Texas' 27th Congressional District election, 2020

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2022
2018
Texas' 27th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: December 9, 2019
Primary: March 3, 2020
Primary runoff: July 14, 2020
General: November 3, 2020

Pre-election incumbent:
Michael Cloud (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in Texas
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
Texas' 27th Congressional District
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Texas elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

All U.S. congressional districts, including the 27th Congressional District of Texas, held elections in 2020.

Incumbent Michael Cloud won election in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 27.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
December 9, 2019
March 3, 2020
November 3, 2020


Heading into the election the incumbent was Republican Michael Cloud, who was first elected in 2018.

Texas' 27th Congressional District is located in the southern portion of the state. The district includes Aransas, Calhoun, Jackson, Lavaca, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, Victoria, and Wharton counties and some parts of Bastrop, Caldwell, Gonzales, and San Patricio counties.[1]

Post-election analysis

The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

Presidential and congressional election results, Texas' 27th Congressional District, 2020
Race Presidential U.S. House
Democratic candidate Democratic Party 37.5 34.9
Republican candidate Republican Party 61.2 63.1
Difference 23.7 28.2

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Texas modified its absentee/mail-in voting, candidate filing, and early voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

  • Absentee/mail-in voting: Local election officials could not reject an absentee ballot due to a perceived signature mismatch unless the voter was given a pre-rejection notice of this finding and a "meaningful opportunity to cure his or her ballot's rejection." Return locations for absentee/mail-in ballots were limited to one per county.
  • Candidate filing procedures: The petition deadline for independent candidates for non-presidential office was extended to August 13, 2020.
  • Early voting: Early voting began on October 13, 2020.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 27

Incumbent Michael Cloud defeated Ricardo De La Fuente and Phil Gray in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 27 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Michael Cloud
Michael Cloud (R)
 
63.1
 
172,305
Image of Ricardo De La Fuente
Ricardo De La Fuente (D) Candidate Connection
 
34.9
 
95,466
Image of Phil Gray
Phil Gray (L)
 
2.0
 
5,482

Total votes: 273,253
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 27

Ricardo De La Fuente defeated Charlie Jackson in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 27 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Ricardo De La Fuente
Ricardo De La Fuente Candidate Connection
 
61.4
 
20,767
Image of Charlie Jackson
Charlie Jackson Candidate Connection
 
38.6
 
13,030

Total votes: 33,797
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 27

Incumbent Michael Cloud advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 27 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Michael Cloud
Michael Cloud
 
100.0
 
60,945

Total votes: 60,945
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 27

Phil Gray advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 27 on March 21, 2020.

Candidate
Image of Phil Gray
Phil Gray (L)

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

One of 254 Texas counties—0.4 percent—is a Pivot County. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Jefferson County, Texas 0.48% 1.61% 2.25%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Texas with 52.2 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 43.2 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Texas cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 66.7 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Texas supported Democratic candidates slightly more often than Republicans, 53.3 to 46.7 percent. The state, however, favored Republicans in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Texas. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[2][3]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 54 out of 150 state House districts in Texas with an average margin of victory of 37.4 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 65 out of 150 state House districts in Texas with an average margin of victory of 36.4 points. Clinton won 10 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 96 out of 150 state House districts in Texas with an average margin of victory of 36.2 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 85 out of 150 state House districts in Texas with an average margin of victory of 34.5 points.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+13, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 13 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Texas' 27th Congressional District the 98th most Republican nationally.[4]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.03. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.03 points toward that party.[5]

Campaign finance

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Michael Cloud Republican Party $1,019,272 $834,592 $242,372 As of December 31, 2020
Ricardo De La Fuente Democratic Party $1,262,408 $1,262,408 $0 As of December 10, 2020
Phil Gray Libertarian Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[6]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[7][8][9]

Race ratings: Texas' 27th Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

Candidate ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for 27th Congressional District candidates in Texas in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Texas, click here.

