Texas State Senate elections, 2010

2012 → ← 2008

Texas State House elections, 2010

Majority control • Campaign contributions

Qualifications • Competitiveness analysis

State Legislative Election Results

List of candidates District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 5 • District 7 • District 8 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 22 • District 25 • District 29

Texas State Senate State legislative elections, 2010

Elections for the office of Texas State Senate were held on November 2, 2010, in 16 of Texas's 31 senate districts. The 16 districts where electoral contests took place in 2010 were: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 22, 25, and 29. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 4, 2010. The primary election day was on March 2 and the primary runoff was held on April 13.

Texas state senators are not subject to term limits.

In the 2010 elections, Republicans retained a majority in the chamber and the partisan composition did not change.

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2010 and State senate elections, 2010

November 2 General Election Results

The following candidates won election on November 2, 2010:

1. Bob Deuell
2. Brian Birdwell
3. Carlos Uresti
4. Florence Shapiro
5. Jane Nelson
6. Jeff Wentworth
7. Joan Huffman
8. John Whitmire
9. Jose R. Rodriguez (Texas)
10. Kevin Eltife
11. Kirk Watson
12. Robert Nichols (Texas)
13. Rodney Ellis
14. Steve Ogden
15. Dan Patrick

Majority control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 2 election, the Republican Party held the majority in the Texas State Senate:

Texas State Senate
Party		As of November 1, 2010	After the 2010 Election
	Democratic Party	12	12
	Republican Party	19	19
Total		31	31

The following map displays party control of districts throughout the Texas State Senate:

Campaign contributions

See also: State-by-state comparison of donations to state senate campaigns

This chart shows how many candidates ran for state senate in Texas in past years and the cumulative amount of dollars raised in state senate races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests. All figures come from Follow The Money.

Year	Number of candidates	Total contributions
2010	41	$11,219,972
2008	37	$17,705,611
2006	46	$20,836,417
2004	30	$10,539,364
2002	75	$23,504,855

In 2010, the candidates for state senate raised a total of $11,219,972 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were:

Donor	Amount
Perry, Bob J	$544,500
Border Health	$486,750
Texas Association of Realtors	$426,548
Bius, Ben	$273,790
Texas Medical Association	$255,741
Time Warner	$251,075
Texans for Lawsuit Reform	$218,466
Independent Insurance Agents of Texas	$207,232
AT&T	$205,850
Associated General Contractors of Texas	$180,408

Incumbency

Unopposed incumbents

7 incumbents (46.6%) faced no competition in the November 2 general election.

• 0 Democratic incumbents faced no November challenger.
• 7 GOP incumbents faced no November challenger.

Primary challenges

Four incumbents faced competition in the March 2 primaries. No incumbents lost to their challengers. The following 15 incumbents (4 Democrats, 11 Republicans) won their primaries:

• District 1: Incumbent Republican Kevin Eltife
• District 2: Incumbent Republican Bob Deuell
• District 3: Incumbent Republican Robert Nichols
• District 5: Incumbent Republican Steve Ogden
• District 7: Incumbent Republican Dan Patrick
• District 8: Incumbent Republican Florence Shapiro
• District 12: Incumbent Republican Jane Nelson
• District 13: Incumbent Democrat Rodney Ellis
• District 14: Incumbent Democrat Kirk Watson
• District 15: Incumbent Democrat John Whitmire
• District 17: Incumbent Republican Joan Huffman
• District 18: Incumbent Republican Glenn Hegar
• District 19: Incumbent Democrat Carlos Uresti
• District 22: Incumbent Republican Kip Averitt
• District 25: Incumbent Republican Jeff Wentworth

Retiring incumbents

One incumbent senator did not run for re-election, while 15 incumbents (94%) ran for re-election. The incumbent who retired was a Democrat.

