlb-sports-lifestyle-election-2020-texas-rangers-03e8a50470704066a23ecab932aa97f7 2025-09-29 AP News en Supporters argued it would give the state more influence in presidential politics, while critics accused them of using the measure to support former governor John Connally, who had recently switched to the Republican Party, in his 1980 presidential campaign. A split primary would have allowed conservative Democrats to vote in the Republican presidential primary while voting in the Democratic primary for other offices.Tiede Saralee Hobby Bill 2010-09-01 The Sting of the Killer Bees https://www.texastribune.org/2010/09/01/bill-hobby-on-the-dreaded-two-thirds-rule/ 2025-09-29 The Texas Tribune en Twelve liberal Democratic Senators left the capitol in May 1979 to break quorum, preventing the chamber from conducting any business. They continued to do so for over four days until Republicans and conservative Democrats agreed to drop the bill.Timm Jane C. 2021-07-14 Police pursuits and 'Killer Bees': What happened when Texas Democrats broke quorum in the past https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/police-pursuits-killer-bees-what-happened-when-texas-democrats-broke-n1273872 2025-09-29 NBC News en Results Republicans made a net gain of three seats from the Democrats, bringing their caucus to seven out of thirty-one seats. This large shift came on the coattails of Ronald Reagan's landslide victory in the state in the 1980 presidential election. Republicans won their largest share of legislative seats since the end of Reconstruction over 100 years prior.Kingston 1981, p. 491 Among the defeated Democrats was longtime Galveston Senator Babe Schwartz, a fixture of the Senate's liberal "yellow-dog" faction who was a leader of the "Killer Bees" who broke quorum during the 1979 legislative session.John Wayne Ferguson Barnett Marissa 2018-08-10 A.R. "Babe" Schwartz, a Galveston champion in Austin, dies at 92 https://www.galvnews.com/news/a-r-babe-schwartz-a-galveston-champion-in-austin-dies-at-92/article_1b0d6f25-0482-5d14-a140-5a2712ab37de.html 2025-09-29 The Daily News en Two other members of the "Killer Bees," Gene Jones of Garland and Ron Clower of Houston, also lost re-election. Results by district +DistrictDemocraticRepublicanLibertarian TotalResultVotes%Votes%Votes%Votes%District 4 -100.00% - - - - -100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 5104,36265.84%54,15734.16% - -158,519100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 767,69146.99%74,36851.63%1,9871.38%144,046100.00%Republican gainDistrict 836,09027.42%91,45769.48%4,0933.11%131,640100.00%Republican holdDistrict 971,34246.15%83,24953.85% - -154,591100.00%Republican gainDistrict 13 - - -100.00% - - -100.00%Republican holdDistrict 1556,48055.20%43,67042.68%2,1682.12%102,318100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 1654,97946.54%60,19150.95%2,9742.52%118,144100.00%Republican gainDistrict 1770,99749.73%71,77550.27% - -142,772100.00%Republican gainDistrict 1881,53865.46%43,03134.54% - -124,569100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 1970,13271.77%27,58828.23% - -97,720100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 2072,61158.00%52,58742.00% - -125,198100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 2295,55257.57%70,43142.43% - -165,983100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 24 -100.00% - - - - -100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 29 -100.00% - - - - -100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 3191,04365.35%48,26834.65% - -139,311100.00%Democratic gainTotal – – – –11,222 – –100.00% Source:Kingston 1981, pp. 499–500 References Further reading Kingston, Mike (1981). Texas Almanac, 1982-1983. Dallas, Texas: The Dallas Morning News. Category:1980 Texas elections Texas Senate election Category:Texas Senate elections