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1984 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas

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FieldValue
election_name1984 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas
countryTexas
typelegislative
ongoingno
previous_election1982 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas
previous_year1982
next_election1986 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas
next_year1986
seats_for_electionAll 27 Texas seats to the United States House of Representatives
election_dateNovember 6, 1984
party1Democratic Party (United States)
last_election1**22**
seats_before1**21**
seats1**17**
seat_change14
popular_vote1**2,695,028**
percentage1**57.6%**
swing17.2%
party2Republican Party (United States)
last_election25
seats_before26
seats210
seat_change24
popular_vote21,981,823
percentage242.3%
swing29.5%
map_image1984 Texas US House.svg
map_caption

Democratic Republican The 1984 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas occurred on November 6, 1984, to elect the members of the state of Texas's delegation to the United States House of Representatives. Texas had twenty-seven seats in the House, apportioned according to the 1980 United States census.

Texas underwent mid-decade redistricting due to the District Court case Upham v. Seamon. The U.S. Department of Justice objected to the boundaries of District 15 and District 27 adopted by the Texas Legislature in 1981 under preclearance established by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The court's modified districts were used in 1982, and the Legislature modified other districts in 1983, keeping the court-modified districts in place.

These elections occurred simultaneously with the United States Senate elections of 1984, the United States House elections in other states, the presidential election, and various state and local elections.

Democrats maintained their majority of U.S. House seats from Texas. Still, they lost four seats to the Republicans, who rode the coattails of president Ronald Reagan's re-election. The Republicans in those four seats, as well as two other freshmen Republicans, would later become known as the Texas Six Pack.

Overview

1984 United States House of Representatives elections in TexasPartyVotesPercentageSeats beforeSeats after+/–
Democratic2,695,02857.58%2117-4
Republican1,981,82342.34%610+4
Independent3,0640.07%00-
Others4700.01%00-
**Totals****4,680,385****100.00%****27****27****-**

Congressional districts

District 1

Incumbent Democrat Sam B. Hall ran for re-election unopposed.

District 2

Incumbent Democrat Charlie Wilson ran for re-election. He faced four primary opponents but managed to avoid a runoff with 54 percent of the vote.

District 3

Incumbent Republican Steve Bartlett ran for re-election.

District 4

Incumbent Democrat Ralph Hall ran for re-election.

District 5

Incumbent Democrat John Wiley Bryant ran for re-election unopposed.

District 6

Incumbent Democrat Phil Gramm resigned after being removed from his seat on the House Budget Committee by Democratic leadership. He subsequently switched his party affiliation to the Republican Party and ran for his old seat in the ensuing special election. He had been planning to switch parties even before this occurred. Ronald Reagan had won the district in 1980, and Gramm's opponents cast the race as a referendum on Reganomics. Gramm won the race outright, avoiding a runoff and returning to Congress as a Republican. He retired at the end of his term to run for U.S. Senator.

District 7

Incumbent Republican Bill Archer ran for re-election.

District 8

Incumbent Republican Jack Fields ran for re-election.

District 9

Incumbent Democrat Jack Brooks ran for re-election.

District 10

Incumbent Democrat J. J. Pickle ran for re-election unopposed.

District 11

Incumbent Democrat Marvin Leath ran for re-election unopposed.

District 12

Incumbent Democrat Jim Wright ran for re-election unopposed.

District 13

Incumbent Democrat Jack Hightower ran for re-election.

District 14

Incumbent Democrat Bill Patman ran for re-election.

District 15

Incumbent Democrat Kika de la Garza ran for re-election unopposed.

District 16

Incumbent Democrat Ronald D. Coleman ran for re-election.

District 17

Incumbent Democrat Charles Stenholm ran for re-election unopposed.

District 18

Incumbent Democrat Mickey Leland ran for re-election.

District 19

Incumbent Democrat Kent Hance retired to run for U.S. Senator.

District 20

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

District 21

Incumbent Republican Tom Loeffler ran for re-election.

District 22

Incumbent Republican Ron Paul retired to run for U.S. Senator.

District 23

Incumbent Democrat Abraham Kazen ran for re-election. He lost in the Democratic Primary to Albert Bustamante. Kazen was one of only three incumbent members of congress to lose a primary in 1984.

District 24

Incumbent Democrat Martin Frost ran for re-election.

District 25

Incumbent Democrat Michael A. Andrews ran for re-election.

District 26

Incumbent Democrat Tom Vandergriff ran for re-election. Mid-decade redistricting had made this district slightly more favorable to Democrats. The previous iteration of this district, which Vandergriff narrowly won in 1982, would have given Ronald Reagan 67 percent of the vote had it existed in 1980.

District 27

Incumbent Democrat Solomon Ortiz ran for re-election.

References

References

  1. "Historical Apportionment Data (1910-2020)".
  2. "Upham v. Seamon, 456 U.S. 37 (1982)".
  3. "History".
  4. [[Texas State Historical Association]]. (1985). "Texas Almanac, 1986-1987". [[The Dallas Morning News]].
  5. (1985). "Federal Elections 84". Federal Election Commission.
  6. "Veteran Texas congressman defeated".
  7. (1983-01-06). "GRAMM QUITS HOUSE FOR G.O.P. RACE". The New York Times.
  8. Romano, Lois. (1983-01-10). "Phil Gramms' Switch &". Washington Post.
  9. "Special election a test of Reaganomics".
  10. Rudin, Ken. (2010-02-12). "On This Day In 1983: Phil Gramm (D) Returns To Congress As (R)". NPR.
  11. "Our Campaigns - TX District 6 - Special Election Race - Feb 12, 1983".
  12. Taylor, Paul. (1984-05-06). "Gramm Wins GOP Primary For Senate". Washington Post.
  13. Taylor, Paul. (1984-05-07). "Hance First In Texas Senate Race". Washington Post.
  14. Ap. (1984-10-01). "CAMPAIGN NOTES; Most Incumbents Won In the Primary Contests". The New York Times.
  15. Smith, Jack. (May 18, 1983). "Economist Mulls Run for Congress". [[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]].
  16. Smith, Hedrick. (October 20, 1982). "Some GOP Candidate in the Sun Belt gamble on President's coattails". [[The New York Times]].
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