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Texas, House of Representatives, District 26

Texas House of Representatives District 26
Current incumbentRick Miller Republican Party
Population160,091
Race44.3% White, 28.2% Black/Hispanic, 27.5% Other
Ethnicity83.6% Not Hispanic, 16.4% Hispanic
Voting age73.2% age 18 and over

Texas' twenty-sixth state house district is represented by Republican Representative Rick Miller.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 160,091 civilians reside within Texas' twenty-sixth state house district. Texas state representatives represent an average of 167,637 residents. After the 2000 Census, each member represented 139,012 residents.

About the office

Members of the Texas House of Representatives serve two-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Texas legislators assume office at the beginning of the legislative session (January).

Qualifications

To be eligible to serve in the Texas House of Representatives, a candidate must be:

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

Salaries

State legislators
SalaryPer diem
$7,200/year$190/day. Set by the ethics commission.

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 house, 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 House of Representatives 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.

2018

General election
General election for Texas House of Representatives District 26

Incumbent Rick Miller (R) defeated L. Sarah DeMerchant (D) in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 26 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Rick Miller (R)
52.4
34,504

L. Sarah DeMerchant (D)
47.6
31,330

Total votes: 65,834
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 26

L. Sarah DeMerchant advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 26 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

L. Sarah DeMerchant (D)
100
5,626

Total votes: 5,626
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 26

Incumbent Rick Miller advanced from the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 26 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Rick Miller (R)
100
9,908

Total votes: 9,908

2016

Elections for the Texas House of Representatives 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 Rick Miller defeated L. DeMerchant in the Texas House of Representatives District 26 general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 26 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Rick Miller Incumbent 57.86% 39,693
Democratic L. DeMerchant 42.14% 28,910
Total Votes 68,603
Source: Texas Secretary of State

L. DeMerchant ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 26 Democratic Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 26 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png L. DeMerchant (unopposed)

Incumbent Rick Miller ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 26 Republican Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 26 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Rick Miller Incumbent (unopposed)

2014

Elections for all 150 seats in the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on March 4, 2014. Those candidates who did not receive 50 percent or more of the vote in their party primary on March 4 faced an additional May 27 primary runoff. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was December 9, 2013. Incumbent Rick Miller was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Amber Paaso was unopposed in the Republican primary. Miller defeated Paaso in the general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 26 General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngRick Miller Incumbent 69.7% 25,458
Democratic Amber Paaso 30.3% 11,080
Total Votes 36,538

2012

Elections for the office of Texas House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on May 29, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. Rick Miller (R) defeated Vy Nguyen (D) in the general election. Miller defeated Jacquie Chaumette, Sonal Bhuchar, and Diana Miller in the Republican primary election. Miller defeated Chaumette in the July 31 primary runoff. Nguyen was unopposed in the Democratic primary election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 26, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngRick Miller 63% 38,541
Democratic Vy Nguyen 37% 22,662
Total Votes 61,203

Texas House of Representatives District 26 Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngRick Miller (advanced to runoff) 40.8% 5,997
Green check mark transparent.pngJacquie Chaumette (advanced to runoff) 26.9% 3,949
Sonal Bhuchar 20.7% 3,043
Diana Miller 11.5% 1,696
Total Votes 14,685

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 26 raised a total of $1,722,077. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $95,671 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas House of Representatives District 26

Year Amount Candidates Average
2014 $113,884 2 $56,942
2012 $622,370 5 $124,474
2010 $153,661 2 $76,831
2008 $306,534 3 $102,178
2006 $317,719 2 $158,860
2004 $110,302 1 $110,302
2002 $43,635 1 $43,635
2000 $53,972 2 $26,986
Total $1,722,077 18 $95,671