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Texas, State Senate, District 2

Texas State Senate District 2
Current incumbentBob Hall Republican Party
Population808,524
Race57.1% White, 39.4% Black/Hispanic, 3.5% Other
Ethnicity60.6% Not Hispanic, 39.4% Hispanic
Voting age72.1% age 18 and over

Texas' second state senate district is represented by Republican Senator Bob Hall.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 808,524 civilians reside within Texas' second 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

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 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

General election
General election for Texas State Senate District 2

Incumbent Bob Hall (R) defeated Kendall Scudder (D) in the general election for Texas State Senate District 2 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Bob Hall (R)
59.3
153,151

Kendall Scudder (D)
40.7
104,897

Total votes: 258,048
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 2

Kendall Scudder advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 2 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Kendall Scudder (D)
100
20,573

Total votes: 20,573
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 2

Incumbent Bob Hall defeated Cindy Burkett in the Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 2 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Bob Hall (R)
53.2
35,561

Cindy Burkett (R)
46.8
31,239

Total votes: 66,800
Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for Texas State Senate District 2

Thomas Gotcher advanced from the Libertarian primary for Texas State Senate District 2 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Thomas Gotcher (L)

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. Incumbent Bob Deuell and Bob Hall advanced to a primary runoff, defeating Mark Thompson in the Republican primary. Hall defeated Deuell in the May 27 runoff election. Don Bates ran as a Libertarian candidate. Hall defeated Bates in the 2014 general election.

Texas State Senate, District 2 General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngBob Hall 83.6% 99,925
Libertarian Don Bates 16.4% 19,626
Total Votes 119,551

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. Bob Deuell ran in the 2012 election for Texas State Senate District 2. Deuell ran unopposed in the May 29 primary election and was unchallenged in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012. Deuell raised $576,747 in campaign contributions.

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas State Senate District 2 raised a total of $10,228,825. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $511,441 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas State Senate District 2

Year Amount Candidates Average
2014 $1,800,025 4 $450,006
2012 $576,747 1 $576,747
2010 $752,445 3 $250,815
2008 $331,013 1 $331,013
2006 $750,779 3 $250,260
2004 $352,148 1 $352,148
2002 $2,075,511 3 $691,837
2000 $3,590,157 4 $897,539
Total $10,228,825 20 $511,441