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16 of the 31 seats in the Texas State Senate 16 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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  Republican hold Democratic hold Democratic gain Republican: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% ≥90% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elections in Texas |
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 Government |
The 2020 Texas Senate elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Texas voters elected state senators in 16 of the 31 state senate districts. The winners of this election served in the 87th Texas Legislature. State senators serve four-year terms in the Texas State Senate. Those elected in 2020 will only be elected for two years, however, as part of the 2-4-4 term system. A statewide map of Texas's state Senate districts can be obtained from the Texas Legislative Council.[1] and individual district maps can be obtained from the U.S. Census.[2]
Following the 2018 state senate elections, Republicans maintained effective control of the Senate with 19 members. To claim control of the chamber from Republicans, the Democrats would have needed to net four Senate seats.
The Democratic Party gained one seat (District 19), leaving the Republicans with an 18 to 13 majority in the chamber. This broke Republican's effective supermajority in the chamber, as legislation typically requires 19 votes, three fifths, to pass the chamber.[3] At the urging of lieutenant governor Dan Patrick, the senate voted to reduce this threshold to 18, just as he had done to reduce the threshold from 21 to 19 during the 2015 session.[4]
- ^ "State Senate Districts, 86th Legislature, 2019-2020" (PDF). Texas Legislative Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- ^ "Texas - State Legislative District Maps (Upper Chamber) - Geography". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- ^ Svitek, Patrick (December 2, 2020). "On Election Day, Republicans lost a critical advantage in the state Senate. Will Dan Patrick push to change the rules?". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ Samuels, Alex (January 14, 2021). "Texas Senate changes rules so Republicans can still bring bills to floor without Democratic support". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 8, 2024.