Texas's 25th congressional district
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative	Roger Williams R–Weatherford
Distribution	67.47% urban[1] 32.53% rural
Population (2024)	826,421[2]
Median household income	$80,242[2]
Ethnicity	58.4%White 21.8%Hispanic 11.7%Black 3.9%Two or more races 3.4%Asian 0.9% other
Cook PVI	R+18[3]

Texas's 25th congressional district of theUnited States House of Representatives stretches fromArlington andFort Worth to some of its outer southwestern suburbs, as well as rural counties east ofAbilene. The district's current Representative isRoger Williams.

The 25th district was created as a result of theredistricting cycle after the1980 census. The district was originally anchored in the southern parts ofHouston andHarris County, including theTexas Medical Center, theAstrodome,Astroworld and the southern shores of theHouston Ship Channel, as well asRice University,Hobby Airport andEllington Field. An economically and racially diverse district that narrowly favoredRonald Reagan in 1980,^[4] the 25th encompassed such a diverse collection of Houston neighborhoods including both the middle-class suburban neighborhoods ofWestbury andMeyerland in southwest Houston (the latter also being the center of Houston's Jewish community) andPark Place andGlenbrook Valley in southeast Houston, the majority African-American neighborhoods ofSunnyside andSouth Park in southern Houston and Harris County, and much of southeast Harris County including northern parts of theClear Lake City master-planned community in southeast Houston and such working-class suburbs asPasadena,Deer Park,La Porte andSeabrook.

Much of this area previously comprised the northern half of the previous22nd district represented by conservative RepublicanRon Paul, and at the time was largely prosperous as Houston continued to benefit from the oil boom of the previous decade that resulted in thousands moving to the Houston area during this time, as well as from growing medical and space industry sectors that benefited respectively from both the increased prominence of the Med Center and the launch of theSpace Shuttle program. In the 1980 election, Paul narrowly defeated former Harris County assistant district attorneyMike Andrews in his 1980 reelection to a second full term, largely on the basis of his strong support in the then-emerging Republican stronghold ofFort Bend County as well as his home county ofBrazoria.

While Paul's 22nd district was redrawn into a heavily Republican seat comprising the aforementioned emerging suburban counties, along with a largely Republican section of southwest Houston and Harris County along the Southwest Freeway (what eventually becameInterstate 69) extending as far east asGreenway Plaza, that he would easily win reelection in 1982, the new 25th took in much of the former 22nd's Democratic-leaning Harris County portion. In the 1982 election, Andrews was the Democratic nominee for the new district against Republican attorney Mike Faubion, winning 60.4 percent of the vote in a district whose voters largely favored President Reagan's economic program but otherwise favored abortion rights and defense spending.^[4] Despite Reagan narrowly winning the district in 1984, Andrews easily won a second term with 64 percent of the vote over futurestate senator andTexas Land CommissionerJerry Patterson, which would be the closest the district came to being competitive in its original iteration, as the district was hit hard by the impact of the1980s oil glut that deeply affected Houston's economy, including plummeting real estate values, rising crime numbers and dramatic racial shifts in parts of the district where Anglo residents moved out to suburban areas south of the city includingSugar Land,Pearland,Missouri City andFriendswood. Andrews would only face Republican opposition once more in this version of the district, winning 71 percent of the vote in 1988 despite his district only narrowly favoringMichael Dukakis (whose running mate was Texas U.S. Senator and Houston residentLloyd Bentsen) over adopted son and Vice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush with over 51 percent of the vote.

