The 2012 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 83rd Texas Legislature, with seats apportioned among the 2010 United States census.
Background The Republican Party had held the Senate since the 1996 elections. Most observers, as well as the national parties, viewed Texas as a safe red state, as Republican candidates had swept statewide elections since 1998. Republicans reached a new zenith after the 2010 elections, when backlash to the presidency of Barack Obama kept the Senate firmly in their control and led to a record number of victories in the House of Representatives. As the first election after the 2010 United States census, all Senate districts had to be redrawn to account for population changes over the preceding decade. Typically, State senators serve four-year terms in the Texas State Senate; however, all Senate seats come up for election in the cycle after decennial redistricting. Due to this, senators elected in 2010 served only two-year terms, and half of the senators elected in this election served two-year terms, coming up for re-election again in 2014. To claim control of the chamber from Republicans, the Democrats needed to gain four seats.
Challenges to Republican-drawn Senate map
Republicans had sole control over redistricting the state's U.S. House delegation and both state legislative chambers for the 2012 elections. The 10th Senate District, the most-altered in the body, belonged to Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth), whose seat was drawn to add more Republican voters from greater Tarrant County while placing voters from Democratic areas out of the district. However, the proposed Senate map for 2012 was challenged under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and in U.S. District Court for racial gerrymandering. The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled with the plaintiffs and proposed its own example map, undoing the racial gerrymander in Senate District 10, and ordered the legislature to draw a new map based on its own. Ultimately, this election used boundaries made with input from both the Court and Republican legislators.
Predictions SourceRankingAs of Governing | October 24, 2012
Results Republicans heavily invested in winning the 10th district, which was the only competitive district in the state. The race became one of the most expensive legislative races in the 2012 election cycle. Republicans ultimately failed to unseat Davis, however, and every other seat in the state remained safely with their respective parties, maintaining the balance of 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats in the Senate.
Statewide + Summary of the November 6, 2012 Texas Senate election results Party Candidates Votes Seats % Before Up Won After +/– Republican 27 4,275,676 61.65% 19 19 19 19 Democratic 18 2,272,085 32.76% 12 12 12 12 Libertarian 12 355,249 5.12% 0 0 0 0 Green 2 31,840 0.46% 0 0 0 0 Write-in 1 966 0.00% 0 0 0 0 Total 6,987,503 100.00% 31 15 15 31 Source:
Close races DistrictWinnerMarginDistrict 10Democratic2.24%
Results by district +DistrictDemocraticRepublicanOthersTotalResultVotes%Votes%Votes%Votes%District 184,26228.63%210,09171.37% - -294,353100.00%Republican holdDistrict 2 - -172,451100.00% - -172,451100.00%Republican holdDistrict 3 - -226,978100.00% - -226,978100.00%Republican holdDistrict 4 - -216,07686.25% 34,445 13.75%250,521100.00%Republican holdDistrict 5 - -182,55477.14%54,10722.86%236,661100.00%Republican holdDistrict 693,28970.95%38,20129.05% - -131,490100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 790,79331.60%196,52668.40% - -287,319100.00%Republican holdDistrict 899,10134.60%178,23862.29%8,8993.11%286,147100.00%Republican holdDistrict 989,25538.21%136,28858.35%8,0343.44%233,577100.00%Republican holdDistrict 10147,10351.12%140,65648.88% - -287,759100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 1193,22733.98%181,10666.02% - -274,333100.00%Republican holdDistrict 12 - -203,98883.41%40,57016.59%244,558100.00%Republican holdDistrict 13181,866100.00% - - - -181,866100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 14212,52780.29% - - 52,187 19.71%264,714100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 15135,82262.34%82,03837.66% - -217,860100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 16 - -181,746100.00% - -181,746100.00%Republican holdDistrict 17 - -185,42977.68%53,27822.32%238,707100.00%Republican holdDistrict 18 - -211,230100.00% - -211,230100.00%Republican holdDistrict 19122,21459.40%83,52240.60% - -205,736100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 20112,62961.53% 70,409 38.47% - -183,038100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 21129,89467.63%56,032 29.17%6,147 3.20%192,073100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 22 - -188,54485.57%31,78614.43%220,330100.00%Republican holdDistrict 23187,40781.90% 41,429 18.10% - -228,836100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 24 - -209,319100.00% - -209,319100.00%Republican holdDistrict 25121,90634.42%232,26165.58% - -354,167100.00%Republican holdDistrict 26141,040 80.33% - -34,04319.67%175,583100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 27113,542 100.00% - - - -113,542100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 28 - -183,61986.39%28,932 13.61%212,551100.00%Republican holdDistrict 29116,20868.60%53,19031.40% - -169,398100.00%Democratic holdDistrict 30 - -217,87786.12% 35,127 13.88%253,004100.00%Republican holdDistrict 31 - -195,878100.00% - -195,878100.00%Republican holdTotal 2,272,08532.76% 4,275,67661.65% 387,5555.59% 6,935,316 100.00% Source:
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