Texas's 13th congressional district is a

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts includ ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

that includes most of the Texas Panhandle, parts of

Texoma Texoma is an interstate region in the United States, split between Oklahoma and Texas. The name is a portmanteau of Texas and Oklahoma. Businesses use the term in their names to describe their intended service area. This includes 8 counties with ...

and northwestern parts of

North Texas North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...

. The principal cities in the district are Amarillo, Gainesville and

Wichita Falls Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita Counties. According to ...

. It winds across the Panhandle into the

South Plains The South Plains is a region in northwest Texas, United States, consisting of 24 counties. Counties The South Plains region includes 24 counties: The northernmost four (Parmer, Castro, Swisher, and Briscoe) also form part of the Texas Panhand ...

, then runs east across the

Red River Valley The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted ...

. Covering over , it is the 19th-largest district by area in the nation, the 14th-largest that does not cover an entire state, as well as the second-largest in Texas behind the 23rd congressional district. After the 2020 census was completed, the 13th district was heavily redrawn to incorporate Denton, an increasingly Democratic-leaning suburb of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex which had previously anchored the . With a

Cook Partisan Voting Index The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated PVI or CPVI, is a measurement of how partisan a U.S. congressional district or U.S. state is. This partisanship is indicated as lean towards either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, com ...

rating of R+24, it is one of the most Republican districts in Texas. The district has been represented in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

by Republican

Ronny Jackson Ronny Lynn Jackson (born May 4, 1967) is an American physician, politician, and former United States Navy officer who has served as the U.S. representative for since 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, his ...

since 2021, and previously by Republican

Mac Thornberry William McClellan "Mac" Thornberry (born July 15, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 13th congressional district from 1995 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Thornberry represented the ...

, from 1995 until his decision not to run for reelection in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

. The district's current configuration dates from 1973, when the Panhandle-based 18th district was merged with the Texoma-based 13th. The merged district contained more of the old 18th's territory. The Panhandle had been one of the first areas of Texas to break away from a

Solid South The Solid South was the electoral voting bloc for the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the Southern United States between the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the aftermath of the Co ...

voting pattern. While the region's voters began splitting their tickets as early as the 1940s (and actually elected a Republican during a 1950 special election), Democrats continued to hold most local offices, as well as most of the area's seats in the state legislature, well into the 1990s. As late as

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

won 33 of the 44 counties in the district, getting 60% to 70% of the vote in many of them. Since Thornberry's ouster of three-term Democrat

Bill Sarpalius William Clarence Sarpalius (; born January 10, 1948) is an American politician and lobbyist who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1989 to 1995. A Democrat, he represented , a large tract of land which stretched from the ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, however, a Democrat has only crossed the 30 percent mark in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Republicans now dominate at nearly every level of government, routinely winning by landslide margins when they face any opposition at all. By the turn of the millennium, there were almost no elected Democrats left above the county level. In

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

took just 18.5% of the vote in the 13th, his lowest percentage of any congressional district in the nation. In

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, it was

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

's second largest margin of defeat in a congressional district after . She received an even lower percentage than President Obama four years prior, gathering 16.9% of the vote compared to

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's 79.9%.

Recent election results from statewide races

Composition

For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities:https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd118/cd_based/ST48/CD118_TX13.pdf
/ref> Archer County (6) : All 6 communities Armstrong County (2) :

Claude Claude may refer to: People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Callegari (1962–2021), English Arsenal supporter * Claude Debussy (1862–1918), ...

, Washburn Baylor County (1) :

Seymour Seymour may refer to: Places Australia *Seymour, Victoria, a township ** Seymour railway station * Electoral district of Seymour, a former electoral district in Victoria * Rural City of Seymour, a former local government area in Victoria * Se ...

Briscoe County (2) : Quitaque, Silverton Carson County (4) : All 4 communities Childress County (1) : Childress Clay County (6) : All 6 communities Collingsworth County (4) : All 4 communities Cottle County (1) :

Paducah Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern United States at the confluence ...

Dallam County (2) : Dalhart (shared with Hartley County), Texline Deaf Smith County (1) :

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

Denton County (2) : Denton (part; also 26th),

Krum Krum (, ), often referred to as Krum the Fearsome () was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime between 796 and 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper a ...

Dickens County (2) :

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the great ...

Spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...

Donley County (4) : All 4 communities Foard County (1) : Crowell Gray County (4) : All 4 communities Hall County (4) : All 4 communities Hansford County (3) : All 3 communities Hardeman County (2) : Chillicothe, Quanah Hartley County (3) : All 3 communities Hemphill County (2) :

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

Glazier A glazier is a tradesperson responsible for cutting, installing, and removing glass (and materials used as substitutes for glass, such as some plastics).Elizabeth H. Oakes, ''Ferguson Career Resource Guide to Apprenticeship Programs'' ( Infoba ...

Hutchinson County (5) : All 5 communities King County (1) : Guthrie Knox County (4) : All 4 communities Lipscomb County (5) : All 5 communities Moore County (3) : All 3 communities Montague County (7) : All 7 communities Motley County (2) :

Matador A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activ ...

, Roaring Springs Ochiltree County (3) : All 3 communities Oldham County (4) : All 4 communities Potter County (3) : All 3 communities Randall County (8) : All 8 communities Roberts County (1) :

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Sherman County (2) : Stratford, Texhoma Wheeler County (4) : All 4 communities Wilbarger County (4) : All 4 communities Wichita County (6) : All 6 communities Wise County (6) : Alvord,

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

, Chico, Decatur (part; also

26th 26 (twenty-six) is the natural number following 25 and preceding 27. In mathematics *26 is the seventh discrete semiprime (2 \times 13) and the fifth with 2 as the lowest non-unitary factor thus of the form (2.q), where q is a higher prime. ...

Lake Bridgeport Lake Bridgeport is a city in Wise County, Texas, United States. The population was 339 in 2020. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.5 square mile (1.2 km2), all land. Climate The ...

, Runaway Bay

List of members representing the district

Election results

Often in recent years, the incumbent has either run unopposed or has only a third/fourth party candidate who is opposing them. Generally, the incumbent gets over 70% of the vote, even during years with huge opposition party pickups.

Historical district boundaries

References

Citations

General sources

* *

External links

Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{Coord, 34, 50, 16, N, 100, 35, 52, W, region:US_type:city_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title 13