Date 4 November 2008 | ||
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2008 elections for the Texas Legislature were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008, in the U.S. state of Texas. The Texas Legislature election was conducted concurrently with the election for the 2008 United States presidential race, the United States Senate seat of Republican John Cornyn, and the state's 32 congressional representatives.
Contents
Successful candidates served in the 81st Texas Legislature, that convened on January 13, 2009 at the Texas State Capitol in Austin through June 1, 2009.
Texas Senate
Fifteen Senate seats were up for re-election in 2008. The previous composition was twenty Republicans and eleven Democrats. Of the seats up for re-election in 2008, nine were held by Republicans and six by Democrats.
There were two new members of the Senate. Their predecessors were not up for reelection.
Notable races
District 10: The Democratic Party ran City Councilwoman Wendy Davis against Republican and Sunset Advisory Commission chairperson Kim Brimer. The district had been Republican-leaning, having been won by George W. Bush in 2004 and by Governor Rick Perry in 2002 and 2006. Davis won that race with 49.91% of the vote. In 2014, she was the Democratic nominee for governor to succeed Perry.
District 11: The Democrats ran former Galveston city council member Joseph Jaworski against Republican candidate Mike Jackson. The district encompasses the southeast Houston suburbs and part of Galveston County that has consistently voted for Republicans including George W. Bush in 2004, Governor Perry in 2002 and 2006, and U.S. Senator John Cornyn in 2002. Mike Jackson won that race with 56.48% of the vote.
District 17: The Incumbent Republican Kyle Janek announced he would be resigning from the State Senate effective June 2, 2008 to spend more time with his family, who had moved to Austin. As a result of this the Republican Party's candidate was Joan Huffman. The Democrats ran former U.S. Representative Christopher Bell, the party's 2006 nominee for governor. Huffman won that race with 56% of the vote.
District 21: Democratic candidate Judith Zaffirini prevailed in her historically Democratic state Senate seat, which includes Laredo. The seat was held from 1967-1973 by her mentor, Wayne Connally, a younger brother of John Connally. Republicans fielded former Webb County administrative judge Louis Henry Bruni (born 1949), who switched parties in December 2007 to run against Zaffirini. The district voted for George W. Bush in 2004 and Kay Bailey Hutchison in 2006 but for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell in 2006.
Notable races
District 23: The incumbent Democratic Party Representative Craig Eiland was challenged by Libertarian Party Candidate Charles L. Earley. Eiland won the election with 86.80% of the vote.