Texas's 14th congressional district

"TX-14" redirects here. For the nuclear bomb with the designation TX-14, see Mark 14 nuclear bomb.
Texas's 14th congressional district

Texas's 14th congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
Current Representative Randy Weber (R)
Distribution
  • 86.57% urban
  • 13.43% rural
Population (2015) 739,877[1]
Median income 50,178[2]
Ethnicity
Occupation
Cook PVI R+12 (2014)

Texas's 14th district for the United States House of Representatives is a Congressional district that from covered the area south and southwest of the Greater Houston region, including Galveston, in the state of Texas. The district now stretches from Freeport to Beaumont.

The district was created as a result of the 1900 U.S. Census and was first contested in 1902. The Galveston area had previously been included in Texas' 10th congressional district. Its first representative was the Democrat James L. Slayden, based in San Antonio, who had served the 12th congressional district since 1897 and was redistricted. He was elected from the new district and began representing the 14th in March 1903 as a member of the 58th United States Congress. He was repeatedly re-elected and served until 1919. He refused nomination in 1918.

Republican Harry M. Wurzbach carried this district in several elections, from 1920 to 1926, serving from 1921 to 1929. He successfully contested the election of 1928, taking his seat in 1930 for the remainder of the term, and was re-elected in 1930. The district included Guadalupe County, whose German Americans had historically opposed slavery and supported the Republican Party well into the 20th century.[3] In addition, Galveston was a major port of entry for immigrants, with many arriving from southern and eastern Europe. At that time, many found the Republican Party more welcoming than the dominant Democratic Party. In 1901, the Democratic-dominated legislature had passed a poll tax, which effectively had disfranchised most blacks and many poor whites and Latinos.[4]

The district's ultimate shift to the Republican Party in the 1980s has been attributed to the coattail effect of Ronald Reagan's electoral successes, preceded by the shifting of southern whites to the Republican Party after passage of civil rights legislation in the 1960s. A few Democrats have won local and state elections in the 1990s.[5] The eastern portion of the district includes some of Houston's suburbs. Former Republican and Libertarian Presidential candidate Ron Paul held congressional office from 1996 to 2012. The district's current representative is the Republican Randy Weber.

List of representatives

Representative Party Years District home Note
District created March 4, 1903
James L. Slayden Democratic March 4, 1903 - March 3, 1919 San Antonio Redistricted from the 12th district.
Retired
Carlos Bee Democratic March 4, 1919 - March 3, 1921 San Antonio
Harry M. Wurzbach Republican March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1929 Lost 1928 re-election to McCloskey
Augustus McCloskey Democratic March 4, 1929 – February 10, 1930 Election successfully challenged by Wurzbach
Harry M. Wurzbach Republican February 10, 1930 – November 6, 1931 Died
Vacant November 6, 1931 – November 24, 1931
Richard M. Kleberg Democratic November 24, 1931 – January 3, 1945 Lost renomination to Lyle
John E. Lyle, Jr. Democratic January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1955
John J. Bell Democratic January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1957 Lost renomination to Young
John Andrew Young Democratic January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1979 Lost renomination to Wyatt
Joseph P. Wyatt, Jr. Democratic January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1981
William N. Patman Democratic January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1985 Lost re-election to Sweeney
Mac Sweeney Republican January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1989 Lost re-election to Laughlin
Greg Laughlin Democratic January 3, 1989 – June 26, 1995 Lost renomination to Paul
Republican June 26, 1995 – January 3, 1997
Ron Paul Republican January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2013 Surfside Beach
Randy Weber Republican January 3, 2013 – Alvin Incumbent

Election results

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

1928

The incumbent Harry M. Wurzbach successfully contested the 1928 election of the Democrat Augustus McCloskey to the 71st United States Congress, and was finally seated on February 10, 1930.

