| Texas's 4th congressional district | |
|---|---|
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023 | |
| Representative | |
| Distribution |
|
| Population (2024) | 874,662[2] |
| Median household income | $99,301[2] |
| Ethnicity |
|
| Cook PVI | R+16[3] |
Texas's 4th congressional district of theUnited States House of Representatives is in an area ofNortheast Texas, that includes some counties along theRed River northeast of theDallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, as well as some outer eastern suburbs of the Metroplex.Austin College in Sherman, Texas is located within the district. As of 2017, the 4th district represents 747,188 people who are predominantly white (80.8%) andmiddle-class (median family income is US$56,062, compared to $50,046 nationwide).[2]It is currently represented byPat Fallon.
For the118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities:[4]
BowieCounty(2)
CollinCounty(6)
DeltaCounty(2)
DentonCounty(1)
FanninCounty(13)
GraysonCounty(19)
HuntCounty(3)
LamarCounty(10)
RainsCounty(4)
RockwallCounty(10)
Texas has had at least four congressional districts since the State's senators and representatives were re-seated in Congress after theCivil War.[5] The district's current configuration is dated from 1903. It has traditionally given its congressmen very long tenures in Washington; only six men have represented it since then.
Once a reliablyDemocratic district, the district swung rapidly into theRepublican column at the federal level as Dallas' suburbs spilled into the western portion of the district. In fact, it has not supported a Democrat for president since1964. However, as late as1996,Bill Clinton carried ten of the sixteen counties that are currently in this district; many of those counties were in the 1st district at the time. Additionally, conservative Democrats continued to hold most of the district's local offices well into the 2000s.
For many years, it was based inTyler, but a controversial 2003redistricting orchestrated by then-House Majority LeaderTom DeLay drew it and neighboringLongview out of the 4th district and into neighboring1st, which made it significantly more Republican. In the process, the 4th district was pushed slightly to the north, picking upTexarkana from the 1st district.
Ralph Hall, the one-time dean of the Texas congressional delegation, represented the district from 1981 to 2015. Originally a Democrat, he became a Republican in 2004. Hall's voting record had been very conservative—even byTexas Democratic standards—which served him well as the district abandoned its Democratic roots. By the turn of the century, he was the only elected Democrat above the county level in much of the district. He had been rumored as aparty switcher for some time, and many experts believed he would almost certainly be succeeded by a Republican once he retired.[citation needed]
In 2014, Hall was defeated in the Republican primary byJohn Ratcliffe, who had served as the formerUnited States Attorney for much of the 4th's territory, and was additionally the former mayor ofHeath—a city coincidentally located near Hall's hometown ofRockwall. No Democrat even filed, though by this time, the district had become so heavily Republican that any Democratic candidate would have faced nearly impossible odds in any event. Underlining just how Republican this district was, the Democrats have only managed as much as 30% of the vote once since Hall's party switch.
In January 2015, Ratcliffe took office, and became only the fifth person to hold the seat.[citation needed] He ran unopposed for reelection in 2016, and defeated a nominal Democratic challenger in 2018.[citation needed]
In May 2020, Ratcliffe resigned his seat ahead of his swearing-in to become the 6thDirector of National Intelligence.[6]
The district's best-known congressman wasSam Rayburn, the longtimeSpeaker of the House.[citation needed]
PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower was born in the fourth district.[citation needed]
After the 2012 redistricting process, a large portion ofCollin County had been removed, and replaced with the portion ofCass County that had been in Texas's 1st congressional district, all ofMarion County, and a large portion ofUpshur County.[7]
| Year | Office | Results[8] |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | President | McCain 66% - 33% |