The incumbent who retired was:

• District 29: Incumbent Democrat Eliot Shapleigh

Qualifications

To be eligible to serve in the Texas State Senate, a candidate must be:

• A U.S. citizen
• 26 years old before the general election
• A five-year resident of Texas before the general election
• A district resident for 1 year prior to the general election

List of candidates

Partisan dominance in state senates heading into the 2010 state legislative elections

2010 State senate elections
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Parties with candidates
Impact of term limits
Successful challengers
Defeated incumbents
State house elections
State senate elections
State legislative elections

District 1

March 2 Democratic primary:

• No Democratic candidates filed to run for this seat.

March 2 GOP primary:

• Kevin Eltife: 51,800 a Incumbent Republican Eltife was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2004.

November 2 General election candidates:

Kevin Eltife 140,273

District 2

March 2 Democratic primary:

• Kathleen Shaw: 9,561 a

March 2 GOP primary:

• Bob Deuell: 38,086 a Incumbent Republican Deuell was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2007.
• Sharon Russell: 15,588

November 2 General election candidates:

Kathleen Shaw 53,566

Bob Deuell 105,779

District 3

March 2 Democratic primary:

• No Democratic candidates filed to run for this seat.

March 2 GOP primary:

• Robert Nichols: 52,865 a Incumbent Republican Nichols was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2007.

Libertarian candidate:

• David Scott (L)

November 2 General election candidates:

Robert Nichols 153,906

David Scott 19,211

District 5

March 2 Democratic primary:

• Stephen Wyman: 14,946 a

March 2 GOP primary:

• Steve Ogden: 47,699 a Incumbent Republican Ogden was first elected to the Texas Senate in 1995.
• Ben Bius: 22,165

November 2 General election candidates:

Stephen Wyman 58,525

Steve Ogden 145,170

District 7

State legislatures where heading into the November 2, 2010 elections the Republican Party was in the majority in both chambers

March 2 Democratic primary:

• No Democratic candidates filed to run for this seat.

March 2 GOP primary:

• Dan Patrick: 52,071 a Incumbent Republican Patrick was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2007.

Libertarian candidate:

• Lee Coughran (L)

November 2 General election candidates:

Dan Patrick 184,704

Lee Coughran 29,048

District 8

March 2 Democratic primary:

• No Democratic candidates filed to run for this seat.

March 2 GOP primary:

• Florence Shapiro: 44,423 a Incumbent Republican Shapiro was first elected to the Texas Senate in 1991.

Libertarian candidate:

• Ed Kless (L)

November 2 General election candidates:

Florence Shapiro 136,369

Ed Kless 25,935

District 12

March 2 Democratic primary:

• No Democratic candidates filed to run for this seat.

March 2 GOP primary:

• Jane Nelson: 46,545 a Incumbent Republican Nelson was first elected to the Texas Senate in 1993.

Libertarian candidate:

• Mark Frohman (L)

November 2 General election candidates:

Jane Nelson 148,592

Mark Frohman 23,894

District 13

March 2 Democratic primary:

• Rodney Ellis: 35,766 a Incumbent Democrat Ellis was first elected to the Texas Senate in 1990.

March 2 GOP primary:

• Michael Mauldin: 7,956 a

November 2 General election candidates:

Rodney Ellis 113,155

Michael Mauldin 31,596

District 14

March 2 Democratic primary:

• Kirk Watson: 27,463 a Incumbent Democrat Watson was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2007.

March 2 GOP primary:

• Mary Lou Serafine: 47,699 a

Libertarian candidate:

• Kent Phillips (L)

November 2 General election candidates:

Kirk Watson 115,949

Mary Lou Serafine 68,100

Kent Phillips 6,884

District 15

March 2 Democratic primary:

• John Whitmire: 17,159 a Incumbent Democrat Whitmire was first elected to the Texas Senate in 1983.

March 2 GOP primary:

• Bill Walker: 14,243 a

November 2 General election candidates:

John Whitmire 77,096

Bill Walker 52,959

District 17

March 2 Democratic primary:

• No Democratic candidates filed to run for this seat.

March 2 GOP primary:

• Joan Huffman: 31,545 a Incumbent Republican Huffman was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2008.