The 25th district was radically altered in the 1992 and 1994 elections, with many majority Black and Hispanic precincts moved into the18th district of DemocratCraig Washington and the new majority-Hispanic29th district that would be won by Anglo DemocratGene Green, respectively. The new district would take a combination of mostly white moderate and working-class communities in southwest and southeast Houston as well as southern and eastern Harris County, including most of Pasadena,Baytown andChannelview along with the Texas Medical Center, along with an eastern spur of Fort Bend County including a mostly Black southwest section of the city of Houston. In this new iteration, Andrews would face his toughest reelection to date in 1992 against Republican challenger Dolly Madison McKenna, who polled 41.4 percent of the vote to 56 percent for Andrews. After Andrews vacated the seat to make an unsuccessful run for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 1994 against RepublicanKay Bailey Hutchison, Democratic investment bankerKen Bentsen, a nephew of Lloyd Bentsen (who by this time was serving asSecretary of the Treasury underBill Clinton), won the seat in a close race with 52.3 percent of the vote against Republican opponent Gene Fontenot who polled 45 percent.

After the 18th and 29th districts were struck down by the Supreme Court inBush v. Vera as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander in 1996, the 25th would be altered into a more compact district that stayed entirely within Harris County, stretching from theWestchase andAlief areas of southwest Houston, through southern parts of Houston and Harris County, and traveling all the way to the eastern parts of the Houston Ship Channel and Harris County, while encompassing such suburbs as upper-middle classBellaire andWest University Place in the west and working-class Baytown and Pasadena in the east. In the 1996 special election (conducted as such as the 1996 primaries had already taken place when the districts were struck down), Bentsen would go on to win over 57 percent of the vote against Mike Andrews' 1992 opponent, Dolly Madison McKenna, despite Clinton only narrowly winning the district at the presidential level with under 51 percent of the vote.

The contest by McKenna would mark the beginning of a series of competitive but underdog Republican challenges for the seat over four cycles; in 1998 Bentsen would win 58 percent against Republican challenger John Sanchez, while in 2000 he polled 60 percent against Republican Phil Sudan despite the district only giving a plurality of the vote toAl Gore over native son and Texas GovernorGeorge W. Bush (son of former President George H.W. Bush). After Bentsen retired to make an unsuccessful run for the Democratic nomination for the open U.S. Senate of retiring RepublicanPhil Gramm in 2002, formerHouston City Council memberChris Bell defeated Republican Tom Reiser with less than 55 percent of the vote in a district that now stretched from the affluentRiver Oaks neighborhood west of downtown Houston to much of southwest and southeast Houston, along with all or parts of many of the same working-class suburbs east of Houston that had been in previous iterations of the 25th including southern parts of Pasadena and most of Baytown,Highlands and La Porte.

In 2003, after Republicans gained control of theTexas House of Representatives for the first time sinceReconstruction, the new Republican majority (with outside assistance from then-U.S. House Majority LeaderTom DeLay from the neighboring 22nd district, where he had succeeded Ron Paul in 1984)radically altered the state's congressional map. The old 25th essentially became the 9th district, though Bell's home was drawn into the heavily Republican7th district. Bell ultimately sought reelection the following year in the new 9th where he lost to fellow DemocratAl Green in the Democratic primary,

A new 25th was created in an area stretching fromMcAllen, in theRio Grande Valley at theU.S.-Mexico border, all the way to a heavily Democratic southeastern portion ofAustin. It was informally referred to by political pundits and the Texas press as "the fajita strip".

The new district would be won by incumbent DemocratLloyd Doggett, who had previously represented the neighboring 10th district since being elected in 1994. That district had been stretched to several heavily Republican suburbs and rural areas west of Houston. In June 2006, theUS Supreme Court ruled that the nearby 23rd District, represented by RepublicanHenry Bonilla, violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, since the 2003 redistricting replaced the Latino-centered city ofLaredo with more Anglo-centered communities in northwestSan Antonio and the westernTexas Hill Country, making Hispanics a minority in that district. It determined that the 25th was not a sufficient replacement for the 23rd, since it wasn't compact enough and the two Hispanic communities (McAllen and Austin), were over 300 miles apart. This ruling led to both seats, as well as the 28th, 15th, and 21st Congressional Districts being redrawn. The 2006 redrawing had the 25th district now stretching from most of central and southeast Austin to several heavily Republican rural counties southeast of Austin (see below); Doggett nonetheless won reelection in 2006 and 2008 with little difficulty. However, in 2010 Doggett faced his toughest reelection, winning 53 percent of the vote against Republican physician and future state senatorDonna Campbell.

