We visualized how underrepresented Texas women are in government. This year, it could change — but not by much.

By Darla Cameron and Alex Samuels May 25, 2018

As Texans head to the polls this fall, they are likely to see more women on the ballot than usual. Late last year, a surge of women filed for office, and many ended up securing the Democratic or Republican nominations.

But even if every woman running for state and federal office were to win in 2018, Texas women would still fall short of equal representation in their government, topping out at 44 percent of elected officials. And that scenario remains unlikely as many female candidates are running in challenging races.

Nevertheless, the surge in female candidates is likely to result in a record high percentage of women in Texas’ congressional delegation, the state Legislature and potentially statewide elected offices.

State executives

Congressional delegation

Texas Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick is the only woman among the current nine statewide elected officials* in Texas government. If the other three women running for those positions won, 44 percent of the executive branch would be women.

Among the two major parties' nominees in Texas, only men are running for U.S. Senate and 20 women are running for 18 seats in the U.S. House. If all of those women won, women would make up

47 percent of the state's delegation.

100%

47%

if all women

win in November

44%

if all women

win in November

WOMEN

1989

1999

2009

2019

1989

1999

2009

2019

Texas Legislature

"If all of the 79 women running as

Democrats or Republicans for the Texas House and Senate win this year, women would make up 44 percent of the legislature.

100%

44%

if all women

win in November

WOMEN

1989

1999

2009

2019

* Does not include elected judicial seats or State Board of Education.

Sources: U.S. House of Representatives, Texas Legislative Reference Library,

State Historical Association and Secretary of State

Congressional delegation

Among the two major parties' nominees in Texas, only men are running for U.S. Senate and 20 women are running for 18 seats in the U.S. House. If all of those women won, women would make up

47 percent of the state's delegation.

100%

47%

if all women

win in November

WOMEN

1989

1999

2009

2019

State executives

100%

44%

if all women

win in November

WOMEN

1989

1999

2009

2019

Texas Legislature

"If all of the 79 women running as

Democrats or Republicans for the Texas House and Senate win this year, women would make up 44 percent of the legislature.

100%

44%

if all women

win in November

WOMEN

1989

1999

2009

2019

* Does not include elected judicial seats or State Board

of Education.

Sources: U.S. House of Representatives,

Texas Legislative Reference Library, State Historical

Association and Secretary of State

State executives

Congressional delegation

Texas Legislature

Among the two major parties' nominees in Texas, only men are running for U.S. Senate and 20 women are running for 18 seats in the U.S. House. If all of those women won, women would make up

47 percent of the state's delegation.

If all of the 79 women running as

Democrats or Republicans for the Texas House and Senate win this year, women would make up 44 percent of the legislature.

100%

Women make up half the population of Texas

47%

if all women

win in November

44%

if all women

win in November

44%

if all women

win in November

WOMEN

1989

1999

2009

2019

1989

1999

2009

2019

1989

1999

2009

2019

* Does not include elected judicial seats or State Board of Education.

Sources: U.S. House of Representatives, Texas Legislative Reference Library, State Historical Association and Secretary of State

Even after an election year where a wave of women crashed the Texas primary runoff races, both the Republican and Democratic ballots heading into November will still be dominated by men.

There are some notable exceptions — Democrat Lupe Valdez is the first openly gay and first Latina candidate to win a major-party nomination for Texas governor.

But Texas still has ways to go before the state sees gender equality on the ballot, particularly in the 38-member congressional delegation.

"In Texas, if they go from having three congressional seats to having six or seven, that would be a significant and unprecedented win for women in any one election cycle,” said Kelly Dittmar, the project director for Gender Watch 2018. “That’s worth celebrating. But it’s also a reminder that they’re still highly underrepresented overall.”

Congressional delegation

The first woman elected to Congress from Texas was Lera Millard Thomas, a Democrat who in 1966 won a special election to succeed her late husband for the remainder of his term. Democrat Barbara Jordan was next, serving three terms starting in 1972 and becoming the first black woman elected to Congress from a southern state.

Over the past three decades, there have only been three Texas women elected to full terms in the U.S. House — Democrats Sheila Jackson Lee and Eddie Bernice Johnson and Republican Kay Granger. During the same time period, the state’s delegation in the lower chamber increased from 30 to 36 members.

The only Texas woman to serve in the U.S. Senate was Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison, who held her position from 1993 to 2013. She is now U.S. ambassador to NATO.

Representatives from Texas

U.S. Senators from Texas

Before Texas sent three women to the U.S. House in the 1990s, Barbara Jordan, who served in the 1970s, had been the only Texas woman elected to a full term.

Kay Bailey Hutchison, who previously served as state treasurer, remains the only woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas.

100%

50%

if all women

win in November

Hutchison

women

running

WOMEN

2019

2009

1999

1989

Sources: Texas State Historical Association and Secretary of State

U.S. Senators from Texas

Kay Bailey Hutchison, who previously served as state treasurer, remains the only woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas.

100%

Hutchison

women

running

2019

2009

1999

1989

Representatives from Texas

Before Texas sent three women to the U.S. House in the 1990s, Barbara Jordan, who served in the 1970s, had been the only Texas woman elected to a full term.

