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2008 Texas House of Representatives election

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All 150 seats in the Texas House of Representatives 76 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Rep Leader Tom Craddick (removed as leader) Jim Dunnam Party Republican Democratic Leader since January 9, 1973 January 14, 2003 Leader's seat 82nd 57th Last election 81 69 Seats before 79 71 Seats won 76 74 Seat change 3 3 Popular vote 3,828,577 2,965,717 Percentage 53.99% 41.82% Swing 0.48% 1.31%
Results by seat gains Results by vote share     Republican hold      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Democratic gain Republican:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      ≥90% Democratic:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      ≥90%
Speaker before election Tom Craddick Republican Elected Speaker Joe Straus Republican

The 2008 Texas House of Representatives elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Texas voters elected state representatives in all 150 State House of Representatives districts. The winners of this election served in the 81st Texas Legislature. State representatives serve for two-year terms. Republicans maintained control of the House, losing three seats to the Democrats.

Background

Following the 2002 elections, the Republicans gained control of the House, giving them a governmental trifecta for the first time since Reconstruction. Democrats made significant gains in the 2006 elections, and they gained two more seats following them, one due to a special election, and another due to the defection of Republican Kirk England to the Democratic Party. Democrats needed to gain five seats from the Republicans to win control of the chamber.

Predictions

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Results

Democrats gained a net of three seats from the Republicans, failing to take control of the chamber, but leaving Republicans with a very narrow majority. Control of the chamber remained unclear for multiple days after the election due to a recount in District 105. Incumbent Republican Linda Harper-Brown led her Democratic challenger Bob Romano by 20 votes after election day counting concluded. The recount only reduced Harper-Brown's lead by one vote, confirming her victory in the seat and Republicans' control of the chamber. Had Romano won, the chamber would have been tied.

Statewide

Summary of the November 4, 2008 Texas House of Representatives election results

Party		Candi- dates	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Republican Party	97	3,828,577	53.99%	76	3
	Democratic Party	111	2,965,717	41.82%	74	3
	Libertarian Party	84	319,020	4.50%	0	–
Total			7,090,830	100.00%	150	–

Close races

1. District 105, 0.04%
2. District 11, 0.20%
3. District 101, 1.12% (gain)
4. District 52, 1.19% (gain)
5. District 133, 1.24% (gain)
6. District 144, 2.30% (tipping-point district)
7. District 47, 2.40%
8. District 32, 3.33% (gain)
9. District 107, 3.50%
10. District 3, 3.68%
11. District 96, 4.73% (gain)
12. District 102, 6.02% (gain)
13. District 34, 6.28%
14. District 78, 6.42% (gain)
15. District 85, 6.76%
16. District 1, 8.59%

Notable races

District 85: District 85, located in West Texas near Lubbock, had been held by Democrat Pete Laney for decades, but his retirement in 2006 left the seat highly vulnerable for a Republican pickup as the area had swung rapidly towards the Republicans since the 1990s. In fact, no Democrat had won any of the counties contained within the district in a presidential election since 1996. Despite this swing, Democrat Joe Heflin managed to win the open seat with 49.01% of the vote in 2006. The seat was again vulnerable in 2008, but Heflin managed to win re-election with 53.38%, severely outperforming Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who only won 27.33% of the district's vote in the concurrent presidential election. Heflin performed best in Crosby County, his home county.

District 97: A special election was held on November 6, 2007, to fill the unexpired term of Rep. Anna Mowery. Dan Barret, who had lost the seat to Mowery in 2006, ran against 6 Republicans in the jungle primary, securing a plurality of 31.53% of the vote. A runoff was held on December 18, 2007, between Barret and second-place finisher, Mark M. Shelton in which Barret won an upset victory with 52.19% of the vote. As the legislative session had already ended, Barret did not spend any time legislating during his term. He was later defeated by Shelton in the 2008 general election, only securing 42.75% of the vote.

District 106: Representative Kirk England was re-elected in 2006 as a Republican with 49.16% of the vote. On September 20, 2007, he announced that he would switch parties and seek re-election as a Democrat. He would later go on to win re-election in 2008 with 55.49% of the vote before losing re-election by 204 votes in 2010 to Republican Rodney Anderson.

Results by district

References

1. Halbfinger, David M.; Yardley, Jim (November 7, 2002). "THE 2002 ELECTIONS: THE SOUTH; Vote Solidifies Shift of South To the G.O.P." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
2. Barta, Carolyn; Alvarez, Elizabeth Cruce (2004). "Republicans Take Total Control of State Government". Texas Almanac, 2004-2005. Dallas, Texas: The Dallas Morning News. pp. 395–396.
3. ^ "Special Runoff Election State Representative District 97". elections.sos.state.tx.us. December 18, 2007. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
4. ^ Nichols, Lee (September 19, 2007). "Rep. England to Turn Democrat". www.austinchronicle.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
5. Jacobson, Louis (October 15, 2008). "Legislative races tilting Dems' way in '08". Stateline. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
6. "Race Summary Report 2008 General Election". elections.sos.state.tx.us. November 4, 2008. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
7. Whittaker, Richard (December 8, 2008). "Harper Brown Holds On". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
8. Ramsey, Ross (October 26, 2020). "Analysis: Democrats or Republicans could win the Texas House this year. But what if they tie?". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
9. ^ "Race Summary Report 2006 General Election". elections.sos.state.tx.us. November 7, 2007. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
10. "Texas: Presidential County Results - Election Results 2008 - The New York Times". www.nytimes.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
11. Hamilton, Reeve (October 8, 2010). "The Hunted". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
12. "State Representative District 85". elections.sos.state.tx.us. November 4, 2008. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
13. Lewis, Kevin (October 6, 2010). "Landtroop, Heflin report campaign donations". Plainview Herald. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
14. "Special Election State Representative District 97". elections.sos.state.tx.us. November 6, 2007. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
15. "Office of the Secretary of State Race Summary Report 2010 General Election". elections.sos.state.tx.us. Archived from the original on December 30, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
16. "2010 General Election". elections.sos.state.tx.us. November 2, 2010. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.

• Texas House of Representatives elections
• 2008 state legislature elections in the United States
• 2008 Texas elections