Royce Barry West (born September 26, 1952) is an American politician who serves as a member of the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per cons ...

, representing the

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

-based 23rd District.

Early life and education

Royce West, University of Texas at Arlington football player (10020849)

West was born in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in sociology from the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of Te ...

. As an undergraduate, he was initiated into the

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty advi ...

fraternity. West then earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Houston Law Center The University of Houston Law Center is the law school of the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1947, the Law Center is one of 12 colleges of the University of Houston, a state university. It is accredited by the American Bar A ...

Career

Politics

In 1986, West ran his first campaign for public office, losing his bid for Dallas County district attorney. His first successful political campaign was in 1992, when he ran for the

Texas Senate, District 23 District 23 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves a portion of Dallas county in the U.S. state of Texas. The current Senator from District 23 is Royce West. In 1914, it was made up eleven counties in South Texas, in ...

seat after the incumbent,

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 ...

, was elected to the

U.S. 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 ...

. From April 2006 to January 2007, West served as

president pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

of the Texas Senate. On November 18, 2006, West was Governor for a Day, a ceremonial title that honors the service of the president pro tempore. On July 22, 2019, West announced his candidacy for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in the 2020 election for the seat held by

John Cornyn John Cornyn III ( ; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the Senate majority whip for ...

. He finished second in the March 3 primary, but lost the July 14 runoff to

MJ Hegar Mary Jennings Hegar ('' née'' von Stein; born March 16, 1976) is an American United States Air Force veteran and former political candidate. In 2012, she sued the U.S. Air Force to remove the Combat Exclusion Policy. In 2017, she published the ...

Legal career

In addition to serving in the Texas Senate, West is a managing partner at the law firm West & Associates L.L.P. Part of his practice involves providing bond counsel and other legal services for public entities such as

Dallas Independent School District The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas (USA). It operates schools in much of Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and the seventeenth-largest in the U ...

, the

city of Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, and

Dallas Area Rapid Transit Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is a transit agency serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex of Texas. It operates buses, light rail, commuter rail, and high-occupancy vehicle lanes in Dallas and twelve of its suburbs. In , the system had a ...

. West's legal services have led to concerns over possible ethics violations in his Senate work due to a

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

Electoral history

Senator Royce West (44094605704) (cropped)

2018

2014

2012

2008

2004

2002

Royce West at UTA Distinguished Alumni Gala (10018381) (cropped)

1998

1994

1992

References

External links

Profile
at the

Royce West for Texas SenateProject Vote Smart - Senator Royce West (TX)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Royce West
2006200420021998
campaign contributions *

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:West, Royce 1952 births 21st-century American politicians African-American people in Texas politics Living people Politicians from Dallas Presidents pro tempore of the Texas Senate Democratic Party Texas state senators University of Texas at Arlington alumni University of Houston Law Center alumni Candidates in the 2020 United States Senate elections 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people