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Texas, House of Representatives, District 17

Texas House of Representatives District 17
Current incumbentJohn Cyrier Republican Party
Population163,480
Race51.9% White, 46.4% Black/Hispanic, 1.7% Other
Ethnicity61.7% Not Hispanic, 38.3% Hispanic
Voting age74.2% age 18 and over

Texas' seventeenth state house district is represented by Republican Representative John Cyrier.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 163,480 civilians reside within Texas' seventeenth 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 17

Incumbent John Cyrier (R) defeated Michelle Ryan (D) in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 17 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

John Cyrier (R)
62.6
33,522

Michelle Ryan (D)
37.4
20,069

Total votes: 53,591
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 17

Michelle Ryan advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 17 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Michelle Ryan (D)
100
5,412

Total votes: 5,412
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 17

Incumbent John Cyrier advanced from the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 17 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

John Cyrier (R)
100
11,613

Total votes: 11,613

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 John Cyrier ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 17 general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 17 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png John Cyrier Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 41,694
Total Votes 41,694
Source: Texas Secretary of State
Incumbent John Cyrier defeated Brent Golemon in the Texas House of Representatives District 17 Republican Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 17 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png John Cyrier Incumbent 64.54% 13,520
Republican Brent Golemon 35.46% 7,427
Total Votes 20,947

2015

Shelley Cartier (D), Ty McDonald (D), John Cyrier (R), Brent Golemon (R) and Linda Curtis (I) faced off in the special election on January 6, 2015. Since no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters, Cyrier and Golemon, met in a runoff election on February 17, which Cyrier won.

The seat was vacant following Tim Kleinschmidt's (R) resignation to become general counsel for Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.

A special election for the position of Texas House of Representatives District 17 was called for January 6, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was December 22, 2014.

Texas House of Representatives, District 17, Special Runoff Election, 2015

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Cyrier 52.1% 4,149
Republican Brent Golemon 47.9% 3,821
Total Votes 7,970

Texas House of Representatives, District 17, Special Election, 2015

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Cyrier 46.1% 3,520
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngBrent Golemon 24.5% 1,867
Independent Linda Curtis 13.7% 1,046
Democratic Ty McDonald 11.9% 907
Democratic Shelley Cartier 3.8% 291
Total Votes 7,631

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 Tim Kleinschmidt was unopposed in the Republican primary. Carolyn Banks was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Banks was defeated by Kleinschmidt in the general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 17 General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTim Kleinschmidt Incumbent 64.6% 22,737
Democratic Carolyn Banks 35.4% 12,459
Total Votes 35,196

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 Tim Kleinschmidt (R) defeated Colin J. Guerra (D) in the general election. Both candidates were unopposed in the primary elections.

Texas House of Representatives, District 17, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTim Kleinschmidt Incumbent 62.2% 31,055
Democratic Colin Guerra 37.8% 18,837
Total Votes 49,892

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 17 raised a total of $3,946,361. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $179,380 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas House of Representatives District 17

Year Amount Candidates Average
2014 $104,499 2 $52,250
2012 $129,003 2 $64,502
2010 $741,454 2 $370,727
2008 $1,464,153 3 $488,051
2006 $746,065 3 $248,688
2004 $444,126 7 $63,447
2002 $226,522 2 $113,261
2000 $90,539 1 $90,539
Total $3,946,361 22 $179,380