In July 2011, Texas GovernorRick Perry signed into law a redistricting plan ("C185"), approved by the Texas legislature in June, which gave the 25th district a completely different geography for the 2012 elections, including part ofTravis County, and stretching as far north asJohnson County, south of Fort Worth, withFort Hood situated in the geographic heart of the district. The redistricting split Travis County into five districts, four of which (the 10th, 17th, 21st and 25th) were heavily Republican. As a result, the only realistic place for Lloyd Doggett to run in was the new35th district (which by weight of population is more of a San Antonio district than an Austin district); Doggett nonetheless won reelection in the new 35th which was by far the most Democratic of all the districts now serving Travis County. FormerTexas Secretary of State and auto dealerRoger Williams, who had previously been a candidate for the U.S. Senate as early as 2010 whileKay Bailey Hutchison was still serving (she would eventually retire the following year and would be succeeded in 2012 byTed Cruz), ultimately won a crowded Republican primary and would go on to win comfortable margins or better in a district where Democrats were only competitive in the western Travis County portion of the district (which includes some of the most Republican areas in the county including much of the area surroundingLake Travis;Mitt Romney won 60 percent of the vote in the new district in 2012.

As the 2010s progressed, fast-growing Austin and Travis County became even more Democratic than they already were, withDonald Trump's nationwide struggles with suburban voters beginning to impact Republican candidates both in presidential and in midterm elections. As a result, Williams and other Republican congressional nominees in Travis County faced increasingly competitive elections later in the decade. His closest reelection came in 2018, when Williams won 53.5 percent of the vote against Democratic challenger Julie Oliver and would go on to win less than 56 percent in a rematch with Oliver, as the district gave 55 percent of the vote toDonald Trump in 2016 and 2020 (with Trump losing the Travis County portion by large margins). For a number of years, there was a consolidated lawsuit against the redistricting;^[5][6] in March 2017, a panel of federal judges ruled that the new 35th district and two others were illegally drawn with discriminatory intent.^[7] However, the district was allowed to stand in the Supreme Court's 2018Abbott v. Perez ruling.

For the 2022 election, the 25th was redrawn into a district anchored in the southwest corner of theDallas-Fort Worth metroplex, including a southern portion of Tarrant County encompassing most of Arlington includingAT&T Stadium,Globe Life Field andSix Flags Over Texas, as well as most or all of several rural counties between the Metroplex andAbilene. Donald Trump won less than 65 percent of the vote in this new district, with only the Tarrant County portion considered competitive. Roger Williams won reelection unopposed in the new 25th district, which includesWeatherford where he owns an automobile dealership.

For the118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities:^[10]

CallahanCounty(4)

Baird,Clyde (part; also19th),Cross Plains,Putnam

ComancheCounty(5)

All 5 communities

EastlandCounty(6)

All 6 communities

ErathCounty(5)

All 5 communities

HoodCounty(9)

All 9 communities

JackCounty(3)

All 3 communities

JohnsonCounty(11)

Briaroaks,Burleson (part; also6th; shared with Tarrant County),Cleburne,Coyote Flats (part; also6th),Cresson (shared with Hood and Johnson counties),Cross Timber,Fort Worth (part; also12th,24th,26th, and33rd; shared withDenton,Parker, Tarrant, andWise counties),Godley,Joshua,Keene (part; also6th),Rio Vista

Palo PintoCounty(8)

All 8 communities

ParkerCounty(9)

Aledo (part; also12th),Annetta North (part; also12th),Cresson (shared with Hood and Johnson counties),Dennis,Fort Worth (part; also12th,24th,26th, and33rd; shared withDenton,Johnson, Tarrant, andWise counties),Horseshoe Bend,Weatherford (part; also12th),Western Lake,Willow Park (part; also12th)

StephensCounty(1)

Breckenridge

SomervellCounty(1)

Glen Rose

TarrantCounty(12)