U.S. House election, 1928:[6] Texas District 14
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Augustus McCloskey 29,085 50.3 +7.5
Republican Harry M. Wurzbach (incumbent) 28,766 49.7 -7.5
Majority 319 0.6 -13.8
Turnout 57,851
Democratic gain from Republican

1996

In "one of the stranger Congressional elections of modern times",[7] the incumbent Greg Laughlin switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican in 1995. The Republican National Committee, hoping to encourage other Democrats to switch parties, threw its full support behind Laughlin. He had support from Republican leaders, including House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Governor George W. Bush, and the National Rifle Association and other interest groups.[8] Ron Paul, an ob/gyn and former U.S. Representative from Texas's 22nd congressional district, opposed Laughlin. Paul hoped to have more influence in Congress after the Republicans took over both houses in the 1994 election.[9] Though Laughlin defeated Paul in the open primary, a runoff between the two candidates followed.[10]

While Gingrich and other Republican leaders visited the district stumping for Laughlin, Paul ran newspaper ads quoting Gingrich's harsh criticisms of Laughlin's voting record 14 months earlier, before the party switch.[8] Paul won the low-turnout primary runoff[10] with the assistance of a largely out-of-state free-market network of support, such as his Foundation for Rational Economics and Education and other market-oriented organizations.[7] Though he continued to maintain his home in Lake Jackson, Texas, Paul had run for the coastal 14th Congressional district rather than the 22nd district he had previously represented, due to redistricting borders.[11]

Charles "Lefty" Morris, a trial lawyer, was Paul's Democratic opponent in the fall election; he was strongly supported by the AFL-CIO and ran numerous attack ads. Morris cited Paul's past votes to repeal federal drug laws in favor of state legislation, and also ran numerous ads about newsletters which had contained derogatory comments published in Paul's name concerning race and other politicians.[12] Paul's campaign responded at the time that voters might not understand the "tongue-in-cheek, academic" quotes out of context, and rejected Morris's demand to release back issues.

Paul's large contributor base outraised Morris two-to-one, giving him nearly $2 million,[10] the third-highest amount of individual contributions received by any House member (behind Gingrich and Bob Dornan).[13] In his campaign, Paul characterized Morris as a tool of trial lawyers and big labor.

Paul won the election by a close margin of 51% to 48%,[14] the third time he had been elected to Congress as a non-incumbent.[7]

U.S. House election, 1996:[15] Texas District 14
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Ron Paul 99,961 51.1 +6.7
Democratic Charles Morris 93,200 47.6 -8.0
Natural Law Ed Fasanella 2,538 1.3
Majority 6,761 3.5 -7.7
Turnout 195,699
Republican hold Swing

1998

In 1998 Paul again won the Republican primary. The Democratic primary candidates included education professor Margaret Dunn; former congressional aide Roger Elliott; car dealer Tom Reed; and Bay City rice farmer and cattle rancher Loy Sneary. Reed, who claimed to be the only Texas-born candidate in the race, had served in local economic development projects and had been appointed to the White House Conference on Small Business; he was endorsed by the AFL-CIO. Sneary, a self-described "conservative Democrat" and also a former Matagorda County judge, prevailed in the primary; by December 31, 1997, including self-loans, Sneary had outraised Reed by $175,000 to $33,000.[10]

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee made the general election its "No. 1 challenge race in the state of Texas".[10] The Texas Farm Bureau endorsed Sneary and ranked Paul's agricultural record poorly. Sneary also said that Paul's anti-government stance left constituents inadequately represented.[10] Paul ran ads warning voters to be "leery of Sneary".[16] Paul accused Sneary of voting to raise his pay by 5%, increasing his judge's travel budget by 400% in one year, and creating more government bureaucracy by starting a new government agency to handle a license plate fee he enacted. Sneary considered Paul's attack to consist of "half-truths and no truths", claims supported by Austin TV station KVUE;[14] his aides replied that he had actually voted to raise all county employees' pay by 5% in a "cost of living" increase. Paul countered that he had never voted to raise Congressional pay.[9][17]

Paul won the election 55% to 44%, outraising his opponent by a large margin ($2.1 million to $0.7 million).[14]

U.S. House election, 1998:[18] Texas District 14
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Ron Paul (incumbent) 84,459 55.3 +4.2
Democratic Loy Sneary 68,014 44.5 -3.1
Independent Cynthia Newman (Write-in) 390 0.3
Majority 16,445 10.8 +7.3
Turnout 195,699
Republican hold Swing

2000

In 2000, Sneary ran against Paul again, with Paul winning 60% to 40% and raising $2.4 million to Sneary's $1.1 million. As in the prior two elections, the national Democratic Party and major unions had continued targeting Paul with heavy spending.[14]

