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Texas, House of Representatives, District 48

Texas House of Representatives District 48
Current incumbentDonna Howard Democratic Party
Population173,008
Race66.5% White, 26.5% Black/Hispanic, 7.0% Other
Ethnicity77.3% Not Hispanic, 22.8% Hispanic
Voting age78.4% age 18 and over

Texas' forty-eighth state house district is represented by Democratic Representative Donna Howard.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 173,008 civilians reside within Texas' forty-eighth 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 48

Incumbent Donna Howard (D) won election in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 48 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Donna Howard (D)
100
67,952

Total votes: 67,952
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 48

Incumbent Donna Howard advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 48 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Donna Howard (D)
100
21,139

Total votes: 21,139
Republican primary election

No Republican candidates ran in the primary.

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 Donna Howard defeated Ben Easton in the Texas House of Representatives District 48 general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 48 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Donna Howard Incumbent 79.40% 60,512
Libertarian Ben Easton 20.60% 15,702
Total Votes 76,214
Source: Texas Secretary of State

Incumbent Donna Howard ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 48 Democratic Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 48 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Donna Howard Incumbent (unopposed)


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 Donna Howard was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Howard defeated Ben Easton (L) in the general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 48 General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDonna Howard Incumbent 78.1% 39,668
Libertarian Ben Easton 21.9% 11,126
Total Votes 50,794

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 Donna Howard (D) defeated Robert Dartanian Thomas (R) and Joe Edgar (L) in the general election. Howard was unopposed in the Democratic primary election. Thomas was unopposed in the Republican primary election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 48, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDonna Howard Incumbent 59.2% 46,512
Republican Robert Dartanian Thomas 35.5% 27,922
Libertarian Joe Edgar 5.3% 4,134
Total Votes 78,568

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 48 raised a total of $5,995,105. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $230,581 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas House of Representatives District 48

Year Amount Candidates Average
2014 $134,095 2 $67,048
2012 $549,380 3 $183,127
2010 $402,867 2 $201,434
2008 $327,434 3 $109,145
2006 $1,426,691 5 $285,338
2004 $1,304,620 2 $652,310
2002 $895,453 3 $298,484
2000 $954,565 6 $159,094
Total $5,995,105 26 $230,581