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Texas, House of Representatives, District 54

Texas House of Representatives District 54
Current incumbentBrad Buckley Republican Party
Population167,736
Race47.6% White, 45.9% Black/Hispanic, 6.5% Other
Ethnicity79.9% Not Hispanic, 20.1% Hispanic
Voting age70.0% age 18 and over

Texas' fifty-fourth state house district is represented by Republican Representative Brad Buckley.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 167,736 civilians reside within Texas' fifty-fourth 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 54

Brad Buckley (R) defeated Kathy Richerson (D) in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 54 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Brad Buckley (R)
53.8
26,037

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Kathy Richerson (D)
46.2
22,357

Total votes: 48,394
Primary runoff election
Republican primary runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 54

Brad Buckley defeated incumbent Scott Cosper in the Republican primary runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 54 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Brad Buckley (R)
58.3
4,445

Scott Cosper (R)
41.7
3,185

Total votes: 7,630
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 54

Kathy Richerson advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 54 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Kathy Richerson (D)
100
3,838

Total votes: 3,838
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 54

Incumbent Scott Cosper and Brad Buckley advanced to a runoff. They defeated Larry Smith in the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 54 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Scott Cosper (R)
44.6
4,472

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Brad Buckley (R)
41.6
4,173

Larry Smith (R)
13.9
1,390

Total votes: 10,035

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 Jimmie Don Aycock (R) did not seek re-election.

Scott Cosper defeated Sandra Blankenship in the Texas House of Representatives District 54 general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 54 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Scott Cosper 54.84% 28,894
Democratic Sandra Blankenship 45.16% 23,794
Total Votes 52,688
Source: Texas Secretary of State

Scott Cosper defeated Austin Ruiz in the Texas House of Representatives, District 54 Republican primary runoff.

Texas House of Representatives, District 54 Republican Primary Runoff, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Scott Cosper 50.40% 2,494
Republican Austin Ruiz 49.60% 2,454
Total Votes 4,948

Sandra Blankenship defeated Lan Carter in the Texas House of Representatives District 54 Democratic Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 54 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Sandra Blankenship 71.53% 3,922
Democratic Lan Carter 28.47% 1,561
Total Votes 5,483

Scott Cosper and Austin Ruiz defeated Larry Smith in the Texas House of Representatives District 54 Republican Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 54 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Scott Cosper 41.73% 5,970
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Austin Ruiz 36.84% 5,270
Republican Larry Smith 21.43% 3,065
Total Votes 14,305

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 Jimmie Don Aycock was unopposed in the Republican primary and was unchallenged in the general election.

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. Incumbent Jimmie Don Aycock (R) defeated Claudia Brown (D) in the general election. Both candidates were unopposed in the primary elections.

Texas House of Representatives, District 54, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJimmie Don Aycock Incumbent 57.5% 26,910
Democratic Claudia Brown 42.5% 19,879
Total Votes 46,789

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 54 raised a total of $1,742,636. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $96,813 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas House of Representatives District 54

Year Amount Candidates Average
2014 $211,195 1 $211,195
2012 $404,943 2 $202,472
2010 $84,626 1 $84,626
2008 $131,252 1 $131,252
2006 $690,045 6 $115,008
2004 $100,320 2 $50,160
2002 $35,225 1 $35,225
2000 $85,030 4 $21,258
Total $1,742,636 18 $96,813