Texas State Board of Education election, 2018

Elections in Texas, 2018

• General election: Nov. 6
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 9
• Early voting: Oct. 22 - Nov. 2
• Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 7

• Online registration: No
• Same-day registration: No
• Voter ID: Photo ID required
• Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

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Texas State Board of Education
Election details
Filing deadline: December 11, 2017
Primary: March 6, 2018 Primary runoff: May 22, 2018 (if needed) General: November 6, 2018 Pre-election incumbent(s): Ruben Cortez, Jr. (Democrat) (District 2) Marisa Perez-Diaz (Democrat) (District 3) Lawrence Allen, Jr. (Democrat) (District 4) David Bradley (Republican) (District 7) Patricia Hardy (Republican) (District 11) Geraldine Miller (Republican) (District 12) Erika Beltran (Democrat) (District 13)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Texas
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2018 Impact of term limits in 2018 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
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Texas held an election for seven of the 15 seats on the state board of education on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was December 11, 2017. Primary elections were held on March 6, 2018. A primary runoff followed on May 22, 2018, for the District 12 Democratic primary.

The seats up for election included District 2, held by Ruben Cortez, Jr. (D), District 3, held by Marisa Perez-Diaz (D), District 4, held by Lawrence Allen, Jr. (D), District 7, held by David Bradley (R), District 11, held by Patricia Hardy (R), District 12, held by Geraldine Miller (R), and District 13, held by Erika Beltran (D). As of January 2018, five members of the board were Democratic and 10 members of the board were Republican.

Candidates and election results

District 2

General election

General election for Texas State Board of Education District 2

Incumbent Ruben Cortez Jr. defeated Charles Hasse in the general election for Texas State Board of Education District 2 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ruben Cortez Jr. (D)	53.6	206,689
	Submit photo	Charles Hasse (R)	46.4	178,923

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 385,612
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 2

Incumbent Ruben Cortez Jr. defeated Michelle Arévalo Dávila in the Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 2 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ruben Cortez Jr.	52.3	31,289
	Submit photo	Michelle Arévalo Dávila	47.7	28,487

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 59,776
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 2

Charles Hasse defeated Eric Garza in the Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 2 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Charles Hasse	67.1	31,717
	Submit photo	Eric Garza	32.9	15,536

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 47,253
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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District 3

General election

General election for Texas State Board of Education District 3

Incumbent Marisa Perez-Diaz won election in the general election for Texas State Board of Education District 3 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marisa Perez-Diaz (D)	100.0	302,242

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 302,242
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 3

Incumbent Marisa Perez-Diaz defeated Dan Arellano in the Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 3 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marisa Perez-Diaz	75.9	60,027
	Submit photo	Dan Arellano	24.1	19,022

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 79,049
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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District 4

General election

General election for Texas State Board of Education District 4

Incumbent Lawrence Allen Jr. won election in the general election for Texas State Board of Education District 4 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lawrence Allen Jr. (D)	100.0	311,590

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 311,590
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 4

Incumbent Lawrence Allen Jr. defeated Steven Chambers in the Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 4 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lawrence Allen Jr.	66.9	45,162
	Submit photo	Steven Chambers	33.1	22,337

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 67,499
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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District 7

General election

General election for Texas State Board of Education District 7

Matt Robinson defeated Elizabeth Markowitz in the general election for Texas State Board of Education District 7 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Robinson (R)	59.5	369,752
		Elizabeth Markowitz (D)	40.5	252,158

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 621,910
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 7

Elizabeth Markowitz advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 7 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Elizabeth Markowitz	100.0	50,781

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 50,781
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 7

Matt Robinson advanced from the Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 7 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Robinson	100.0	99,875

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 99,875
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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District 11

General election

General election for Texas State Board of Education District 11

Incumbent Patricia Hardy defeated Carla Morton and Aaron Gutknecht in the general election for Texas State Board of Education District 11 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patricia Hardy (R)	57.2	366,245
		Carla Morton (D)	40.5	259,276
	Submit photo	Aaron Gutknecht (L)	2.4	15,241

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 640,762
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 11

Carla Morton defeated Celeste Light in the Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 11 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Carla Morton	57.9	33,217
	Submit photo	Celeste Light	42.1	24,156

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 57,373
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 11

Incumbent Patricia Hardy defeated Feyi Obamehinti and Cheryl Surber in the Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 11 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patricia Hardy	55.8	58,796
		Feyi Obamehinti	24.3	25,580
	Submit photo	Cheryl Surber	20.0	21,073

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 105,449
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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District 12

General election

General election for Texas State Board of Education District 12

Pam Little defeated Suzanne Smith and Rachel Wester in the general election for Texas State Board of Education District 12 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Pam Little (R)	49.4	334,584
		Suzanne Smith (D)	47.9	324,307
	Submit photo	Rachel Wester (L)	2.7	18,002

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 676,893
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary runoff election

The Democratic primary runoff election was canceled. Suzanne Smith advanced from the Democratic primary runoff for Texas State Board of Education District 12.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Laura Malone-Miller (D)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 12