100%

50%

if all women

win in November

WOMEN

2019

2009

1999

1989

Sources: Texas State Historical Association

and Secretary of State

This year, 17 new Texas women secured a major-party nomination for a seat in Congress, and at least two are widely expected to win their races. Both former El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar and state Sen. Sylvia Garcia won their respective Democratic primary races in March in districts that heavily favor that party in the fall. If Garcia and Escobar both win in November, the total number of Texan women in the U.S. House will rise to five out of 36 seats.

"Democrats have nominated women in the two most competitive congressional races this election year, and that’s not a coincidence or an accident," said Jennifer Treat, the interim executive director at Annie’s List, which supports progressive women in Texas.

Eleven other women are running as Democrats against male Republican incumbents this cycle. In addition, the Democrat challenging Granger and the Republican vying to unseat Jackson Lee are both women. Jackson Lee’s challenger, Ava Reynero Pate, is the only female Republican from Texas other than Granger to win her party’s nomination for a congressional seat this year.

State executives

Texas has only had two female governors: Miriam “Ma” Ferguson, who held the office from 1925 through 1927 and again from 1933 to 1935; and Ann Richards, a Democrat, who served from 1991 through 1995.

Statewide officials

At most, three women have served at the same time in statewide non-judicial elected positions in Texas government. Two women — Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Susan Combs — have held multiple jobs.

100%

44%

if all women

win in November

Ann Richards

WOMEN

2019

2009

1999

1989

Sources: Texas State Historical Association and

Secretary of State

In the 2014 election, Democrat Wendy Davis challenged current Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for the governor’s seat. She lost the election, earning 39 percent of the vote. But this fall, Texans will have the option of voting for another female gubernatorial candidate: Valdez, who narrowly clinched the nomination Tuesday against Houston businessman Andrew White.

Valdez faces faces long odds against Abbott, a well-funded incumbent. But as she celebrated her runoff victory, Valdez said she was undeterred by these notions.

"Please tell me when I didn't have an uphill battle," she said.

No woman has ever been elected Texas attorney general, lieutenant governor or land commissioner. All three positions are traditional stepping stones to the governor’s mansion. No women are running for those seats this year. The Republican incumbents for state comptroller and agriculture commissioner have each drawn Democratic female challengers.

The only female incumbent currently in statewide elected office is Republican Christi Craddick, the chair of the three-member Texas Railroad Commission.

Legislature

Women currently hold 29 seats in the 150-member Texas House.

This year, 67 women from the two major parties are running in the lower chamber, including 24 incumbents. Even if all of them are victorious — which is unlikely — the membership of the Texas House will remain overwhelmingly male.

Following this year’s elections, at least 25 seats in the House are likely to be held by women, either because a female candidate is running unopposed, a female incumbent is favored to win re-election despite drawing a challenger or – in five House races – both the Republican and Democrat running for the seat are women. Another 83 seats are being vied for by men, leaving 42 still in play.

Texas House

Texas Senate

There were 37 women in the 150-member Texas House during the 2009-2011 session. The number has since dipped to 29, or 19 percent of seats.

The number of women in the Texas Senate has been at an all-time high of eight members out of 31 since 2013. Fifteen seats are on the ballot this year.

100%

39%

if all women

win in November

45%

if all women

win in November

1987: Judith Zaffirini is first Hispanic female senator

WOMEN

2019

2009

1999

1989

Sources: Texas Legislative Reference Library and Secretary of State

Texas Senate

The number of women in the Texas Senate has been at an all-time high of eight members out of 31 since 2013. Fifteen seats are on the ballot this year.

100%

39%

if all women

win in November

1987: Judith Zaffirini is first Hispanic female senator

WOMEN

2019

2009

1999

1989

Texas House

There were 37 women in the 150-member Texas House during the 2009-2011 session. The number has since dipped to 29, or 19 percent of seats.

100%

45%

if all women

win in November

WOMEN

2019

2009

1999

1989

Sources: Texas Legislative Reference Library

and Secretary of State

When the Legislature convenes for its next regular session in January, the Texas Senate could have at most 12 women serving in the 31-seat chamber. Four women are running for seats previously held by men, three of whom are Democrats challenging male Republican incumbents.

Three women are up for re-election in the Texas Senate this year. Republican Donna Campbell of New Braunfels faces a male challenger, while Republicans Konni Burton of Fort Worth and Joan Huffman of Houston are up against women. Republican Angela Paxton is also likely to join the Legislature next year. She won her GOP primary in Senate District 8 against Phillip Huffines, and is the favorite against Democrat Mark Phariss in a district that leans to the right.

The makeup of the Texas Senate next year could be complicated by Garcia’s bid for Congress — which, if successful, would prompt a special election to replace her.

Disclosure: Annie's List has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

Photo of Lupe Valdez by Marjorie Kamys Cotera; photo of Sylvia Garcia by Bob Daemmrich; photos of Veronica Escobar and Angela Paxton by Laura Skelding, all for the Texas Tribune.