U.S. House election, 2000:[19] Texas District 14
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Ron Paul (incumbent) 137,370 59.7 +4.4
Democratic Loy Sneary 92,689 40.3 -4.2
Majority 44,681 19.4 +8.6
Turnout 230,059
Republican hold Swing

2002

Paul was re-elected to Congress in 2002. Two Democrats without political experience ran for the primary, but not much support from the Democratic Party was visible. Local Democratic consultant Ed Martin criticized Paul's frequent budget dissents as "180 degrees opposite from" his campaign promises to protect Social Security. Paul's free-market foundation and network of support continued its fundraising strength.[5]

U.S. House election, 2002:[20] Texas District 14
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Ron Paul (incumbent) 102,905 68.1 +8.4
Democratic Corby Windham 48,224 31.9 -8.4
Majority 54,681 36.2 +16.8
Turnout 151,129
Republican hold Swing

2004

Paul was re-elected to Congress in 2004 (running unopposed).

2006

In 2006, Paul was opposed in the primary race by Cynthia Sinatra, the ex-wife of Frank Sinatra Jr., son of the legendary singer.[21] Paul won the primary handily with nearly 80%, though his opponent campaigned on Paul's lack of support for President George W. Bush.[22] Paul then won the general election by 20%,[23] entering his tenth term and outraising Shane Sklar $1.2 million to $0.6 million.

US House election, 2006: Texas District 14
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Ron Paul 94,375 60.2 -7.9
Democratic Shane Sklar 62,421 39.8 +7.9
Majority 31,954 20.4
Turnout 156,796
Republican hold Swing

2008

In March 2007, Paul announced his candidacy for U.S. president. According to Texas law, Paul could run for president without having to relinquish his Congressional seat.[24] In the 2008 primary, he was opposed by Chris Peden, who informally announced his challenge on May 22, 2007. Peden, a certified public accountant, was elected to the Friendswood city council in 2005[25] with 67%, and was chosen as mayor pro tem.

The Victoria Advocate and Galveston County Daily News both endorsed Peden.[26] Paul had a larger national source of funding, while Peden raised more money from the district, the majority of which came from within his own family or loans to himself.[27] Paul won 70% to 30%.[28][29]

US House primary, 2008: Texas District 14
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Ron Paul 37,220 70.2
Republican Chris Peden 15,813 29.8
Majority 21,407 40.4
Turnout 53,033 100.0

On November 4, 2008, Paul was reelected. The election was uncontested because the Democrats did not run a candidate.

2010

On March 2, Ron Paul won the Republican Party nomination for re-election to the US House. Robert Pruett and Winston Cochran from the Democratic Party faced a runoff election in April to determine which one will get the nomination, as neither received a majority.[30][31] Pruett won the run off election with just 52% of the vote, and lost to Paul in the general election.[32]

US House primaries, 2010: Texas District 14
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Ron Paul 45,947 80.7
Republican Tim Graney 5,536 9.7
Republican John Gay 3,003 5.3
Republican Gerald Wall 2,402 4.3
Turnout 56,888 100.0
Democratic Robert Pruett 6,836 41.5
Democratic Winston Cochran 5,107 31.1
Democratic Jeff Cherry 4,493 27.4
Turnout 16,436 100.0
U.S. House election, 2010:[33] Texas District 14
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Ron Paul 140,623 76.0 +15.8
Democratic Robert Pruett 44,431 24.0 -15.8
Majority 96,192 52.0
Turnout 185,054
Republican hold Swing

2012

On July 11, 2011, Ron Paul announced that he would not seek re-election to the US House.[34] Randy Weber and Felicia Harris from the Republican Party faced a runoff election in July to determine which one will get the nomination, as neither received a majority.[35] Weber won the run off election with just 63% of the vote, and went on to win the general election against Democrat Nick Lampson.[35]

