House Lineups for 2006

January 16, 2006

GOP Fields More Candidates in 2006 But House
Republicans Face More Opposition than Dems

By Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside Editor

Two out of every three Texas House Republicans who are seeking re-election will have to overcome primary opposition or a general election foe if not both to return to the Legislature in 2007, according to an analysis of the updated lineups for political races at the state level this year.

TEXAS 2006	R	D	L	I
Statewide	23	18	17	13
Congress	36	42	34	0
SBOE	9	4	4	0
Texas Senate	25	11	13	0
Texas House	171	142	121	6

While two-thirds of the House Republicans on the ballot in 2006 have to battle major party candidates, more than half the Democratic House incumbents who are vying for anothern term are either unopposed in both the primary and general elections or facing Libertarian or independent candidates with no Republican challenger to worry about this fall.

Republicans lead the way with 171 candidates contending for House seats compared to 142 Democrats and 121 Libertarians in 2006.

The GOP also has more candidates in state Senate races with 25 contenders for the upper chamber. But the Libertarian Party is second in that department, fielding 13 state Senate candidates this year compared to 11 for the Democrats.

The Democrats, however, have more candidates competing for seats in Congress from Texas with 42 U.S. House contenders compared to 36 Republicans and 34 Libertarians. The GOP has a total of 264 candidates in the running for legislative, congressional, statewide and State Board of Education posts this year. Democrats have fielded 217 candidates in those same races compared to a record 189 Libertarians on the ballot in Texas this year. The numbers will change Tuesday night when voters in northwest Austin select a replacement for former House member Todd Baxter in a special election earlier that day. The final lineups also could be affected by questions surrounding the eligibility of several House candidates in various parts of the state.

TEXAS HOUSE	R	D
State House Members Seeking Re-Election	76	60
No Primary or General Election Contest	10	13
No Primary But 3rd Party Fall Opposition	16	21
Primary Contest But No General Election Race	3	7
Primary Contest with 3rd Party Opposition in Fall	6	2
Major Party Opposition in Fall But No Primary	30	15
Primary and Major Party General Election Foe	11	2

A record number of Libertarian candidates in state House races held the number of incumbents with clear paths to re-election to only 23. Thirteen Democrats and 10 Republicans have no opposition at all in ther bids for re-election to the Legislature's lower chamber in 2006. Thirty-seven more incumbents - 16 Republicans and 21 Democrats - face only third party challenges on the road to new terms.

Eleven Republican incumbents and two of their Democratic colleagues will have to defeat primary foes as well as major party candidates in the general election in order to keep their House seats. The election will be over this spring for all practical purposes for seven Democrats and three Republicans who face competition in the primary but not in the general election. The situation will be reversed for 30 Republicans and 15 Democrats - who are unopposed in the March 7 primary before facing major party challenges in November.

A total of 34 Democratic incumbents and 26 House Republicans have clear sailing all the way or Libertarian and in some cases independent foes but no opponents from either major party in the fall. That means that 56 percent of the House Democrats who are seeking another term and 35 percent of the Republican members on the ballot again this year won't be facing members of their own party in the primary election or challengers from the other major party in the fall.

Fifty Republican incumbents - or 66 percent of the House GOP members up for re-election - will face primary challenges or Democratic opponents in the general election or both this year. Only 26 Democrats - or 43 percent of the minority party members who want to return to the House next year - have competition within their own party or face Republican challengers if they don't encounter opposition in both the primary and general elections in 2006.

Two Republicans - State Senators Bob Deuell of Greenville and Steve Ogden of Bryan - face primary challenges but don't have to worry about Democratic opponents if they survive round one as expected. Four members of the upper chamber - Republican State Senators Jane Nelson of Lewisville and Jeff Wentworth of San Antonio along with Democratic State Senators John Whitmire of Houston and Eliot Shapleigh of El Paso - have general election foes from the opposing political party but no primary competition. Democratic State Senator Frank Madla is the only member on the Capitol's east side with competition in the primary and general election if he gets past a March challenge from State Rep. Carlos Uresti.

Republican House members with primary foes and general election opponents if they're still in the running this fall include Republican State Reps. Dan Flynn of Van, Betty Brown of Terrell, Tommy Merritt of Longview, Jim Pitts of Waxahachie, Mike Krusee of Round Rock, Larry Phillips of Sherman, Dan Haggerty of El Paso, Delwin Jones of Lubbock, Kent Grusendorf of Arlington, Charlie Geren of Fort Worth and Joe Crabb of Atascocita. Two Democratic incumbents - State Reps. Dora Olivo of Rosenberg and Juan Escobar of Kingsville - have candidates gunning for their seats in both the primary and general elections as well.