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Lizzie Pannill Fletcher (D) defeated incumbent John Culberson (R) in the 2018 general election for Texas' 7th Congressional District.
All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. The Democratic Party gained a net total of 40 seats, winning control of the chamber. This race was identified as a 2018 battleground that might have affected partisan control of the U.S. House in the 116th Congress. Heading into the election, the Republican Party was in the majority holding 235 seats to Democrats' 193 seats, with seven vacant seats. Democrats needed to win 23 GOP-held seats in 2018 to win control of the House. From 1918 to 2016, the president’s party lost an average of 29 seats in midterm elections.
Culberson was first elected in 2000. He had last won re-election in 2016 by a margin of 12 percentage points. That year, Hillary Clinton (D) carried the 7th District, defeating Donald Trump (R) by a margin of 1 percentage point. The district is one of 25 districts that backed Hillary Clinton (D) and a Republican congressional candidate in 2016. No Democratic candidate had won election to represent the district since 1964. As of October 2018, two race ratings outlets rated the race Toss-up while a third rated it Tilts Republican.
Texas' 7th Congressional District, 2018
| Poll | Poll sponsor | Fletcher (D) | Culberson (R) | Undecided/Other | Margin of Error | Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The New York Times Upshot/Siena College (October 19-25, 2018) | N/A | 45% | 46% | 9% | +/-4.6 | 499 |
| Public Policy Polling (September 21, 2018) | Protect Our Care | 47% | 45% | 8% | +/-4.1 | 562 |
| The New York Times Upshot/Siena College (September 14-18, 2018) | N/A | 45% | 48% | 7% | +/-5.0 | 500 |
| Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (May 23-31, 2018) | N/A | 47% | 45% | 8% | +/-4.9 | 404 |
| TX-07, 2018 (Culberson vs. generic Democrat) | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Generic Democratic candidate | John Culberson (R) | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling (November 8-10, 2017) | 49% | 39% | +/-4.3 | 518 | ||||||||||
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lizzie Pannill Fletcher | Democratic Party | $6,226,877 | $6,184,825 | $42,067 | As of December 31, 2018 |
| John Culberson | Republican Party | $3,504,458 | $3,542,492 | $43,657 | As of December 31, 2018 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018.
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Texas from 2000 to 2016.
This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Texas every year from 2000 to 2016.
Election results (President of the United States), Texas 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 |  Donald Trump |
52.23% |  Hillary Clinton |
43.24% | 8.99% |
| 2012 | Mitt Romney |
57.17% | Barack Obama |
41.38% | 15.79% |
| 2008 | John McCain |
55.45% | Barack Obama |
43.68% | 11.77% |
| 2004 | George W. Bush |
61.09% | John Kerry |
38.22% | 22.87% |
| 2000 | George W. Bush |
59.30% | Al Gore |
37.98% | 21.32% |
This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Texas from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.
Election results (U.S. Senator), Texas 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | John Cornyn |
61.56% | David Alameel |
34.36% | 27.20% |
| 2012 | Ted Cruz |
56.46% | Paul Sadler |
40.62% | 15.84% |
| 2008 | John Cornyn |
54.82% | Richard Noriega |
42.84% | 11.98% |
| 2006 | Kay Bailey Hutchison |
61.69% | Barbara Ann Radnofsky |
36.04% | 25.65% |
| 2002 | John Cornyn |
55.30% | Ron Kirk |
43.33% | 11.97% |
| 2000 | Kay Bailey Hutchison |
65.04% | Gene Kelly |
32.35% | 32.69% |
This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2014. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Texas.
Election results (Governor), Texas 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Greg Abbott |
59.27% | Wendy Davis |
38.90% | 20.37% |
| 2010 | Rick Perry |
54.97% | Bill White |
42.30% | 12.67% |
| 2006 | Rick Perry |
39.03% | Chris Bell |
29.79% | 9.24% |
| 2002 | Rick Perry |
57.81% | Tony Sanchez |
39.96% | 17.85% |
This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Texas in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.
Congressional delegation, Texas 2000-2016
| Year | Republicans | Republicans (%) | Democrats | Democrats (%) | Balance of power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 25 |
69.4% | 11 |
30.6% | R+14 |
| 2014 | 25 |
69.4% | 11 |
30.6% | R+14 |
| 2012 | 24 |
66.7% | 12 |
33.3% | R+12 |
| 2010 | 23 |
71.9% | 9 |
28.1% | R+14 |
| 2008 | 20 |
62.5% | 12 |
37.5% | R+8 |
| 2006 | 19 |
59.4% | 13 |
40.6% | R+6 |
| 2004 | 21 |
65.6% | 11 |
34.4% | R+10 |
| 2002 | 15 |
46.9% | 17 |
53.1% | D+2 |
| 2000 | 13 |
43.3% | 17 |
56.7% | D+4 |
A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.
Texas Party Control: 1992-2019
Three years of Democratic trifectas • 17 years of Republican trifectas
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Demographic data for Texas
| Texas | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|
| Total population: | 27,429,639 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 261,232 | 3,531,905 |
| Gender | ||
| Female: | 50.4% | 50.8% |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 74.9% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 11.9% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 4.2% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.5% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 38.4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 81.9% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.6% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $53,207 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 19.9% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Texas. | ||
As of July 2016, Texas had a population of approximately 27,862,596 people, and its three largest cities were Houston (pop. est. 2.3 million), San Antonio (pop. est. 1.5 million), and Dallas (pop. est. 1.3 million).
