PHCC Legislative Update
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Texas Election Week Recap
The Republican Party continues to dominate elected positions in Texas following
Tuesday’s General Election. All statewide elected officeholders are Republicans; the
last Democrat elected statewide in Texas was former Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock
in 1994. Republicans slightly increased their majorities in both chambers and did not
lose any seats. Voters from the border counties, primarily Latino voters, turned out for
President Trump in historic numbers with 14 of the 18 counties within 20
miles of the Texas-Mexico border voting for Trump. This includes Starr County, which is
97% Latino, voting for a Republican candidate for president for the first time since 1896.
In the Texas Senate, freshman Democratic State Senator Morgan LaMantia lost to
Republican Adam Hinojosa in a close race in the Rio Grande Valley. Senator-Elect
Hinojosa will be the first Republican to represent this region since Reconstruction.
Hinojosa will join two other new senators in 2025: Democrat Molly Cook and Republican
Brent Hagenbuch. There will be twenty Republicans and eleven Democrats when the
legislature convenes in January.
Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives increased their majority by winning
two open seats currently held by Democrats. There will be 32 new members in
the Texas House. The House will be comprised of 88 Republicans and 62 Democrats.
The House Republican Caucus announced it will convene December 7th to endorse a
candidate for Speaker of the House. They conducted a similar meeting in 2022, but not
all Caucus members committed to casting their vote for the endorsed candidate; that
will likely happen again this year. The Caucus will also conduct elections for leadership
positions when they convene in December.
At an appearance in East Texas, Governor Greg Abbott reiterated his top priority in
2025 will be the passage of school choice legislation and he believes the votes are
there following Tuesday’s election results. The governor was successful in helping
defeat Republican incumbents in March who did not support this priority legislation in
2023.
