1982 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas

The 1982 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas occurred on November 2, 1982, 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, up three from the 1970s, apportioned according to the 1980 United States census.^[1]

Due to the Texas' divided government, considerable challenge was foreseen in the state's decennial redistricting process. The process attracted the attention of many prominent members of the U.S. House.^[2] The Texas Legislature failed to adopt new congressional districts during the regular legislative session in 1981 due to conflict between liberal and conservative Texas Democrats. During a special session in 1981, conservative Democrats voted with Republicans on a plan supported by Republican governor Bill Clements. Most contentious during this session was the transfer of African-American voting precincts from District 5 to District 24 in the Dallas area. Though Republicans supported the establishment of the minority opportunity district, it was seen by many Democrats as a tactical political move to increase the Republican lean of the 5th District.^[3]^[4]

The adopted congressional districts were challenged by the U.S. Department of Justice in a District Court in Upham v. Seamon. Under preclearance established by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, they asserted that the boundaries of District 15 and District 27 were racially gerrymandered. The court ruled in favor of the Department of Justice, and it drew its own map, which established two districts in Dallas County where African-Americans made up a substantial proportion of the voting-age population. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, and it remanded the case back to the District Court, but the ruling was made so close to the May primary election that the District Court's maps were allowed to stand for the 1982 elections.^[5]^[6]

These elections occurred simultaneously with the United States Senate elections of 1982, the United States House elections in other states, and various state and local elections.

Although Republicans were expected to gain seats in Texas's congressional delegation,^[3] Democrats maintained their majority of seats, winning all three of the new seats Texas gained in the 1980 United States census.^[7]

Overview

1982 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas^[8]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats before	Seats after	+/–
	Democratic	1,847,045	64.83%	19	22	+3
	Republican	934,863	32.81%	5	5	-
	Libertarian	57,998	2.04%	0	0	-
	Citizens	5,933	0.21%	0	0	-
	Independent	3,192	0.11%	0	0	-
Totals			100.00%	24	27	-

Congressional districts

District 1

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

Texas's 1st congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sam B. Hall (incumbent)	100,685	97.48
	Libertarian	John Traylor	2,598	2.52
Total votes			103,283	100
	Democratic hold

District 2

Incumbent Democrat Charlie Wilson ran for re-election.

Texas's 2nd congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charlie Wilson (incumbent)	91,762	94.26
	Libertarian	Ed Richbourg	5,584	5.74
Total votes			97,346	100
	Democratic hold

District 3

Incumbent Republican James M. Collins retired to run for U.S. Senator.^[9]

Texas's 3rd congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Bartlett	99,852	77.09
	Democratic	Jim McNees	28,223	21.79
	Libertarian	Jerry Williamson	1,453	1.12
Total votes			129,528	100
	Republican hold

District 4

Incumbent Democrat Ralph Hall ran for re-election.

Texas's 4th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ralph Hall (incumbent)	94,134	73.83
	Republican	Pete Collumb	32,221	25.27
	Libertarian	Bruce Iiams	1,141	0.89
Total votes			127,496	100
	Democratic hold

District 5

Incumbent Democrat Jim Mattox retired to run for Attorney General.^[10]

Texas's 5th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Wiley Bryant	52,214	64.84
	Republican	Joe Devany	27,121	33.68
	Libertarian	Richard Squire	732	0.91
	Citizens	John Richard Bridges	459	0.57
	Write-in	Others	4	0.00
Total votes			80,530	100
	Democratic hold

District 6

Incumbent Democrat Phil Gramm ran for re-election.

Texas's 6th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Phil Gramm (incumbent)	91,546	94.54
	Libertarian	Ron Hard	5,288	5.46
Total votes			96,834	100
	Democratic hold

District 7

Incumbent Republican Bill Archer ran for re-election.

Texas's 7th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Archer (incumbent)	108,718	84.99
	Democratic	Dennis Scoggins	17,866	13.97
	Libertarian	Bill Ware	1,338	1.05
Total votes			127,922	100
	Republican hold

District 8

Incumbent Republican Jack Fields ran for re-election.

Texas's 8th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jack Fields (incumbent)	50,630	56.75
	Democratic	Henry Allee	38,041	42.64
	Libertarian	Mike Angwin	547	0.61
Total votes			89,218	100
	Republican hold

District 9

Incumbent Democrat Jack Brooks ran for re-election.

Texas's 9th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack Brooks (incumbent)	78,965	67.55
	Republican	John Lewis	35,422	30.30
	Libertarian	Dean Allen	2,510	2.15
Total votes			116,897	100
	Democratic hold

District 10

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

Texas's 10th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	J. J. Pickle (incumbent)	121,030	90.14
	Libertarian	William Kelsey	8,735	6.51
	Citizens	Bradley Louis Rockwell	4,511	3.36
Total votes			134,276	100
	Democratic hold

District 11

Incumbent Democrat Marvin Leath ran for re-election.

Texas's 11th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Marvin Leath (incumbent)	83,236	96.34
	Libertarian	Thomas Kilbride	3,136	3.63
	Write-in	Others	23	0.03
Total votes			86,395	100
	Democratic hold

District 12

Incumbent Democrat Jim Wright ran for re-election.

Texas's 12th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Wright (incumbent)	78,913	68.90
	Republican	Jim Ryan	34,879	30.45
	Libertarian	Edward Olson	743	0.65
Total votes			114,535	100
	Democratic hold

District 13

Incumbent Democrat Jack Hightower ran for re-election.

