General Election Recap
Because of the pandemic, the Governor extended early voting by six days. This extension not only gave voters more time to early vote, but it gave journalist and political analysts more time to examine election data to try to predict a winner. However, up until Election Day, there was no way to predict the outcome.
Since 2016, Texas added 1.8 million registered voters to the voter rolls and hit an all-time record high of 16.9 million registered voters. During the early voting period, almost 9.7 million people, or 57.3% of registered voters in the state, voted early. This was a 47% increase from the number of voters who voted early in the 2016 general election. In fact, before Election Day, 735,000 more people had voted early this year in Texas than had voted in the entire 2016 presidential election.
On Election Day, over 1.4 million people voted in Texas, making this the highest election turnout our state has ever seen with over 11.1 million people in total voting. While the Democrats were hopeful for big wins in Texas, that was not the case in last night’s election. 2021 in Texas state politics will look very similar to 2020.
Presidential Race
President Trump defeated former Vice President Biden by 6 points, 52% to 46%. While Texas’s entire 38 Electoral College votes went to Trump, it is interesting to note that Trump won Texas by 9 points in 2016.
U.S. Senate Race
Senator John Cornyn defeated MJ Hegar 54%-44%. Beto O’Rourke came within 2 percentage points of defeating Senator Ted Cruz in 2018, some had thought this race would be closer. However, Hegar, a political newcomer, could not defeat our state’s most senior Senator and Senator Cornyn will be going back to Washington to serve his 4th term.
Congress
Texas will get 7 new representatives in Congress in January. There were 7 open races and Republicans won each of them. No member of the Texas Congressional delegation lost his or her race.
Most people were watching the open seat created by Congressman Will Hurd (R-Helotes)’s retirement from Congressional swing district 23. Tony Gonzalez (S-San Antonio) was able to defeat Gina Ortiz-Jones (D-San Antonio). With Gonzalez’s win, the Democrats were not able to pick up any of the open Republican seats.
Statewide Elections
Republican candidates were able to retain all Supreme Court and Court of Appeals races, as well as a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission.
Texas House Races
There will be at least 13 new members in the Texas House since the last legislative session. 7 were open seats, 4 members lost their primaries and 2 incumbent Representatives lost his or her general race yesterday.
- The Republican’s lost one seat. Sarah Davis (R- Bellaire) was defeated by Ann Johnson.
- On the Democratic side, one seat was lost in the Katy area. Democratic Rep. Gina Calanni lost to Republican Mike Schofield. Schofield previously held this seat in 2017, but it flipped Democratic in 2019. Now it will flip back to be a Republican district.
Thus, come January, the Texas House will be comprised of 83 Republicans and 67 Democrats. Representative Dade Phelan announced today that he has the votes to win Speaker, however, Representative Ashby is still in the race. Members will officially vote to nominate the Speaker on the first day of the legislative session in January.
Texas Senate
In the Senate, only one incumbent lost his election. Senator Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton) was defeated by state Representative Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio). This race became one to watch because while Senate District 19 was a long-time Democratic district, Senator Flores, a Republican, was able to win this seat in a special election in 2018. With Gutierrez’s win, the Texas Senate picks up a Democratic seat.
Next session, there will be 18 Republican and 13 Democratic Senators. This election could have an effect on the way the Senate operates next session as it takes at least 13 members to stop legislation from hitting the Senate floor for a vote and Democrats have 13 seats.
