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Texas, House of Representatives, District 139

Texas House of Representatives District 139
Current incumbentJarvis Johnson Democratic Party
Population175,733
Race13.9% White, 80.7% Black/Hispanic, 5.4% Other
Ethnicity40.1% Not Hispanic, 39.9% Hispanic
Voting age70.5% age 18 and over

Texas' one hundred thirty-ninth state house district is represented by Democratic Representative Jarvis Johnson, who won a 2016 special election prompted by the resignation of Democratic Representative Sylvester Turner.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 175,733 civilians reside within Texas' one hundred thirty-ninth 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 139

Incumbent Jarvis Johnson (D) defeated Shohn Trojacek (L) in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 139 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Jarvis Johnson (D)
92.8
37,159

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Shohn Trojacek (L)
7.2
2,887

Total votes: 40,046
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 139

Incumbent Jarvis Johnson defeated Randy Bates in the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 139 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Jarvis Johnson (D)
60.4
5,673

Randy Bates (D)
39.6
3,725

Total votes: 9,398
Republican primary election

No Republican candidates ran in the primary.

2016

General election

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 Jarvis Johnson ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 139 general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 139 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Jarvis Johnson Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 41,913
Total Votes 41,913
Source: Texas Secretary of State

Jarvis Johnson defeated Kimberly Willis in the Texas House of Representatives, District 139 Democratic primary runoff.

Texas House of Representatives, District 139 Democratic Primary Runoff, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Jarvis Johnson 52.95% 1,552
Democratic Kimberly Willis 47.05% 1,379
Total Votes 2,931

Kimberly Willis and Jarvis Johnson defeated Randy Bates and Jerry Ford in the Texas House of Representatives District 139 Democratic Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 139 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Kimberly Willis 32.14% 3,924
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Jarvis Johnson 28.56% 3,487
Democratic Randy Bates 25.13% 3,068
Democratic Jerry Ford 14.18% 1,731
Total Votes 12,210

Special election

A special election for the position of Texas House of Representatives District 139 was called for May 7. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7.

The seat was vacant following Sylvester Turner's (D) election to the Mayor of Houston in the November 2015 general election.

Jarvis Johnson (D) defeated Rickey Tezino (D) in the special election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 139, Special Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJarvis Johnson 83.1% 1,530
Democratic Rickey Tezino 16.9% 311
Total Votes 1,841

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 Sylvester Turner was unopposed in the Democratic 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 Sylvester Turner (D) defeated Sam Brocato (R) in the general election. Both candidates were unopposed in the primary elections.

Texas House of Representatives, District 139, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngSylvester Turner Incumbent 77.1% 39,022
Republican Sam Brocato 22.9% 11,604
Total Votes 50,626

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 139 raised a total of $3,922,744. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $490,343 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas House of Representatives District 139

Year Amount Candidates Average
2014 $888,828 1 $888,828
2012 $294,685 1 $294,685
2010 $360,685 1 $360,685
2008 $472,175 1 $472,175
2006 $378,530 1 $378,530
2004 $804,115 1 $804,115
2002 $544,278 1 $544,278
2000 $179,448 1 $179,448
Total $3,922,744 8 $490,343