Texas' one hundred-seventeenth state house district is represented by Democratic Representative Philip Cortez.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 168,692 civilians reside within Texas' one hundred-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

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

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.

Philip Cortez defeated incumbent Rick Galindo in the Texas House of Representatives District 117 general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 117 General Election, 2016

Philip Cortez ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 117 Democratic Primary.
Incumbent Rick Galindo ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 117 Republican Primary.

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 Philip Cortez was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Rick Galindo defeated John Garza in the Republican primary. Cortez was defeated by Galindo in the general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 117 General Election, 2014

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. Philip Cortez (D) defeated incumbent John Garza (R) in the general election. Cortez defeated Tina Torres and Ken Mireles in the Democratic primary election. Cortez defeated Torres in the July 31 primary runoff. Garza was unopposed in the Republican primary election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 117, General Election, 2012

Texas House of Representatives District 117 Democratic Primary, 2012

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 117 raised a total of $4,511,325. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $214,825 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas House of Representatives District 117