In increasingly diverse Texas, the Legislature remains mostly white and male

Every two years, The Texas Tribune compiles the demographics of the Texas Legislature. Every two years, the headline is the same.

Once again, the disparities between the makeup of the Legislature and the people they are elected to represent are stark: In a state where people of color are in the majority, almost two out of every three lawmakers are white. And not even a quarter of them are women.

Meet the 86th Legislature, starting with its newest members:

There are 27 new representatives:
17 Democrats and 10 Republicans

Michelle Beckley

Michelle Beckley Carrollton

Rhetta Andrews Bowers

Rhetta Andrews Bowers Rowlett

John Bucy

John Bucy Austin

Gina Calanni

Gina Calanni Katy

Sheryl Cole

Sheryl Cole Austin

Alex Dominguez

Alex Dominguez Brownsville

Jessica González

Jessica González Dallas

Vikki Goodwin

Vikki Goodwin Austin

Julie Johnson

Julie Johnson Carrollton

Terry Meza

Terry Meza Irving

Leo Pacheco

Leo Pacheco San Antonio

Ana-Maria Ramos

Ana-Maria Ramos Richardson

Jon Rosenthal

Jon Rosenthal Houston

Carl Sherman

Carl Sherman DeSoto

James Talarico

James Talarico Round Rock

John Turner

John Turner Dallas

Erin Zwiener

Erin Zwiener Driftwood

Steve Allison

Steve Allison San Antonio

Keith Bell

Keith Bell Forney

Brad Buckley

Brad Buckley Killeen

E. Sam Harless

E. Sam Harless Spring

Cody Harris

Cody Harris Palestine

Ben Leman

Ben Leman Iola

Mayes Middleton

Mayes Middleton Wallisville

Candy Noble

Candy Noble Lucas

Jared Patterson

Jared Patterson Frisco

Reggie Smith

Reggie Smith Van Alstyne

There are six new senators:
three Democrats and three Republicans

Beverly Powell

Beverly Powell Burleson

Nathan Johnson

Nathan Johnson Dallas

Carol Alvarado

Carol Alvarado Houston

Pat Fallon

Pat Fallon Frisco

Pete Flores

Pete Flores Pleasanton

Angela Paxton

Angela Paxton McKinney

More than half of the Legislature’s new members are men. But most of the new members are Democrats. Two of the newest members of the Senate — Democrat Carol Alvarado and Republican Pat Fallon — previously served in the House.

Notably, the addition of Democrats Julie Johnson, Jessica González and Erin Zwiener increased the number of legislators who identify as members of the LGBT community from two to five.

Two incoming House members are not listed above because they previously served in the House.

Only 168 women have ever been elected to the Texas Legislature

History of women in the Texas Legislature

150

In the House, there are

currently 114 men ...

100

The number of women

from both parties

peaked at 37 in 2009

50

There were

20 Republican

women in 2003

... and 33 women.

27 Democrats

6 Republicans

0

1981

1989

1999

2009

2019

30

In the Senate, there

are currently 22 men ...

... and 9 women.

3 Democrats

6 Republicans

0

1981

1989

1999

2009

2019

Note: Three seats in the House are vacant.

Sources: The Center for American Women and Politics and the Legislative Reference Library

History of women in the

Texas Legislature

150

In the

House,

there are

currently

114 men ...

100

The number of women

from both parties

peaked at 37 in 2009

50

There were

20 Republican

women in 2003

... and

33 women.

27 Democrats

6 Republicans

0

1981

1989

1999

2009

2019

30

In the Senate,

there are

currently

22 men ...

... and

9 women.

3 Democrats

6 Republicans

0

1981

1989

1999

2009

2019

Note: Three seats in the House are vacant.

Sources: The Center for American Women and Politics

and the Legislative Reference Library

Even if all of the 168 women who have been elected to the Texas House or Senate were alive today, they still would be unable to fill all 181 seats in the Legislature.

And though their overall count is growing, women remain incredibly outnumbered in the Texas Legislature— just 42 seats in the House and Senate are currently held by women.

The dearth of female legislators is most notable among the Republican ranks. GOP lawmakers control 102 seats in the Legislature but only 12 of those seats are filled by women. Republican women fare far better in the Senate, where they hold almost a third of the GOP-held seats. But their numbers have steadily dwindled in the House in recent years, dropping to six this year.

When House members were sworn in Tuesday, there were more men named “John” than there were Republican women.

The Legislature is far less diverse than Texas as a whole

People of color in the 86th Texas Legislature

People of color includes individuals who are black, Asian and Hispanic.