A full list of election winners at this time can be found below:
U.S. Senate
John Cornyn - R (Incumbent)
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U.S. House District 1
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R
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Louie Gohmert Incumbent
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U.S. House District 2
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R
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Dan Crenshaw Incumbent
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U.S. House District 3
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R
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Van Taylor Incumbent
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U.S. House District 4
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R
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Pat Fallon
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U.S. House District 5
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R
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Lance Gooden Incumbent
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U.S. House District 6
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R
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Ron Wright Incumbent
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U.S. House District 7
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D
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Lizzie Fletcher Incumbent
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U.S. House District 8
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R
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Kevin Brady Incumbent
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U.S. House District 9
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D
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Al Green Incumbent
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U.S. House District 10
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R
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Michael T. McCaul Incumbent
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U.S. House District 11
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R
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August Pfluger
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U.S. House District 12
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R
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Kay Granger Incumbent
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U.S. House District 13
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R
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Ronny Jackson
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U.S. House District 14
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R
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Randy Weber Incumbent
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U.S. House District 15
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D
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Vicente Gonzalez Incumbent
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U.S. House District 16
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D
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Veronica Escobar Incumbent
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U.S. House District 17
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R
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Pete Sessions
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U.S. House District 18
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D
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Sheila Jackson Lee Incumbent
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U.S. House District 19
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R
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Jodey Arrington Incumbent
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U.S. House District 20
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D
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Joaquin Castro Incumbent
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U.S. House District 21
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R
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Chip Roy Incumbent
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U.S. House District 22
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R
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Troy Nehls
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U.S. House District 23
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R
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Tony Gonzales
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U.S. House District 24
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R
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Beth Van Duyne - currently leading
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D
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Candace Valenzuela
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U.S. House District 25
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R
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Roger Williams Incumbent
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U.S. House District 26
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R
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Michael C. Burgess Incumbent
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U.S. House District 27
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R
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Michael Cloud Incumbent
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U.S. House District 28
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D
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Henry Cuellar Incumbent
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U.S. House District 29
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D
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Sylvia R. Garcia Incumbent
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U.S. House District 30
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D
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Eddie Bernice Johnson Incumbent
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U.S. House District 31
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R
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John Carter Incumbent
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U.S. House District 32
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D
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Colin Allred Incumbent
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U.S. House District 33
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D
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Marc Veasey Incumbent
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U.S. House District 34
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D
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Filemon B. Vela Incumbent
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U.S. House District 35
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D
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Lloyd Doggett Incumbent
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U.S. House District 36
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R
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Brian Babin Incumbe
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Railroad Commissioner
James "Jim" Wright - R
Supreme Court of Texas
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice
Nathan L. Hecht - R (Incumbent)
Texas Supreme Court Place 6
Jane Bland - R (Incumbent)
Texas Supreme Court Place 7
Jeffrey S. Boyd - R (Incumbent)
Texas Supreme Court Place 8
Brett Busby - R (Incumbent)
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 3
Bert Richardson - R (Incumbent)
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 4
Kevin Yeary - R (Incumbent)
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 9
David Newell - R (Incumbent)
Texas Senate
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Texas Senate District 1
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R
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Bryan Hughes Incumbent
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Texas Senate District 4
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R
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Brandon Creighton Incumbent
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Texas Senate District 6
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D
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Carol Alvarado Incumbent
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Texas Senate District 11
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R
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Larry Taylor Incumbent
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Texas Senate District 12
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R
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Jane Nelson Incumbent
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Texas Senate District 13
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D
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Borris L. MilesIncumbent
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Texas Senate District 18
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R
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Lois Kolkhorst Incumbent
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Texas Senate District 19
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D
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Roland Gutierrez – Flipped Seat
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Texas Senate District 20
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D
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Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa Incumbent
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Texas Senate District 21
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D
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Judith Zaffirini Incumbent
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Texas Senate District 22
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R
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Brian Birdwell Incumbent
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Texas Senate District 24
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R
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Dawn Buckingham Incumbent
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Texas Senate District 26
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D
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José Menéndez Incumbent
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Texas Senate District 27
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D
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Eddie Lucio, Jr. Incumbent
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Texas Senate District 28
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R
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Charles Perry Incumbent
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Texas Senate District 29
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D
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César J. Blanco
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Texas House
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Texas House District 2
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R
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Bryan Slaton
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Texas House District 3
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R
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Cecil Bell Jr. Incumbent
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Texas House District 4
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R
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Keith Bell Incumbent
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Texas House District 5
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R
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Cole Hefner Incumbent
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Texas House District 6
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R
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Matt Schaefer Incumbent
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Texas House District 8
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R
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Cody Harris Incumbent
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Texas House District 10
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R
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J.K. "Jake" Ellzey
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Texas House District 11
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R
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Travis Clardy Incumbent
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Texas House District 14
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R
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John Raney Incumbent
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Texas House District 15
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R
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Steve Toth Incumbent
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Texas House District 17
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R
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John P. Cyrier Incumbent
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Texas House District 20
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R
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Terry M. Wilson Incumbent
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Texas House District 22
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D
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Joe Deshotel Incumbent
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Texas House District 23
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R
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Mayes Middleton Incumbent
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Texas House District 24
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R
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Greg Bonnen Incumbent
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Texas House District 25
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R
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Cody Thane Vasut
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Texas House District 26
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R
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Jacey Jetton
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Texas House District 27
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D
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Ron Reynolds Incumbent
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Texas House District 28
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R
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Gary Gates Incumbent
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Texas House District 29
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R
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Ed Thompson Incumbent
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Texas House District 31
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D
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Ryan Guillen Incumbent
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Texas House District 32
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R
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Todd Hunter Incumbent
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Texas House District 33
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R
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Justin Holland Incumbent
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Texas House District 34
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D
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Abel Herrero Incumbent
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Texas House District 41
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D
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Bobby Guerra Incumbent
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Texas House District 44
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R
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John Kuempel Incumbent
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Texas House District 45
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D
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Erin Zwiener Incumbent
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Texas House District 47
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D
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Vikki Goodwin Incumbent
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Texas House District 48
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D
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Donna Howard Incumbent
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Texas House District 49
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D
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Gina Hinojosa Incumbent
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Texas House District 50
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D
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Celia Israel Incumbent
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Texas House District 51
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D
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Eddie Rodriguez Incumbent
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Texas House District 52
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D
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James Talarico Incumbent
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Texas House District 53
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R
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Andrew S. Murr Incumbent
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Texas House District 54
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R
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Brad Buckley Incumbent
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Texas House District 56
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R
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Charles "Doc" Anderson Incumbent
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Texas House District 57
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R
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Trent Ashby Incumbent
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Texas House District 58
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R
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DeWayne Burns Incumbent
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Texas House District 61
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R
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Phil King Incumbent
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Texas House District 62
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R
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Reggie Smith Incumbent
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Texas House District 63
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R
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Tan Parker Incumbent
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Texas House District 64
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R
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Lynn Stucky Incumbent
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Texas House District 65
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D
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Michelle Beckley Incumbent
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Texas House District 66
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R
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Matt Shaheen Incumbent
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Texas House District 67
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R
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Jeff Leach Incumbent
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Texas House District 68
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R
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Drew Springer Incumbent
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Texas House District 70
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R
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Scott Sanford Incumbent
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Texas House District 71
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R
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Stan Lambert Incumbent
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Texas House District 73
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R
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Kyle Biedermann Incumbent
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Texas House District 74
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D
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Eddie Morales Jr.