Filing requirements, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
Texas 27th Congressional District Democratic or Republican N/A N/A $3,125.00 Fixed number 12/9/2019 Source
Texas 27th Congressional District Unaffiliated 500 5% of all votes cast for governor in the district in the last election; not to exceed 500 N/A N/A 12/9/2019 (declaration of intent); 8/13/2020 (final filing deadline) Source

District election history

2018

See also: Texas' 27th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 27

Incumbent Michael Cloud defeated Eric Holguin, James Duerr, and Daniel Tinus in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 27 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Michael Cloud
Michael Cloud (R)
 
60.3
 
125,118
Image of Eric Holguin
Eric Holguin (D)
 
36.6
 
75,929
Image of James Duerr
James Duerr (Independent)
 
2.1
 
4,274
Image of Daniel Tinus
Daniel Tinus (L)
 
1.0
 
2,100

Total votes: 207,421
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 27

Eric Holguin defeated Raul Barrera in the Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 27 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Eric Holguin
Eric Holguin
 
62.0
 
6,376
Image of Raul Barrera
Raul Barrera
 
38.0
 
3,903

Total votes: 10,279
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 27

Incumbent Michael Cloud defeated Bech Bruun in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 27 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Michael Cloud
Michael Cloud
 
61.1
 
15,041
Image of Bech Bruun
Bech Bruun
 
38.9
 
9,565

Total votes: 24,606
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 27

Raul Barrera and Eric Holguin advanced to a runoff. They defeated Vanessa Edwards Foster and Ronnie McDonald in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 27 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Raul Barrera
Raul Barrera
 
41.2
 
8,733
Image of Eric Holguin
Eric Holguin
 
23.3
 
4,939
Image of Vanessa Edwards Foster
Vanessa Edwards Foster
 
19.1
 
4,041
Image of Ronnie McDonald
Ronnie McDonald
 
16.4
 
3,474

Total votes: 21,187
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 27

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 27 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Bech Bruun
Bech Bruun
 
36.1
 
15,919
Image of Michael Cloud
Michael Cloud
 
33.8
 
14,920
Image of Chris Mapp
Chris Mapp
 
12.1
 
5,356
Image of Jerry Hall
Jerry Hall
 
8.3
 
3,649
John Grunwald
 
6.9
 
3,027
Image of Eddie Gassman
Eddie Gassman
 
2.8
 
1,237

Total votes: 44,108
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

See also: Texas' 27th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Blake Farenthold (R) defeated Raul (Roy) Barrera (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Farenthold defeated Gregg Deeb in the Republican primary on March 1, 2016, while Barrera defeated Ray Madrigal and Wayne Raasch to win the Democratic primary.[10][11]

U.S. House, Texas District 27 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngBlake Farenthold Incumbent 61.7% 142,251
     Democratic Raul (Roy) Barrera 38.3% 88,329
Total Votes 230,580
Source: Texas Secretary of State


U.S. House, Texas District 27 Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngBlake Farenthold Incumbent 55.9% 42,195
Gregg Deeb 44.1% 33,280
Total Votes 75,475
Source: Texas Secretary of State
U.S. House, Texas District 27 Democratic Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngRaul Barrera 50.3% 15,939
Ray Madrigal 35.2% 11,157
Wayne Raasch 14.4% 4,570
Total Votes 31,666
Source: Texas Secretary of State

2014

See also: Texas' 27th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 27th Congressional District of Texas held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Blake Farenthold (R) defeated Wesley Reed (D) and Roxanne Simonson (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Texas District 27 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngBlake Farenthold Incumbent 63.6% 83,342
     Democratic Wesley Reed 33.7% 44,152
     Libertarian Roxanne Simonson 2.7% 3,553
Total Votes 131,047
Source: Texas Secretary of State

See also

External links

Footnotes


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
Al Green (D)
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
Vacant
District 19
District 20
District 21
Chip Roy (R)
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
Republican Party (27)
Democratic Party (12)
Vacancies (1)