US House primary, 2012: Texas District 14
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Randy Weber 12,062 27.6%
Republican Felicia Harris 8,268 18.9%
Republican Michael Truncale 6,197 14.2%
Republican Jay Old 6,136 14.0%
Republican Michael Truncale 6,197 14.2%
Republican Robert Gonzalez 4,277 9.8%
Republican Bill Sargent 3,309 7.6%
Republican George Harper 829 1.9%
Republican Mark Mansius 549 1.3%
Turnout 43,691 100.0
Democratic Nick Lampson 18,470 83.2%
Democratic Linda Dailey 3,719 16.8%
Turnout 22,189 100.0
U.S. House election, 2012:[36] Texas District 14
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Randy Weber 130,937 53.5%
Democratic Nick Lampson 109,264 44.6%
Majority 21,502 8.9%
Turnout 240,201 100.0
Republican hold Swing

Historical district boundaries

2007 - 2013

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://www.census.gov/mycd/
  2. ↑ https://ballotpedia.org/Texas%27_14th_Congressional_District
  3. ↑ Kesselus, Ken (2002). Alvin Wirtz, The Senator, LBJ, and LCRA. Austin: Eakin Press. ISBN 1-57168-688-6.
  4. ↑ "Nixon v. Condon. Disfranchisement of the Negro in Texas", The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 41, No. 8, June 1932, p. 1212, accessed 21 March 2008
  5. 1 2 Vlahos, Kelley Beaucar (2002-02-11). "Rep. Ron Paul, Friend of the Taxpayer". Fox News. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  6. ↑ 1928 House election results
  7. 1 2 3 Caldwell, Christopher (2007-07-22). "The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-Medicare Candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul". New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  8. 1 2 Beiler, David (June 1996). "Paul vs. Laughlin — Ron Paul's campaign against Representative Greg Laughlin". Campaigns and Elections.
  9. 1 2 "Paul vs. Sneary". Human Events. 1998-06-26. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Birtel, Marc (1998-02-21). "House Races Steal Show In Nation's First Primary: Who Has Paul?". Congressional Quarterly. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
  11. ↑ Elliott, Lee Ann (1990-11-05). "Federal Election Commission Advisory Opinion Number 1990-23". Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
  12. ↑ Bernstein, Alan (1996-05-22). "CAMPAIGN '96 U.S. HOUSE: Newsletter excerpts offer ammunition to Paul's opponent: GOP hopeful quoted on race, crime". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2007-05-12. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  13. ↑ Doherty, Brian (2007-01-22). "Paul for President?: The maverick libertarian Republican talks on war, immigration, and presidential ambition". Reason. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Gwynne, Sam C. (2001-10-01). "Dr. No". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  15. ↑ 1996 General Election - Texas Secretary of State
  16. ↑ Copeland, Libby (2006-07-09). "Congressman Paul's Legislative Strategy? He'd Rather Say Not". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  17. ↑ "Foes lock horns over Paul's radio ads". Campaign Notebook. Houston Chronicle. 1998-08-14. Archived from the original on November 30, 2004. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
  18. ↑ 1998 General Election - Texas Secretary of State
  19. ↑ 2000 General Election - Texas Secretary of State
  20. ↑ 2002 General Election - Texas Secretary of State
  21. ↑ The Facts
  22. ↑ Taylor, Jay (2006-03-17). "Congressman Ron Paul Talks About Gold, Oil & the Economy". J. Taylor's Gold & Technology Stocks. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  23. ↑ "State Races: Texas". Elections 2006. Cable News Network. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
  24. ↑ "Shane Sklar won't run against Paul in 2008". Victoria Advocate. Elections 2008. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  25. ↑ "Paul gets primary challenger". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  26. ↑ "Ron Paul obhájil své místo ve Sněmovně reprezentantů" (in Czech).
  27. ↑ "Schedule A Itemized Receipts: All Listed Line Numbers 2008". Federal Election Commission.
  28. ↑ "2008 Republican Party Primary Election: Results".
  29. ↑ "GOP primary only race in House District 14". Galveston County Daily News. 2008-02-17.
  30. ↑ http://enr.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/mar02_148_race6.htm
  31. ↑ http://enr.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/mar02_149_race0.htm
  32. ↑ http://enr.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/apr13_151_state.htm
  33. ↑ 2010 General Election - Texas Secretary of State
  34. ↑ "Ron Paul Will Not Seek Re-Election". The New York Times. July 12, 2011.
  35. 1 2 http://www.texastribune.org/election-2012/us-house/14/
  36. ↑
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