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Texas House District 78
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D
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Joe Moody Incumbent
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Texas House District 83
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R
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Dustin Burrows Incumbent
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Texas House District 84
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R
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John Frullo Incumbent
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Texas House District 85
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R
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Phil Stephenson Incumbent
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Texas House District 89
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R
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Candy Noble Incumbent
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Texas House District 90
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D
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Ramon Romero Jr. Incumbent
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Texas House District 91
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R
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Stephanie Klick Incumbent
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Texas House District 92
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R
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Jeff Cason
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Texas House District 93
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R
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Matt Krause Incumbent
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Texas House District 94
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R
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Tony Tinderholt Incumbent
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Texas House District 96
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R
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David Cook
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Texas House District 97
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R
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Craig Goldman Incumbent
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Texas House District 98
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R
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Giovanni Capriglione Incumbent
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Texas House District 102
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D
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Ana-Maria Ramos Incumbent
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Texas House District 103
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D
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Rafael M. Anchia Incumbent
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Texas House District 105
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D
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Thresa "Terry" Meza Incumbent
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Texas House District 106
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R
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Jared Patterson Incumbent
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Texas House District 107
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D
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Victoria Neave Incumbent
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Texas House District 108
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R
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Morgan Meyer Incumbent
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Texas House District 109
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D
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Carl Sherman Incumbent
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Texas House District 112
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R
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Angie Chen Button Incumbent
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Texas House District 113
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D
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Rhetta Andrews Bowers Incumbent
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Texas House District 114
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D
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John Turner Incumbent
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Texas House District 115
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D
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Julie Johnson Incumbent
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Texas House District 116
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D
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Trey Martinez Fischer Incumbent
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Texas House District 117
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D
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Philip Cortez Incumbent
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Texas House District 118
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D
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Leo Pacheco Incumbent
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Texas House District 119
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D
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Elizabeth "Liz" Campos
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Texas House District 120
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D
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Barbara Gervin-Hawkins Incumbent
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Texas House District 121
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R
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Steve Allison Incumbent
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Texas House District 122
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R
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Lyle Larson Incumbent
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Texas House District 125
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D
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Ray Lopez Incumbent
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Texas House District 126
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R
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E. Sam Harless Incumbent
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Texas House District 127
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R
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Dan Huberty Incumbent
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Texas House District 128
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R
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Briscoe Cain Incumbent
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Texas House District 129
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R
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Dennis PaulIncumbent
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Texas House District 130
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R
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Tom Oliverson Incumbent
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Texas House District 132
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R
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Mike Schofield – Flipped Seat
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Texas House District 133
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R
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Jim Murphy Incumbent
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Texas House District 134
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D
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Ann Johnson – Flipped Seat
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Texas House District 135
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D
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Jon E. Rosenthal Incumbent
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Texas House District 136
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D
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John H. Bucy III Incumbent
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Texas House District 137
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D
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Gene Wu Incumbent
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Texas House District 138
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R
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Lacey Hull
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Texas House District 139
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D
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Jarvis D. Johnson Incumbent
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Texas House District 142
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D
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Harold V. Dutton Jr. Incumbent
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Texas House District 144
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D
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Mary Ann Perez Incumbent
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Texas House District 145
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D
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Christina Morales Incumbent
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Texas House District 146
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D
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Shawn Nicole Thierry Incumbent
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Texas House District 148
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D
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Penny Morales Shaw
|
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Texas House District 149
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D
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Hubert Vo Incumbent
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Texas House District 150
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R
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Valoree Swanson Incumbent
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