Texas' twenty-first state senate district is represented by Democratic Senator Judith Zaffirini.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 807,460 civilians reside within Texas' twenty-first state senate district. Texas state senators represent an average of 811,147 residents. After the 2000 Census, each member represented 672,640 residents.

About the office

Members of the Texas State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. One-half of the Senate membership is elected every two years in even-numbered years, with the exception that all 31 Senate seats are up for election for the first legislature following the decennial census in order to reflect the newly redrawn districts. After the initial election, the Senate is divided by lot into two classes, with one class having a re-election after two years and the other having a re-election after four years. Texas legislators assume office at the beginning of the legislative session (January).

Qualifications

To be eligible to serve in the Texas State Senate, a candidate must be:

• A U.S. citizen
• 26 years old before the general election
• A five-year resident of Texas before the general election
• A district resident for 1 year prior to the general election

Salaries

Pension

When calculating a legislators' pension, their normal salary is artificially inflated to $125,000. This goes back to 1981, when lawmakers linked their salaries to those of state judges. Since then, they raised judges' salaries while removing the caps on their own pensions, pushing the maximum benefit up to 100% of a judge's salary.

In 2011, this resulted in an average state employee pension of $17,526 annually. The maximum pension a legislator can earn is $125,000, of which Rep. Tom Craddick (R) will be the first to qualify for when he retires. .

Vacancies

If there is a vacancy in the senate, the Governor must call a special election to fill the vacant seat. A Governor's proclamation to a special election must be delivered to local elections authorities representing the vacant seat no later than 36 days before the scheduled election.

The Secretary of State can declare a candidate duly elected in a special election if there is no opposition.

Elections

2020

Elections for the office of Texas State Senate will take place in 2020. The general election will be held on November 3, 2020. A primary is scheduled for March 3, 2020, and a primary runoff is scheduled for May 26, 2020. The filing deadline was December 9, 2019.

2016

Elections for the Texas State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 14, 2015.

Incumbent Judith Zaffirini ran unopposed in the Texas State Senate District 21 general election.

Texas State Senate, District 21 General Election, 2016

Incumbent Judith Zaffirini ran unopposed in the Texas State Senate District 21 Democratic Primary.

2012

Elections for the office of Texas State Senate consisted of a primary election on May 29, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Judith Zaffirini (D) defeated Grant Rostig (R) and Joseph Morse (L) in the general election. Zaffirini was unopposed in the Democratic primary election. Rostig was unopposed in the Republican primary election. In 2012, a total of $1,500,926 was raised in campaign contributions. Zaffirini raised $1,499,561, Rosting raised $284, and Morse raised $1,081.

Texas State Senate, District 21, General Election, 2012

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2012, candidates for Texas State Senate District 21 raised a total of $6,471,647. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $539,304 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas State Senate District 21