1978 Texas Senate election

← 1976 November 7, 1978 1980 →
15 of the 31 seats in theTexas Senate 16 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 28 3 Seats before 27 4 Seats won 27 4 Seat change Popular vote 637,452 149,855 Percentage 80.46% 18.92% Swing 8.21% 8.75%
Senate results by district      Democratic hold     Republican hold      No election
President Pro Tempore before election Democratic ElectedPresident Pro Tempore Democratic

The1978 Texas Senate elections took place as part of thebiennialUnited States elections. Texas voters elected state senators 15 of the 31State Senate districts. The winners of this election served in the66th Texas Legislature for four-year terms.

Democrats had controlled theTexas Senate since the1872 elections.^[1] Long a part of theSolid South, Republicans had gained a foothold in the state in the past two decades, electing U.S. SenatorJohn Tower in1961 and electingRichard Nixon with 66% of the vote in1972, but these gains rarely made much impact in downballot, local races. Democrats had controlled every statewide office since the end ofReconstruction and controlled largesupermajorities in thelegislature. Even these small numbers were an improvement from the past two decades, however, such as after the 1964 election when they held a single seat in theHouse and none in the Senate.^[2]

1977 31st district special election

← 1976 December 10, 1977 1980 →

Nominee Bob Price Bob Simpson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 15,199 14,958 Percentage 50.40% 49.60%

County results Price:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Simpson:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Texas Senator before election Max Sherman Democratic Party Elected Texas Senator Bob Price Republican Party

DemocratMax Sherman resigned in September 1977, and a special election was called, to be held concurrently with the November general election. No candidate received a majority of the vote, so a runoff was held in December.^[3] Former Republican CongressmanBob Price narrowly won the runoff, flipping the seat.^[4]

Despite theupset victory of RepublicanBill Clements in theconcurrent gubernatorial election, Republicans made no gains in the chamber. They held the one seat the controlled prior to the election and flipped no others. Combined with their special election victory inDistrict 31, they entered the66th Legislature with four members, up one from the start of the65th Legislature.^[6]

• Kingston, Mike (1979).Texas Almanac, 1980-1981. Dallas, Texas:The Dallas Morning News.

• 1978 Texas elections
• 1978 state legislature elections in the United States
• Texas Senate elections

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