Arlington (part; also6th,30th, and33rd),Burleson (part; also6th; shared with Johnson County),Crowley (part; also12th),Dalworthington Gardens,Edgecliff Village,Forest Hill (part; also33rd),Fort Worth (part; also12th,24th,26th, and33rd; shared withDenton,Johnson, Parker, andWise counties),Grand Prairie (part; also6th and33rd; shared withDallas andEllis counties),Kennedale,Mansfield (part; also6th),Pantego,Rendon

YoungCounty(4)

All 4 communities

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	District location
District established January 3, 1983
Michael A. Andrews (Houston)	Democratic	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1995	98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd	Elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Retired torun for U.S. senator.	1983–1985 [data missing]
					1985–1993 [data missing]
					1993–1997 Parts ofFort Bend andHarris
Ken Bentsen Jr. (Houston)	Democratic	January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003	104th 105th 106th 107th	Elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Retired torun for U.S. senator.
					1997–2003 Parts ofHarris
Chris Bell (Houston)	Democratic	January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005	108th	Elected in 2002. Redistricted to the9th district and lost renomination.	2003–2005 Parts ofFort Bend andHarris
Lloyd Doggett (Austin)	Democratic	January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2013	109th 110th 111th 112th	Redistricted from the10th district andre-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Redistricted to the35th district.	2005–2007 Caldwell,Duval,Gonzales,Jim Hogg,Karnes,Live Oak, andStarr; parts ofHidalgo andTravis
					2007–2013 Caldwell,Colorado,Fayette,Gonzales,Hays andLavaca; parts ofBastrop andTravis
Roger Williams (Weatherford)	Republican	January 3, 2013 – present	113th 114th 115th 116th 117th 118th 119th	Elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. Re-elected in 2024.	2013–2023 Bosque,Burnet,Coryell,Hamilton,Hill,Johnson,Lampasas, andSomervell; parts ofBell,Erath,Hays,Tarrant, andTravis[11]
					2023–present Callahan (part),Comanche,Eastland,Erath,Hood,Jack,Johnson (part),Palo Pinto,Parker (part),Somervell,Stephens,Tarrant (part), andYoung[12]

On June 28, 2006, theU.S. Supreme Court declared that theTexas legislature's2003 redistricting plan violated theVoting Rights Act in the case of the 23rd district. The main basis for the ruling was that the old 23rd was a protected majority-Hispanic district—in other words, if the 23rd was redrawn in a way to put Hispanics in a minority, a new majority-Hispanic district had to be created. Since the 25th was not compact enough to be an acceptable replacement, the 23rd had to be struck down. The size of the 23rd required the redrawing of nearly every district fromEl Paso toSan Antonio.

As a result, on August 4, 2006, a three-judge panel announced replacement district boundaries for 2006 election for the 23rd district, as well as for the 15th, 21st, 25th and 28th districts. On election day in November, these five districts held open primaries; if any candidate received over 50%, they were elected. Otherwise, a runoff election in December decided the seat.^[13]

The redrawn 25th was more compact and restricted to Central Texas, comprising more ofTravis County, most ofBastrop County, and all ofHays,Caldwell,Fayette,Gonzales,Lavaca, andColorado Counties.[1]

Incumbent congressman Doggett facedRepublicanGrant Rostig (formerly the Libertarian nominee), independent candidateBrian Parrett, andLibertarian Party Barbara Cunningham, and won re-election.

In the 2008 election Doggett faced Republican George Morovich, a structural engineer fromLa Grange and Libertarian Jim Stutsman, a retired Army veteran. Doggett won with 65.8% of the vote to Morovich's 30.5% and Stutsman's 3.7%. Doggett won 73.8% of the vote in his Austin-based stronghold of Travis County.

Dogget faced Republican and "Tea Party favorite" Donna Campbell, and again held his seat, though by a surprisingly small margin.^[14]

The new district boundaries were more favorable to Republicans, as had been foreseen.

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989).The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–presentArchived April 23, 2010, at theWayback Machine

31°30′03″N97°48′57″W / 31.50083°N 97.81583°W /31.50083; -97.81583

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