1996 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas

The 1996 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas occurred on November 5, 1996, to elect the members of the state of Texas's delegation to the United States House of Representatives. Texas had thirty seats in the House, apportioned according to the 1990 United States census.

1996 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas

← 1994 November 5, 1996 1998 →
All 30 Texas seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 19 11 Seats before 18 12 Seats won 17 13 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 2,206,346 2,604,389 Percentage 44.8% 52.9% Swing 2.7% 2.8%
Democratic   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Republican   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%

Texas underwent mid-decade redistricting^{[broken anchor]} as a result of the Supreme Court case Bush v. Vera. The court had ruled that districts such as District 18 and District 30 were racially gerrymandered.^[1] A prior district court decision had voided the results of the primary elections in 13 districts, which the Supreme Court upheld. These districts instead conducted special elections concurrent with the general elections.^[2][3]

These elections occurred simultaneously with the United States Senate elections of 1996, the United States House elections in other states, and various state and local elections.

Texas Democrats maintained their majority in Texas' congressional delegation, albeit reduced by two seats from 1994. These elections produced an unusually high level of turnover due to the retirements of several representatives.^[3]

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 1996[4][5][6]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats before	Seats after	+/–
	Republican	2,604,389	52.91%	11	13	+2
	Democratic	2,206,346	44.82%	19	17	-2
	Independent	43,570	0.89%	0	0	-
	Libertarian	30,019	0.61%	0	0	-
	Natural Law	29,993	0.61%	0	0	-
	Constitution	7,887	0.02%	0	0	-
Totals		4,922,204	100.00%	30	30	—

District 1

See also: Texas's 1st congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Jim Chapman opted to retire rather than run for re-election.

Texas's 1st congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Max Sandlin	102,697	51.56
	Republican	Ed Merritt	93,105	46.75
	Natural Law	Margaret Palms	3,368	1.69
Total votes			199,170	100
	Democratic hold

District 2

See also: Texas's 2nd congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Charlie Wilson opted to retire rather than run for re-election.

Texas's 2nd congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Turner	102,908	52.25
	Republican	Brian Babin	89,838	45.61
	Independent	Henry McCullough	2,390	1.21
	Libertarian	David Constant	1,240	0.63
	Natural Law	Gary Hardy	595	0.30
Total votes			196,971	100
	Democratic hold

District 3

See also: Texas's 3rd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Sam Johnson ran for re-election. The 3rd district was among thirteen districts holding a special election on November 5, the same day as the general election. The race pitted all certified candidates against one another in each district, regardless of party.

Texas's 3rd congressional district, 1996^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sam Johnson (incumbent)	142,325	72.98
	Democratic	Lee Cole	47,654	24.43
	Libertarian	John Davis	5,045	2.59
	Write-in	Others	2	0.00
Total votes			195,026	100
	Republican hold

District 4

1996 Texas's 4th congressional district election

← 1994 1998 →

Nominee Ralph Hall Jerry Ray Hall Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 132,126 71,065 Percentage 63.8% 34.3%

County results R. Hall:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% J. Hall:      50–60%

U.S. Representative before election Ralph Hall Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Ralph Hall Democratic

See also: Texas's 4th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Ralph Hall ran for re-election.

Texas's 4th congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ralph M. Hall	132,126	63.77
	Republican	Jerry Ray Hall	71,065	34.30
	Libertarian	Steven Rothacker	3,172	1.53
	Natural Law	Enos Denham	814	0.39
Total votes			207,177	100
	Democratic hold

District 5

See also: Texas's 5th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat John Wiley Bryant retired to run for U.S. Senator.^[7] The 5th district was among thirteen districts holding a special election on November 5, the same day as the general election. The race pitted all certified candidates against one another in each district, regardless of party.

Texas's 5th congressional district, 1996^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pete Sessions	80,196	53.07
	Democratic	John Pouland	70,922	46.93
	Write-in	Jesus Christ	1	0.00
Total votes			151,119	100.00
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 6

See also: Texas's 6th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Joe Barton ran for re-election. The 6th district was among thirteen districts holding a special election on November 5, the same day as the general election. The race pitted all certified candidates against one another in each district, regardless of party.