| 2012 | President | Romney 71% - 29% |
| 2014 | Senate | Cornyn 75% - 25% |
| Governor | Abbott 71% - 29% | |
| 2016 | President | Trump 65% - 30% |
| 2018 | Senate | Cruz 63% - 37% |
| Governor | Abbott 68% - 31% | |
| Lt. Governor | Patrick 63% - 35% | |
| Attorney General | Paxton 62% - 36% | |
| Comptroller of Public Accounts | Hegar 65% - 32% | |
| 2020 | President | Trump 62% - 36% |
| Senate | Cornyn 64% - 34% | |
| 2022 | Governor | Abbott 66% - 33% |
| Lt. Governor | Patrick 64% - 34% | |
| Attorney General | Paxton 64% - 33% | |
| Comptroller of Public Accounts | Hegar 68% - 31% | |
| 2024 | President | Trump 65% - 33% |
| Senate | Cruz 63% - 35% |
| Year | Office | Results[9] |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | President | McCain 65% - 35% |
| 2012 | President | Romney 69% - 31% |
| 2014 | Senate | Cornyn 74% - 26% |
| Governor | Abbott 70% - 30% | |
| 2016 | President | Trump 61% - 34% |
| 2018 | Senate | Cruz 59% - 40% |
| Governor | Abbott 64% - 34% | |
| Lt. Governor | Patrick 59% - 39% | |
| Attorney General | Paxton 59% - 39% | |
| Comptroller of Public Accounts | Hegar 62% - 35% | |
| 2020 | President | Trump 58% - 40% |
| Senate | Cornyn 61% - 37% | |
| 2022 | Governor | Abbott 61% - 37% |
| Lt. Governor | Patrick 60% - 38% | |
| Attorney General | Paxton 60% - 37% | |
| Comptroller of Public Accounts | Hegar 64% - 34% | |
| 2024 | President | Trump 61% - 37% |
| Senate | Cruz 59% - 39% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ralph Hall (incumbent) | 182,866 | 68.2 | |
| Democratic | Jim Nickerson | 81,585 | 30.4 | |
| Libertarian | Kevin D. Anderson | 3,491 | 1.3 | |
| Total votes | 267,942 | |||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ralph Hall (incumbent) | 106,495 | 64.43 | |
| Democratic | Glenn Melancon | 55,278 | 33.34 | |
| Libertarian | Kurt G. Helm | 3,496 | 2.11 | |
| Total votes | 165,269 | |||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ralph Hall (incumbent) | 206,906 | 68.79 | |
| Democratic | Glenn Melancon | 88,067 | 29.28 | |
| Libertarian | Fred Annett | 5,771 | 1.91 | |
| Total votes | 300,744 | |||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ralph Hall (incumbent) | 136,338 | 73.18 | |
| Democratic | VaLinda Hathcox | 40,975 | 21.99 | |
| Libertarian | Jim D. Prindle | 4,729 | 2.53 | |
| Independent | Shane Shepard | 4,224 | 2.27 | |
| Total votes | 186,286 | |||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ralph Hall (incumbent) | 182,679 | 72.97 | |
| Democratic | VaLinda Hathcox | 60,214 | 24.05 | |
| Libertarian | Thomas Griffing | 7,262 | 2.90 | |
| Write-In | Fred Rostek | 188 | 0.08 | |
| Total votes | 250,343 | |||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Ratcliffe | 115,085 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 115,085 | |||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Ratcliffe (incumbent) | 216,643 | 87.99 | |
| Libertarian | Cody Wommack | 29,577 | 12.01 | |
| Total votes | 246,220 | |||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Ratcliffe (incumbent) | 188,667 | 75.7 | |
| Democratic | Catherine Krantz | 57,400 | 23.0 | |
| Libertarian | Ken Ashby | 3,178 | 1.3 | |
| Total votes | 249,245 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Pat Fallon | 253,837 | 75.1 | |
| Democratic | Russell Foster | 76,326 | 22.6 | |
| Libertarian | Lou Antonelli | 6,334 | 1.9 | |
| Independent | Tracy Jones (write-in) | 1,306 | 0.4 | |
| Total votes | 337,803 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Pat Fallon (incumbent) | 170,781 | 66.7 | |
| Democratic | Iro Omere | 79,179 | 30.9 | |
| Libertarian | John Simmons | 6,049 | 2.4 | |
| Total votes | 255,368 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Pat Fallon (incumbent) | 241,603 | 68.4 | |
| Democratic | Simon Cardell | 111,696 | 31.6 | |
| Total votes | 353,299 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||


| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Home district of thespeaker of the House September 16, 1940 – January 3, 1947 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Home district of thespeaker of the House January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1953 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Home district of thespeaker of the House January 3, 1955 – November 16, 1961 | Succeeded by |
33°18′19″N95°25′17″W / 33.30528°N 95.42139°W /33.30528; -95.42139