Texas's 13th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack Hightower (incumbent)	86,376	63.60
	Republican	Ron Solver	47,877	35.25
	Libertarian	Rod Collier	1,567	1.15
Total votes			135,820	100
	Democratic hold

District 14

Incumbent Democrat Bill Patman ran for re-election. Former representative Joseph Wyatt, who retired in 1980,^[11] challenged Patman, having switched his party affiliation from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.^[12]

Texas's 14th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Patman (incumbent)	76,851	60.65
	Republican	Joseph Wyatt	48,942	38.62
	Libertarian	Glenn Rasmussen	919	0.73
Total votes			126,712	100
	Democratic hold

District 15

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

Texas's 15th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (incumbent)	76,544	95.68
	Libertarian	Frank Jones	3,458	4.32
Total votes			80,002	100
	Democratic hold

District 16

Incumbent Democrat Richard Crawford White opted to retire rather than run for re-election.^[13]

Texas's 16th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ronald D. Coleman	44,024	53.90
	Republican	Pat Haggerty	36,064	44.16
	Libertarian	Catherine McDivitt	1,583	1.94
Total votes			81,671	100
	Democratic hold

District 17

Incumbent Democrat Charles Stenholm ran for re-election.

Texas's 17th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charles Stenholm (incumbent)	109,359	97.10
	Libertarian	James Cooley	3,271	2.90
Total votes			112,630	100
	Democratic hold

District 18

Incumbent Democrat Mickey Leland ran for re-election.

Texas's 18th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mickey Leland (incumbent)	68,014	82.61
	Republican	C. Leon Pickett	12,104	14.70
	Libertarian	Thomas Bernhardt	2,215	2.69
	Write-in	Others	2	0.00
Total votes			82,335	100
	Democratic hold

District 19

Incumbent Democrat Kent Hance ran for re-election.

Texas's 19th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kent Hance (incumbent)	89,702	81.57
	Republican	E. L. Hicks	19,062	17.33
	Libertarian	Mike Read	1,206	1.10
Total votes			109,970	100
	Democratic hold

District 20

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

Texas's 20th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Henry B. Gonzalez (incumbent)	68,544	91.48
	Libertarian	Roger Gary	4,163	5.56
	Independent	Benedict La Rosa	2,213	2.95
	Write-in	Others	4	0.01
Total votes			74,924	100
	Democratic hold

District 21

Incumbent Republican Tom Loeffler ran for re-election.

Texas's 21st congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Loeffler (incumbent)	106,515	74.55
	Democratic	Charles Stough	35,112	24.58
	Libertarian	Jeffrey Brown	1,243	0.87
	Write-in	Others	2	0.00
Total votes			142,872	100
	Republican hold

District 22

Incumbent Republican Ron Paul ran for re-election.

Texas's 22nd congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ron Paul (incumbent)	66,536	98.60
	Write-in	Nick Benton	943	1.40
Total votes			67,479	100
	Republican hold

District 23

Incumbent Democrat Abraham Kazen ran for re-election.

Texas's 23rd congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Abraham Kazen (incumbent)	51,690	55.27
	Republican	Jeff Wentworth	41,363	44.23
	Libertarian	Parker Abell	475	0.51
Total votes			93,528	100
	Democratic hold

District 24

Incumbent Democrat Martin Frost ran for re-election. Under the legislature's initial redistricting plan, this district was slated to become a minority-majority district. Democratic former Dallas city councilwoman Lucy Patterson, an African-American woman, had announced her intention to challenge Frost in the Democratic primary. After the district's boundaries were changed by federal courts to return the district to having a majority-white population, Patterson switched parties and ran in the general election as a Republican.^[14]

Texas's 24th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Martin Frost (incumbent)	63,857	72.85
	Republican	Lucy Patterson	22,798	26.01
	Libertarian	David Guier	998	1.14
Total votes			87,653	100
	Democratic hold

District 25

District 25 was created as a result of redistricting after the 1980 census. The district was located in southern Harris County.

Texas's 25th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael A. Andrews	63,974	60.40
	Republican	Mike Faubion	40,112	37.87
	Citizens	Barbara Coldiron	963	0.91
	Libertarian	Jeff Calvert	864	0.82
	Write-in	Others	1	0.00
Total votes			105,914	100
	Democratic win (new seat)

District 26

District 26 was created as a result of redistricting after the 1980 census. Both political parties heavily lobbied former Arlington mayor Tom Vandergriff to run for the seat on their respective tickets.^[15] Vandergriff eventually chose to run as a Democrat. The district's lines had been drawn to favor Republicans; it would have given Ronald Reagan 67 percent of the vote had it existed in 1980.^[16]

Texas's 26th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Vandergriff	69,782	50.12
	Republican	Jim Bradshaw	69,438	49.88
Total votes			139,220	100
	Democratic win (new seat)

District 27

District 27 was created as a result of redistricting after the 1980 census. The district was located in South Texas and was 53 percent Hispanic while the neighboring 15th District was 80 percent Hispanic in the plan passed by the Texas Legislature. The U.S. Department of Justice successfully argued that this was a racial gerrymander that diluted Hispanic voting power, and a District Court redrew the districts to more equally reflect Hispanic voting strength in the region.^[4]

Texas's 27th congressional district, 1982^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Solomon Ortiz	66,604	64.02
	Republican	Jason Luby	35,209	33.84
	Libertarian	Steven Roberts	2,231	2.14
Total votes			104,044	100
	Democratic win (new seat)

References

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[12]

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