Texas's 6th congressional district, 1996^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Barton (incumbent)	160,800	77.12
	Independent	Skeet Richardson	26,713	12.81
	Libertarian	Catherine Anderson	14,456	6.93
	Constitution	Doug Williams	6,547	3.14
Total votes			208,516	100
	Republican hold

District 7

See also: Texas's 7th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Bill Archer ran for re-election. The 7th district was among thirteen districts holding a special election on November 5, the same day as the general election. The race pitted all certified candidates against one another in each district, regardless of party.

Texas's 7th congressional district, 1996^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Archer (incumbent)	152,024	81.37
	Democratic	Al J.K. Siegmund	28,187	15.09
	Independent	Gene Hsiao	3,896	2.09
	Independent	Randy Sims	2,724	1.46
Total votes			186,831	100
	Republican hold

District 8

1996 Texas's 8th congressional district election

← 1994 1998 →

Candidate Kevin Brady Gene Fontenot Party Republican Republican First round 80,325 41.5% 75,399 38.9% Runoff 30,366 59.1% 21,004 40.9%   Candidate CJ Newman Robert Musemeche Party Democratic Democratic First round 26,246 13.6% 11,689 6.0% Runoff Eliminated Eliminated

First round county results Runoff county results Brady:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Fontenot:      40–50%

U.S. Representative before election Jack Fields Republican Elected U.S. Representative Kevin Brady Republican

See also: Texas's 8th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Jack Fields opted to retire rather than run for re-election.^[8] The 8th district was among thirteen districts holding a special election on November 5, the same day as the general election. The race pitted all certified candidates against one another in each district, regardless of party.

Texas's 8th congressional district, 1996^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kevin Brady	80,325	41.48
	Republican	Gene Fontenot	75,399	38.93
	Democratic	CJ Newman	26,246	13.55
	Democratic	Robert Musemeche	11,689	6.04
Total votes			193,659	100

No candidate received a majority of the vote, so a runoff was held on December 10.

Texas's 8th congressional district runoff, 1996^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kevin Brady	30,366	59.11
	Republican	Gene Fontenot	21,004	40.89
Total votes			51,370	100
	Republican hold

District 9

1996 Texas's 9th congressional district election

← 1994 1998 →

Candidate Nick Lampson Steve Stockman Party Democratic Republican First round 83,782 44.1% 88,171 46.4% Runoff 59,225 52.8% 52,870 47.2%   Candidate Geraldine Sam Party Democratic First round 17,887 9.4% Runoff Eliminated

First round county results Runoff county results Lampson:      50–60% Stockman:      40–50%      60–70%

U.S. Representative before election Steve Stockman Republican Elected U.S. Representative Nick Lampson Democratic

See also: Texas's 9th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Steve Stockman ran for re-election. The 9th district was among thirteen districts holding a special election on November 5, the same day as the general election. The race pitted all certified candidates against one another in each district, regardless of party.

Texas's 9th congressional district, 1996^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Stockman (incumbent)	88,171	46.44
	Democratic	Nick Lampson	83,782	44.13
	Democratic	Geraldine Sam	17,887	9.42
Total votes			189,840	100

No candidate received a majority of the vote, so a runoff was held on December 10. Stockman lost reelection by 5.66% to Democratic challenger Nick Lampson.

Texas's 9th congressional district runoff, 1996^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Nick Lampson	59,225	52.83
	Republican	Steve Stockman (incumbent)	52,870	47.17
Total votes			112,095	100.00
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 10

See also: Texas's 10th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Lloyd Doggett ran for re-election. He won against Republican candidate Teresa Doggett, to whom he has no relation.

Texas's 10th congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lloyd Doggett (incumbent)	132,066	56.20
	Republican	Teresa Doggett	97,204	41.36
	Libertarian	Gary Johnson	3,950	1.68
	Natural Law	Steve Klayman	1,771	0.75
Total votes			234,991	100
	Democratic hold

District 11

See also: Texas's 11th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Chet Edwards ran for re-election.

Texas's 11th congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chet Edwards (incumbent)	99,990	56.83
	Republican	Jay Mathis	74,549	42.37
	Natural Law	Ken Hardin	1,396	0.79
Total votes			175,935	100
	Democratic hold

District 12

1996 Texas's 12th congressional district election

← 1994 1998 →

Nominee Kay Granger Hugh Parmer Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 98,349 69,859 Percentage 57.8% 41.0%

County results Granger:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. Representative before election Pete Geren Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Kay Granger Republican

See also: Texas's 12th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Pete Geren opted to retire rather than run for re-election.^[9]

Texas's 12th congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kay Granger	98,349	57.78
	Democratic	Hugh Parmer	69,859	41.04
	Natural Law	Heather Proffer	1,996	1.17
Total votes			170,204	100.00
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 13

See also: Texas's 13th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Mac Thornberry ran for re-election.

