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 The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

had thirty seats in the House, apportioned according to the 1990 United States Census. Texas underwent mid-decade redistricting as a result of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

case Bush v. Vera. The court had ruled that districts such as

District 18 A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

and District 30 were racially gerrymandered. 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. 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 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

. These elections produced an unusually high level of turnover due to the retirements of several representatives.

Overview

Congressional Districts

District 1

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

District 2

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

District 3

Incumbent Republican

Sam Johnson Samuel Robert Johnson (October 11, 1930May 27, 2020) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for in Congress from 1991 to 2019. He was a member of the Republican Party. In October and November 2015, he was the acting ...

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.

District 4

Incumbent Democrat Ralph Hall ran for re-election.

District 5

Incumbent Democrat

John Wiley Bryant John Wiley Bryant (born February 22, 1947) is an American politician who represented Texas's 5th congressional district in the 98th to 104th U.S. Congress. Early life and education Bryant was born in Lake Jackson, Brazoria County, Texas. F ...

retired to run for U.S. Senator. 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.

District 6

Incumbent Republican

Joe Barton Joseph Linus Barton (born September 15, 1949) is an American politician who represented in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 2019. The district included Arlington, part of Fort Worth, and several small towns and rural areas south ...

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.

District 7

Incumbent Republican

Bill Archer William Reynolds Archer Jr. (born March 22, 1928) is a retired American lawyer and politician. Archer served two terms, from 1967 to 1971, in the Texas House of Representatives – changing from the Democratic to the Republican party in 1969 � ...

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.

District 8

Incumbent Republican

Jack Fields Jack Milton Fields Jr. (born February 3, 1952) is a Texas businessman and a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from a Houston-based district. Early life Fields was born in Humble, a northern suburb of Hou ...

opted to retire rather than run for re-election. 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. No candidate received a majority of the vote, so a runoff was held on December 10.

District 9

Incumbent Republican

Steve Stockman Stephen Ernest Stockman (born November 14, 1956) is an American politician who is a member of the Republican Party and a convicted felon. He served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 9th congressional district from 1995 to 1997 and for Texa ...

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

District 10

Incumbent Democrat

Lloyd Doggett Lloyd Alton Doggett II (born October 6, 1946) is an American attorney and politician who is a U.S. representative from Texas. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented a district based in Austin since 1995, currently numbered as Tex ...

ran for re-election.

District 11

Incumbent Democrat

Chet Edwards Thomas Chester Edwards (born November 24, 1951) is an American politician who was a United States Representative from Texas, representing a district based in Waco, from 1991 to 2011. Previously, he served in the Texas Senate from 1983 to 1990. He ...

ran for re-election.

District 12

Incumbent Democrat

Pete Geren Preston Murdoch Geren, III, known as Pete Geren (born January 29, 1952) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 20th United States Secretary of the Army from July 16, 2007, to September 16, 2009. He is a Democratic former me ...

opted to retire rather than run for re-election.

District 13

Incumbent Republican Mac Thornberry ran for re-election.

District 14

Incumbent Democrat

Greg Laughlin Gregory Haines Laughlin (born January 21, 1942) is a politician from Texas. He is a former member of the United States House of Representatives. Early life and education Laughlin was born in Bay City, Texas, and was raised in West Columbia, T ...

switched his party affiliation to the Republican Party on June 26, 1995. He was defeated in the Republican Primary by former U.S. Representative

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as we ...

District 15

Incumbent Democrat

Kika de la Garza Eligio "Kika" de la Garza II (September 22, 1927March 13, 2017) was an American politician who served as the Democratic representative for the 15th congressional district of Texas from January 3, 1965, to January 3, 1997. Biography De la Garza ...

opted to retire rather than run for re-election.

District 16

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

District 17

Incumbent Democrat Charles Stenholm ran for re-election.

District 18

Incumbent Democrat

Sheila Jackson Lee Sheila Jackson Lee (born January 12, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who is the U.S. representative for , having served since 1995. The district includes most of central Houston. She is a member of the Democratic Party, and served ...

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.

District 19

Incumbent Republican

Larry Combest Larry Ed Combest (born March 20, 1945) is a retired American Republican politician who represented Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 2003. Early life Combest was born in Memphis, Texas, a small town in West Texas and the s ...

ran for re-election.

District 20

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

District 21

Incumbent Republican

Lamar Smith Lamar Seeligson Smith (born November 19, 1947) is an American politician and lobbyist who served in the United States House of Representatives for for 16 terms, a district including most of the wealthier sections of San Antonio and Austin, as ...

ran for re-election.

District 22

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.

District 23

Incumbent Republican Henry Bonilla ran for re-election.

District 24

Incumbent Democrat

Martin Frost Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

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.

District 25

Incumbent Democrat

Ken Bentsen Kenneth Edward Bentsen Jr. (born June 3, 1959) is an American lobbyist and former politician from Texas, serving four terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003. He is the nephew of former senator and secretary of the ...

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

District 26

Incumbent Republican

Dick Armey Richard Keith Armey (; born July 7, 1940) is an American economist and politician. He was a U.S. Representative from Texas's (1985–2003) and House Majority Leader (1995–2003). He was one of the engineers of the "Republican Revolution" of t ...

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.

District 27

Incumbent Democrat

Solomon Ortiz Solomon Porfirio Ortiz (born June 3, 1937) is an American former politician who served as the U.S. representative for , based in Corpus Christi, serving from 1983 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. In 2010, Ortiz was narrowly de ...

ran for re-election.

District 28

Incumbent Democrat

Frank Tejeda Frank Mariano Tejeda (October 2, 1945 – January 30, 1997) was a decorated United States Marine and an American Democratic politician from Texas. He served in the Texas House of Representatives (1976–1987), the Texas Senate (1987–1993), and ...

ran for re-election.

District 29

Incumbent Democrat

Gene Green Raymond Eugene Green (born October 17, 1947) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for , serving for 13 terms. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His district included most of eastern Houston, including portions ...

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.

District 30

Incumbent Democrat

Eddie Bernice Johnson Eddie Bernice Johnson (born December 3, 1935) is an American politician who represents Texas's in the United States House of Representatives. Johnson is a member of the Democratic Party. Elected in 1992, Johnson was the first registered nurse ...

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. *Includes one

write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be pos ...

vote

References

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1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

1996 Texas elections