The2002 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas occurred on November 5, 2002, to elect the members of the state of Texas's delegation to theUnited States House of Representatives.Texas had thirty-two seats in the House, apportioned according to the2000 United States census. The state gained two seats in reapportionment.[1] Democrats narrowly maintained control of theTexas House of Representatives after the 2000 election after heavily emphasizing it as necessary to protect the party from a potential Republicangerrymander.[2][3] During the 2001 regular session, the divided legislature failed to pass any redistricting plans.[4] Congressional redistricting fell to the courts inBalderas v. State of Texas after no special session was called to address redistricting.[5][6] While the court's initial map appeared to benefit Republicans,[7] the final maps ordered for the 2002 elections were seen as beneficial to Democrats.[8][9][10]
These elections occurred simultaneously with theUnited States Senate elections of 2002, theUnited States House elections in other states, and various state and local elections. Democrats managed to maintain their majority of seats in Texas' congressional delegation despite the fact that Republicans won more votes statewide.[11] As of 2026, this is the last time the Democratic Party won a majority of congressional districts from Texas.
Texas was one of six states in which the party that won the state's popular vote did not win a majority of seats in 2002, the other states being Connecticut, Illinois,Michigan, New Mexico, andTennessee.
Incumbent DemocratMax Sandlin successfully ran for re-election, defeating Republican John Lawrence. As of2024 this is the last time a Democrat was elected to this seat, as well as the last time the Democratic candidate got over 40% of the vote.
Incumbent DemocratRalph Hall successfully ran for re-election. This was the last time Hall ran as a Democrat, as he switched to the Republican Party in early 2004. As such, this is the last time a Democrat was elected to this seat.
^Bickerstaff, Steve (2007).Lines in the Sand: Congressional Redistricting in Texas and the Downfall of Tom Delay. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. pp. 126–127.ISBN978-0-292-71474-8.
District results
County results
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