Texas's 13th congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mac Thornberry (incumbent)	116,098	66.87
	Democratic	Samuel Brown Silverman	56,066	32.29
	Natural Law	Don Harkey	1,463	0.84
Total votes			173,627	100
	Republican hold

District 14

See also: Texas's 14th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Greg Laughlin switched his party affiliation to the Republican Party on June 26, 1995.^[10] He was defeated in the Republican Primary by former U.S. Representative Ron Paul.^[11]

Texas's 14th congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ron Paul	99,961	51.08
	Democratic	Lefty Morris	93,200	47.62
	Natural Law	Ed Fasanella	2,538	1.30
Total votes			195,699	100
	Republican hold

District 15

See also: Texas's 15th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Kika de la Garza opted to retire rather than run for re-election.^[12]

Texas's 15th congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ruben Hinojosa	86,347	62.30
	Republican	Tom Haughey	50,914	36.74
	Natural Law	Rob Wofford	1,333	0.96
Total votes			138,594	100
	Democratic hold

District 16

See also: Texas's 16th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Ronald D. Coleman opted to retire rather than run for re-election.^[13]

Texas's 16th congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Silvestre Reyes	90,260	70.63
	Republican	Rick Ledesma	35,271	27.60
	Natural Law	Carl Proffer	2,253	1.76
Total votes			127,784	100
	Democratic hold

District 17

1996 Texas's 17th congressional district election

← 1994 1998 →

Nominee Charles Stenholm Rudy Izzard Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 99,678 91,429 Percentage 51.7% 47.4%

County results Stenholm:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Izzard:      50–60%

U.S. Representative before election Charles Stenholm Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Charles Stenholm Democratic

See also: Texas's 17th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Charles Stenholm ran for re-election.

Texas's 17th congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charles Stenholm	99,678	51.65
	Republican	Rudy Izzard	91,429	47.37
	Natural Law	Richard Caro	1,887	0.98
Total votes			192,994	100
	Democratic hold

District 18

See also: Texas's 18th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee ran for re-election. The 18th district was among thirteen districts holding a special election on November 5, the same day as the general election. The race pitted all certified candidates against one another in each district, regardless of party.

Texas's 18th congressional district, 1996^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sheila Jackson Lee (incumbent)	106,111	77.07
	Republican	Larry White	13,956	10.14
	Republican	Jerry Burley	7,877	5.72
	Republican	George Young	5,332	3.87
	Democratic	Mike Lamson	4,412	3.20
Total votes			137,688	100
	Democratic hold

District 19

See also: Texas's 19th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Larry Combest ran for re-election.

Texas's 19th congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Larry Combest (incumbent)	156,910	80.37
	Democratic	John Sawyer	38,316	19.63
Total votes			195,226	100
	Republican hold

District 20

See also: Texas's 20th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Henry B. González ran for re-election.

Texas's 20th congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Henry B. Gonzalez (incumbent)	88,190	63.72
	Republican	James Walker	47,616	34.40
	Libertarian	Alex De Pena	2,156	1.56
	Natural Law	Lyndon Felps	447	0.32
Total votes			138,409	100
	Democratic hold

District 21

See also: Texas's 21st congressional district

Incumbent Republican Lamar Smith ran for re-election.

Texas's 21st congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lamar Smith (incumbent)	205,830	76.43
	Democratic	Gordon Wharton	60,338	22.40
	Natural Law	Randy Rutenbeck	3,139	1.17
Total votes			269,307	100
	Republican hold

District 22

See also: Texas's 22nd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Tom DeLay ran for re-election. The 22nd district was among thirteen districts holding a special election on November 5, the same day as the general election. The race pitted all certified candidates against one another in each district, regardless of party.

Texas's 22nd congressional district, 1996^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom DeLay (incumbent)	126,056	68.11
	Democratic	Scott Douglas Cunningham	59,030	31.89
Total votes			185,086	100
	Republican hold

District 23

See also: Texas's 23rd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Henry Bonilla ran for re-election.