Democrats* in both chambers

80%

20%

People of color

White

Republicans in both chambers

4%

96%

People of color

White

Entire Legislature

36%

64%

People of color

White

All Texans

58%

42%

People of color

White

* One Democrat declined to disclose their race or ethnicity.

Note: Three seats in the House are vacant.

Sources: Texas Tribune survey of the Legislature, U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2017 estimates

People of color in the

86th Texas Legislature

People of color includes individuals who are

black, Asian and Hispanic.

Democrats in both chambers

80%

20%

People of color

White

Republicans in both chambers

4%

96%

People of color

White

Entire Legislature

36%

64%

People of color

White

All Texans

58%

42%

People of color

White

* One Democrat declined to disclose their race or ethnicity. Note: Three seats in the House are vacant.

Sources: Texas Tribune survey of the Legislature, U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2017 estimates

Strikingly, the Republican delegation in the Texas Senate this year will not be entirely white.

The GOP added to its modest legislative diversity with the election of Pete Flores, the first Hispanic Republican state senator. But the number of Republicans in the Legislature who are people of color actually dropped from five in the last legislative session to four this time around.

Meanwhile, Texas voters more than doubled the count of white Democrats in the Legislature, halting a years-long decline. Those gains were largely made in the GOP-held seats that flipped to Democratic control in November.

Overall, people of color — long a majority in the state — remain significantly underrepresented in the Legislature.

Age breakdown for the 86th Texas Legislature

Age 20-34

35-49

50-64

65 and older

Legislature

3%

39%

37%

20%

Texans age 20 and older

30%

28%

24%

17%

Note: The categories above reflect age categories used by the Census Bureau. The minimum age to serve in the

Legislature is 21. Three seats in the House are vacant. Numbers may not add up to 100 due to rounding.

Sources: Texas Tribune survey of the Legislature, U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2017 estimates

Age breakdown for the

86th Texas Legislature

Age 20-34

35-49

50-64

65 and older

Legislature

3%

39%

37%

20%

Texans age 20 and older

30%

28%

24%

17%

Note: The categories above reflect age categories used by the Census Bureau. The minimum age to serve in the Legislature is 21. Three seats in the House are vacant. Numbers may not add up to 100 due to rounding.

Sources: Texas Tribune survey of the Legislature, U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2017 estimates

Democratic freshman state Rep. James Talarico, 29, was sworn in on Tuesday as the youngest member of the Legislature, but he’s largely an outlier.

Overall, members of the Legislature are more likely to be older. In the House, the median age sits at 50 while in the Senate it’s at 58. There’s a 51-year difference between Talarico and Democratic state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, the longest-serving woman in state history, who just turned 80.

Despite the elections of Talarico and other young state representatives, the share of seats held by lawmakers aged 20 to 34 actually dropped compared to the last legislative session, while the share of seats held by senior citizens increased.

Education for the 86th Texas Legislature

No diploma

High school

Some college

Bachelor’s

Postgraduate or law

Legislature

3%

38%

58%

2%

Texans age 25 and older

16%

25%

29%

19%

10%

Note: Three seats in the House are vacant. One representative did not share their educational level.

Numbers may not add up to 100 due to rounding.

Sources: Texas Tribune survey of the Legislature, U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2017 estimates

Education for the

86th Texas Legislature

No diploma

High school

Some college

Bachelor’s

Postgraduate or law

Legislature

3%

38%

58%

2%

Texans age 25 and older

16%

25%

29%

19%

10%

Note: Three seats in the House are vacant. One representative did not share their educational level.

Numbers may not add up to 100 due to rounding.

Sources: Texas Tribune survey of the Legislature,

U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2017 estimates

A quarter of Texans ages 25 or older only have high school diploma, but a vast majority of legislators have a college degree. In the Legislature — where roughly one out of every three lawmakers is an attorney — most have postgraduate degrees.

Religion for the 86th Texas Legislature

39

19

Catholic

10

31

Baptist

8

30

Christian

6

10

Methodist

5

2

Unknown

Episcopalian

2

4

2

Presbyterian

Jewish

2

2

Lutheran

Other

1

Agnostic

1

Note: Three seats in the House are vacant.

Source: Texas Tribune survey of the legislature

Religion for the

86th Texas Legislature

Catholic

39

19

Baptist

10

31

Christian

8

30

Methodist

6

10

Unknown

5

2

Episcopalian

2

4

Presbyterian

2

Jewish

2

Lutheran

2

Other

1

Agnostic

1

Note: Three seats in the House are vacant.

Source: Texas Tribune survey of the Legislature

The religious beliefs of state representatives and senators often guide policymaking at the Capitol, where most lawmakers practice some form of Christianity.

More lawmakers identified as Catholic than any other denomination. One lawmaker said he was agnostic. Another lawmaker said she had no religious affiliation.