1982 Texas Senate election

none September 2025 1982 Texas Senate election no Texas Democratic Party 24 26 2 Texas legislative 1980 Texas Senate election 1980 1984 Texas Senate election 1984 All 31 seats in the Texas Senate 16 November 2, 1982 Republican Party of Texas 7 9 5 2 300px Results by seat gains 300px Results by vote share 1 #92C5DE Democratic hold #0671B0 Democratic gain#F48882 Republican hold #CA0120 Republican gain Democratic: #7996E2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584CDE 70–80% #3933E5 80–90% #0d0596 ≥90%Republican: #e27f7f 50–60% #C21B18 80–90% #A80000 ≥90% President Pro Tempore Democratic Democratic The 1982 Texas Senate elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Texas voters elected state senators in all 31 State Senate districts. The winners of this election served in the 68th Texas Legislature, serving staggered terms, with half of them up for election in 1984 and the other half up in 1986. 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 The Legislature passed redistricting bills in 1981, but Republican governor Bill Clements vetoed the state Senate map. The Legislative Redistricting Board, made up entirely of Democrats, was then tasked with drawing the map for the chamber. Despite this partisan unanimity, stark divisions came about on the Board due to each member's own goals, ranging from incumbency protection to the expansion of minority representation. Several members' potential gubernatorial ambitions also underscored the debate. The Board eventually passed a map in a 4–1 vote, with Comptroller Bob Bullock dissenting.Bickerstaff, Heath 2020, pp. 104–107 +State office1981 board member Lieutenant governor William P. Hobby Jr. (D) Speaker of the House Bill W. Clayton (D) Attorney general Mark White (D) Comptroller Bob Bullock (D)Bullock voted against the map passed by the Board. Land commissioner Bob Armstrong (D) The Senate map passed by the Board was challenged by a lawsuit in Terrazas v. Clements.Bickerstaff, Heath 2020, pp. 107–110 Additionally, the Justice Department blocked both maps for violating the Voting Rights Act. These challenges were primarily focused on the map's alleged dilution of Hispanic representation. January 27, 1982 Around the Nation; Justice Dept. Rejects Texas Redistricting Plan https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/27/us/around-the-nation-justice-dept-rejects-texas-redistricting-plan.html live https://web.archive.org/web/20230317024916/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/27/us/around-the-nation-justice-dept-rejects-texas-redistricting-plan.html March 17, 2023 March 17, 2023 The New York Times 14 en-US 0362-4331 The map maintained the presence of two districts, one in Houston and the other in Dallas, with substantial African American populations, as required by previous court rulings.Bickerstaff, Heath 2020, p. 114 Given the imminence of the March primary, and a failed appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, the courts allowed the map to be used for the 1982 elections. March 7, 1982 Around the Nation; Texas Redistricting Plan Upheld by Federal Panel https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/07/us/around-the-nation-texas-redistricting-plan-upheld-by-federal-panel.html live https://web.archive.org/web/20230317024922/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/07/us/around-the-nation-texas-redistricting-plan-upheld-by-federal-panel.html March 17, 2023 March 17, 2023 The New York Times en-US 0362-4331 Results Democrats expanded their supermajority, winning twenty six seats, a gain of two from the 1980 elections. The Republican Party had been on a resurgence in the past decade, winning the governorship for the first time since Reconstruction in 1978 and reaching a high mark in the 1980 elections amid the Reagan Revolution. A lagging economy and high urban turnout lead to an underwhelming result in 1982, however, with Republicans losing the governorship and ground in the legislature.Kingston 1983, p. 570 Of the two predominantly African American districts, District 13 in Houston elected Black Democrat Craig Washington, while District 23 in Dallas re-elected White Democrat Oscar Mauzy. Results by district +DistrictDemocraticRepublicanOthersTotalResultVotes%Votes%Votes%Votes%District 181,09696.57% - -2,8773.43%83,973100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 263,56159.22%43,16840.22%6100.57%107,339100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 383,62695.12% - -4,2914.88%87,917100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 480,24292.16% - -6,8297.84%87,071100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 581,20794.65% - -4,5915.35%85,798100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 644,05489.04% - -5,42210.96%49,476100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 7 - -83,92094.01%5,3465.99%89,266100.00%Republican holdDistrict 8 - -90,91186.92%13,68613.08%104,597100.00%Republican holdDistrict 985,61395.72% - -3,8254.28%89,438100.00%Democratic gainDistrict 10 - -64,31889.96%7,18010.04%71,498100.00%Republican gainDistrict 1156,34868.20%26,27831.80% - -82,626100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 1282,62654.62%47,25944.00%1,4801.38%107,406100.00%Democratic gainDistrict 1369,56790.62% - -7,2029.38%76,769100.00%Democratic gainDistrict 1496,14771.87%37,62728.13% - -133,774100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 1551,40962.26%29,19835.36%1,9652.38%82,572100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 1638,66938.29%60,04659.46%2,2652.24%100,980100.00%Republican holdDistrict 17 - -64,33186.88%9,71313.12%74,044100.00%Republican holdDistrict 1867,56366.75%32,29831.91%1,3501.33%101,211100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 1949,81265.28%26,49834.72% - -76,310100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 2069,21885.88% - -11,38514.12%80,603100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 21 -100.00% - - - - -100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 2277,18468.39%34,56930.63%1,1010.98%112,854100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 2363,75779.21%15,57919.35%1,1551.43%80,491100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 24 -100.00% - - - - -100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 2557,52251.82%52,86847.63%6100.55%111,000100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 2657,36888.76% - -7,26511.24%64,633100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 27 -100.00% - - - - -100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 2862,64262.44%36,51136.39%1,1681.16%100,321100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 29100,32180.39% - -12,18219.61%62,119100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 3089,30895.36% - -4,3444.64%93,652100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 3181,03073.28%28,25925.56%1,2901.17%110,579100.00%Democratic holdTotal – – 773,638 – 119,132 – – 100.00% Source:Kingston 1983, p. 572–573 References Notes Further reading Kingston, Mike (1983). Texas Almanac, 1984-1985. Dallas, Texas: The Dallas Morning News. 0-914511-00-9. LCCN 10–3390. Bickerstaff, Steve. Heath, C. Robert (ed.). Gerrymandering Texas (2020). Category:1982 Texas elections Texas Senate election Category:Texas Senate elections