Texas's 23rd congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Henry Bonilla (incumbent)	101,332	61.85
	Democratic	Charles Jones	59,596	36.37
	Natural Law	Linda Caswell	2,911	1.78
Total votes			163,839	100
	Republican hold

District 24

See also: Texas's 24th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Martin Frost ran for re-election. The 24th district was among thirteen districts holding a special election on November 5, the same day as the general election. The race pitted all certified candidates against one another in each district, regardless of party.

Texas's 24th congressional district, 1996^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Martin Frost	77,847	55.75
	Write-in	Martin Frost	8	0.01
	Total	Martin Frost (incumbent)	77,855	55.76
	Republican	Ed Harrison	54,551	39.07
	Democratic	Marion Jacob	4,656	3.33
	Independent	Dale Mouton	2,574	1.84
	Write-in	Fred Hank	1	0.00
Total votes			139,637	100
	Democratic hold

District 25

See also: Texas's 25th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Ken Bentsen ran for re-election. The 25th district was among thirteen districts holding a special election on November 5, the same day as the general election. The race pitted all certified candidates against one another in each district, regardless of party.

Texas's 25th congressional district, 1996^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ken Bentsen (incumbent)	43,701	34.04
	Republican	Dolly Madison McKenna	21,898	17.06
	Democratic	Beverley Clark	21,699	16.90
	Republican	Brent Perry	16,737	13.04
	Republican	John Devine	9,070	7.06
	Republican	John Sanchez	8,984	7.00
	Republican	Ken Mathis	3,649	2.84
	Republican	RC Meinke	997	0.78
	Republican	Lloyd Oliver	827	0.64
	Republican	Dotty Quinn Collins	561	0.44
	Socialist Workers	Jerry Freiwirth	270	0.21
Total votes			128,393	100

No candidate received a majority of the vote, so a runoff was held on December 10.

Texas's 25th congressional district runoff, 1996^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ken Bentsen (incumbent)	29,396	57.32
	Republican	Dolly Madison McKenna	21,892	42.68
Total votes			51,288	100
	Democratic hold

District 26

See also: Texas's 26th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Dick Armey ran for re-election. The 26th district was among thirteen districts holding a special election on November 5, the same day as the general election. The race pitted all certified candidates against one another in each district, regardless of party.

Texas's 26th congressional district, 1996^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dick Armey (incumbent)	163,708	73.63
	Democratic	Jerry Frankel	58,623	26.37
	Write-in	Others	11	0.00
Total votes			222,342	100
	Republican hold

District 27

See also: Texas's 27th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Solomon Ortiz ran for re-election.

Texas's 27th congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Solomon Ortiz (incumbent)	97,350	64.64
	Republican	Joe Gardner	50,964	33.84
	Natural Law	Kevin Richardson	2,286	1.52
Total votes			150,600	100
	Democratic hold

District 28

See also: Texas's 28th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Frank Tejeda ran for re-election.

Texas's 28th congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Frank Tejeda (incumbent)	110,148	75.37
	Republican	Mark Cude	34,191	23.40
	Natural Law	Clifford Finley	1,796	1.23
Total votes			150,600	100
	Democratic hold

District 29

See also: Texas's 29th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Gene Green ran for re-election. The 29th district was among thirteen districts holding a special election on November 5, the same day as the general election. The race pitted all certified candidates against one another in each district, regardless of party.

Texas's 29th congressional district, 1996^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gene Green (incumbent)	61,751	67.51
	Republican	Jack Rodriguez	28,381	31.03
	Constitution	Jack Klinger	1,340	1.46
Total votes			91,472	100
	Democratic hold

District 30

See also: Texas's 30th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Eddie Bernice Johnson ran for re-election. The 30th district was among thirteen districts holding a special election on November 5, the same day as the general election. The race pitted all certified candidates against one another in each district, regardless of party.

Texas's 30th congressional district, 1996^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Eddie Bernice Johnson (incumbent)	61,723	54.59
	Republican	John Hendry	20,665*	18.28
	Democratic	James Sweatt	9,909	8.76
	Democratic	Marvin Crenshaw	7,765	6.87
	Republican	Lisa Kitterman	7,761	6.86
	Independent	Lisa Hembry	3,501	3.10
	Independent	Ada Granado	1,278	1.13
	Independent	Stevan Hammond	468	0.41
	Write-in	Eddie Bernice Johnson (misspelled)	2	0.00
Total votes			113,072	100

*Includes one write-in vote