Suzanne Smith and Laura Malone-Miller advanced to a runoff. They defeated Tina Green in the Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 12 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Suzanne Smith	48.1	35,460
✔	Submit photo	Laura Malone-Miller	26.3	19,426
	Submit photo	Tina Green	25.6	18,883

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 73,769
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 12

Pam Little advanced from the Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 12 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Pam Little	100.0	82,548

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 82,548
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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District 13

General election

General election for Texas State Board of Education District 13

Aicha Davis defeated A. Denise Russell in the general election for Texas State Board of Education District 13 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Aicha Davis (D)	76.3	309,926
		A. Denise Russell (R)	23.7	96,136

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 406,062
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 13

Aicha Davis advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 13 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Aicha Davis	100.0	68,458

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 68,458
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 13

A. Denise Russell advanced from the Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 13 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		A. Denise Russell

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Texas heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

• Republicans held both U.S. Senate seats in Texas.
• Republicans held 25 of 36 U.S. House seats in Texas, and Democrats held 11.

State executives

• As of May 2018, Republicans held six of 11 state executive positions and five positions were held by nonpartisan officials.
• The governor of Texas was Republican Greg Abbott.

State legislature

• Republicans controlled both chambers of the Texas State Legislature. They had a 93-55 majority in the state House and a 21-10 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

• Texas was a Republican trifecta, meaning that the Republican Party held the governorship, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House.

2018 elections

See also: Texas elections, 2018

Texas held elections for the following positions in 2018:

• The Class 1 U.S. Senate seat held by Ted Cruz (R)
• All 36 U.S. House seats
• Governor
• Five lower state executive positions
• 15 of 31 state Senate seats
• All 150 state House seats
• Local judicial offices
• Local school boards
• Municipal elections in Arlington, Austin, Bexar County, Collin County, Corpus Christi, Dallas County, Denton County, El Paso County, Fort Bend County, Garland, Harris County, Irving, Laredo, Lubbock, Lubbock County, Nueces County, Tarrant County, Travis County, Webb County, and Williamson County

Demographics

Demographic data for Texas
	Texas	U.S.
Total population:	27,429,639	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	261,232	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	74.9%	73.6%
Black/African American:	11.9%	12.6%
Asian:	4.2%	5.1%
Native American:	0.5%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.5%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	38.4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	81.9%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	27.6%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$53,207	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	19.9%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Texas. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2016, Texas had a population of approximately 27,862,596 people, and its three largest cities were Houston (pop. est. 2.3 million), San Antonio (pop. est. 1.5 million), and Dallas (pop. est. 1.3 million).

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Texas from 2000 to 2016.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Texas every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Texas 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Donald Trump	52.23%	Hillary Clinton	43.24%	8.99%
2012	Mitt Romney	57.17%	Barack Obama	41.38%	15.79%
2008	John McCain	55.45%	Barack Obama	43.68%	11.77%
2004	George W. Bush	61.09%	John Kerry	38.22%	22.87%
2000	George W. Bush	59.30%	Al Gore	37.98%	21.32%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Texas from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Texas 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	John Cornyn	61.56%	David Alameel	34.36%	27.20%
2012	Ted Cruz	56.46%	Paul Sadler	40.62%	15.84%
2008	John Cornyn	54.82%	Richard Noriega	42.84%	11.98%
2006	Kay Bailey Hutchison	61.69%	Barbara Ann Radnofsky	36.04%	25.65%
2002	John Cornyn	55.30%	Ron Kirk	43.33%	11.97%
2000	Kay Bailey Hutchison	65.04%	Gene Kelly	32.35%	32.69%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2014

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2014. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Texas.

Election results (Governor), Texas 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	Greg Abbott	59.27%	Wendy Davis	38.90%	20.37%
2010	Rick Perry	54.97%	Bill White	42.30%	12.67%
2006	Rick Perry	39.03%	Chris Bell	29.79%	9.24%
2002	Rick Perry	57.81%	Tony Sanchez	39.96%	17.85%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Texas in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Texas 2000-2016
Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	25	69.4%	11	30.6%	R+14
2014	25	69.4%	11	30.6%	R+14
2012	24	66.7%	12	33.3%	R+12
2010	23	71.9%	9	28.1%	R+14
2008	20	62.5%	12	37.5%	R+8
2006	19	59.4%	13	40.6%	R+6
2004	21	65.6%	11	34.4%	R+10
2002	15	46.9%	17	53.1%	D+2
2000	13	43.3%	17	56.7%	D+4

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Texas Party Control: 1992-2025
Three years of Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-three years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

See also

Texas government:

• Texas state executive offices
• Texas State Legislature
• Texas courts

Elections:

• Texas state executive official elections, 2018
• Gubernatorial elections, 2018
• Lieutenant gubernatorial elections, 2018
• Attorney General elections, 2018
• Secretary of State elections, 2018
• State executive official elections, 2018, 2017, 2016

Ballotpedia exclusives:

• State executives compensation
• State of the state addresses
• Trifecta control of state government

External links

Suggest a link

• Texas State Board of Education website