Libertarian candidate:

• Phil Kurtz (L)

November 2 General election candidates:

Joan Huffman 112,595

Phil Kurtz 22,802

District 18

March 2 Democratic primary:

• Patricia Olney: 20,706 a

March 2 GOP primary:

• Glenn Hegar: 57,490 a Incumbent Republican Hegar was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2007.

November 2 General election candidates:

Patricia Olney 61,345

Glenn Hegar 146,087

District 19

March 2 Democratic primary:

• Carlos Uresti: 25,969 a Incumbent Democrat Uresti was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2006.
• Luis Juarez, Jr.: 8,125

March 2 GOP primary:

• Dick Bowen: 14,050 a
• Robert Sol Mayer: 5,065

Libertarian candidate:

• Mette Baker (L)

November 2 General election candidates:

Carlos Uresti 61,327

Dick Bowen 53,024

Mette Baker 3,269

District 22

March 2 Democratic primary:

• No Democratic candidates filed to run for this seat.

March 2 GOP primary:

• Brian Birdwell a
• Kip Averitt: 37,719 Incumbent Republican Averitt was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2002. Note: Averitt resigned in July of 2010.
• Darren Yancy: 25,060

November 2 General election candidates:

Brian Birdwell 134,231

District 25

March 2 Democratic primary:

• No Democratic candidates filed to run for this seat.

March 2 GOP primary:

• Jeff Wentworth: 61,950 a Incumbent Republican Wentworth was first elected to the Texas Senate in 1993.

Libertarian candidate:

• Arthur Maxwell Thomas (L)

November 2 General election candidates:

Jeff Wentworth 192,965

Arthur Maxwell Thomas 40,972

District 29

March 2 Democratic primary:

• Jose R. Rodriguez: 22,253 a
• Liza Montelongo: 6,388
• Louis Irwin: 3,382

March 2 GOP primary:

• Dan Chavez: 10,481 a

November 2 General election candidates:

Jose R. Rodriguez 50,460

Dan Chavez 33,303

See also

• Texas State Senate
• Texas State Legislature
• State legislative elections, 2010
• Primary election dates in 2010

External links

• Official Texas State Senate Election Results
• Texas official primary results
• List of 2010 Republican candidates for Texas State Senate (dead link)
• List of 2010 Democratic candidates for Texas State Senate (dead link)
• Texas Democratic Party's lists of 2010 candidates
• Texas Republican Party's downloadable spreadsheet of 2010 candidates
• Texas Libertarian Party's list of 2010 candidates
• Project Vote Smart list of candidates for Texas State Senate in the November 2, 2010 election

Footnotes

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Current members of the Texas State Senate

Leadership

Senators

District 1

Bryan Hughes (R)

District 2

Bob Hall (R)

District 3

Robert Nichols (R)

District 4

Brandon Creighton (R)

District 5

Charles Schwertner (R)

District 6

Carol Alvarado (D)

District 7

Paul Bettencourt (R)

District 8

Angela Paxton (R)

District 9

Vacant

District 10

Phil King (R)

District 11

Mayes Middleton (R)

District 12

Tan Parker (R)

District 13

Borris Miles (D)

District 14

Sarah Eckhardt (D)

District 15

Molly Cook (D)

District 16

Nathan Johnson (D)

District 17

Joan Huffman (R)

District 18

Lois Kolkhorst (R)

District 19

Roland Gutierrez (D)

District 20

Juan Hinojosa (D)

District 21

Judith Zaffirini (D)

District 22

Brian Birdwell (R)

District 23

Royce West (D)

District 24

Peter Flores (R)

District 25

Donna Campbell (R)

District 26

José Menéndez (D)

District 27

Adam Hinojosa (R)

District 28

Charles Perry (R)

District 29

César Blanco (D)

District 30

Brent Hagenbuch (R)

District 31

Kevin Sparks (R)

Republican Party (19)

Democratic Party (11)

Vacancies (1)