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Texas, House of Representatives, District 85

Texas House of Representatives District 85
Current incumbentPhil Stephenson Republican Party
Population160,182
Race38.1% White, 53.2% Black/Hispanic, 8.7% Other
Ethnicity61.2% Not Hispanic, 38.8% Hispanic
Voting age70.8% age 18 and over

Texas' eighty-fifth state house district is represented by Republican Representative Phil Stephenson.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 160,182 civilians reside within Texas' eighty-fifth 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 85

Incumbent Phil Stephenson (R) defeated Jennifer Cantu (D) in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 85 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Phil Stephenson (R)
56.5
32,019

Jennifer Cantu (D)
43.5
24,668

Total votes: 56,687
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 85

Jennifer Cantu advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 85 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Jennifer Cantu (D)
100
4,437

Total votes: 4,437
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 85

Incumbent Phil Stephenson advanced from the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 85 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Phil Stephenson (R)
100
10,151

Total votes: 10,151

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 Phil Stephenson defeated John Davis in the Texas House of Representatives District 85 general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 85 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Phil Stephenson Incumbent 60.40% 35,594
Democratic John Davis 39.60% 23,334
Total Votes 58,928
Source: Texas Secretary of State

John Davis ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 85 Democratic Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 85 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png John Davis (unopposed)

Incumbent Phil Stephenson ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 85 Republican Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 85 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Phil Stephenson 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 Phil Stephenson was unopposed in the Republican primary, and Cynthia Drabek was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Drabek was defeated by Stephenson in the general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 85 General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngPhil Stephenson Incumbent 66.6% 19,215
Democratic Cynthia Drabek 33.4% 9,630
Total Votes 28,845

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. Phil Stephenson (R) defeated Dora Olivo (D) in the general election. Stephenson defeated Lee Duggan in the Republican primary election. Olivo was unopposed in the Democratic primary election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 85, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngPhil Stephenson 58.3% 28,626
Democratic Dora Olivo 41.7% 20,435
Total Votes 49,061

Texas House of Representatives District 85 Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngPhil Stephenson 53.3% 5,944
Lee Duggan 46.7% 5,208
Total Votes 11,152

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 85 raised a total of $10,346,855. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $574,825 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas House of Representatives District 85

Year Amount Candidates Average
2014 $164,304 2 $82,152
2012 $463,891 3 $154,630
2010 $1,451,777 3 $483,926
2008 $506,801 2 $253,401
2006 $1,268,006 3 $422,669
2004 $372,702 2 $186,351
2002 $4,722,489 2 $2,361,245
2000 $1,396,885 1 $1,396,885
Total $10,346,855 18 $574,825