Texas' seventh state senate district is represented by Republican Senator Paul Bettencourt.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 809,277 civilians reside within Texas' seventh state senate district. Texas state senators represent an average of 811,147 residents. After the 2000 Census, each member represented 672,640 residents.

About the office

Members of the Texas State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. One-half of the Senate membership is elected every two years in even-numbered years, with the exception that all 31 Senate seats are up for election for the first legislature following the decennial census in order to reflect the newly redrawn districts. After the initial election, the Senate is divided by lot into two classes, with one class having a re-election after two years and the other having a re-election after four years. Texas legislators assume office at the beginning of the legislative session (January).

Qualifications

To be eligible to serve in the Texas State Senate, a candidate must be:

• A U.S. citizen
• 26 years old before the general election
• A five-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 senate, 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 State Senate 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

2014

Elections for 15 of the 31 seats in the Texas State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on March 4, 2014. 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. Paul Bettencourt defeated James Wilson in the Republican primary. Jim Davis ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Bettencourt defeated Davis and Whitney Bilyeu (L) in the general election.

Texas State Senate, District 7 General Election, 2014

2012

Elections for the office of Texas State Senate consisted of a primary election on May 29, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Dan Patrick (R) defeated Sam Texas (D) in the general election. Both candidates were unopposed in the May 29 primary elections. In 2012, Patrick raised a total of $692,044 in campaign contributions. Texas did not raise any money.

Texas State Senate, District 7, General Election, 2012

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas State Senate District 7 raised a total of $5,929,033. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $348,767 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas State Senate District 7