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Texas, House of Representatives, District 47

Texas House of Representatives District 47
Current incumbentVikki Goodwin Democratic Party
Population175,314
Race75.3% White, 16.2% Black/Hispanic, 8.5% Other
Ethnicity85.7% Not Hispanic, 14.3% Hispanic
Voting age72.8% age 18 and over

Texas' forty-seventh state house district is represented by Democratic Representative Vikki Goodwin.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 175,314 civilians reside within Texas' forty-seventh state house district. Texas state representatives represent an average of 167,637 residents. After the 2000 Census, each member represented 139,012 residents.

About the office

Members of the Texas House of Representatives serve two-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Texas legislators assume office at the beginning of the legislative session (January).

Qualifications

To be eligible to serve in the Texas House of Representatives, a candidate must be:

  • A U.S. citizen
  • 21 years old before the general election
  • A two-year resident of Texas before the general election
  • A district resident for 1 year prior to the general election

Salaries

State legislators
SalaryPer diem
$7,200/year$190/day. Set by the ethics commission.

Pension

When calculating a legislators' pension, their normal salary is artificially inflated to $125,000. This goes back to 1981, when lawmakers linked their salaries to those of state judges. Since then, they raised judges' salaries while removing the caps on their own pensions, pushing the maximum benefit up to 100% of a judge's salary.

In 2011, this resulted in an average state employee pension of $17,526 annually. The maximum pension a legislator can earn is $125,000, of which Rep. Tom Craddick (R) will be the first to qualify for when he retires. .

Vacancies

If there is a vacancy in the house, the Governor must call a special election to fill the vacant seat. A Governor's proclamation to a special election must be delivered to local elections authorities representing the vacant seat no later than 36 days before the scheduled election.

The Secretary of State can declare a candidate duly elected in a special election if there is no opposition.

Elections

2020

Elections for the office of Texas House of Representatives will take place in 2020. The general election will be held on November 3, 2020. A primary is scheduled for March 3, 2020, and a primary runoff is scheduled for May 26, 2020. The filing deadline was December 9, 2019.

2018

General election
General election for Texas House of Representatives District 47

Vikki Goodwin (D) defeated incumbent Paul Workman (R) in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Vikki Goodwin (D)
52.4
55,307

Paul Workman (R)
47.6
50,244

Total votes: 105,551
Primary runoff election
Democratic primary runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 47

Vikki Goodwin defeated Elaina Fowler in the Democratic primary runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Vikki Goodwin (D)
58.0
4,638

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Elaina Fowler (D)
42.0
3,359

Total votes: 7,997
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47

Vikki Goodwin and Elaina Fowler advanced to a runoff. They defeated Sheri Soltes, Candace Aylor, and Will Simpson in the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Vikki Goodwin (D)
33.6
5,347

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Elaina Fowler (D)
29.2
4,651

Sheri Soltes (D)
23.7
3,774

Candace Aylor (D)
7.4
1,177

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Will Simpson (D)
6.1
970

Total votes: 15,919
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47

Incumbent Paul Workman defeated Jay Wiley and Patty Vredevelt in the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Paul Workman (R)
59.5
9,079

Jay Wiley (R)
31.2
4,767

Patty Vredevelt (R)
9.3
1,420

Total votes: 15,266

2016

Elections for the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 14, 2015.

Incumbent Paul Workman defeated Ana Jordan and Scott McKinlay in the Texas House of Representatives District 47 general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 47 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Paul Workman Incumbent 53.58% 54,785
Democratic Ana Jordan 41.69% 42,635
Libertarian Scott McKinlay 4.73% 4,838
Total Votes 102,258
Source: Texas Secretary of State

Ana Jordan ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 47 Democratic Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 47 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Ana Jordan (unopposed)

Incumbent Paul Workman defeated Jay Wiley in the Texas House of Representatives District 47 Republican Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 47 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Paul Workman Incumbent 60.57% 16,112
Republican Jay Wiley 39.43% 10,488
Total Votes 26,600

2014

Elections for all 150 seats in the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on March 4, 2014. Those candidates who did not receive 50 percent or more of the vote in their party primary on March 4 faced an additional May 27 primary runoff. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was December 9, 2013. Incumbent Paul Workman was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Workman defeated Scott McKinlay (L) in the general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 47 General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngPaul Workman Incumbent 73% 37,455
Libertarian Scott McKinlay 27% 13,822
Total Votes 51,277

2012

Elections for the office of Texas House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on May 29, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Paul Workman (R) defeated Chris Frandsen (D) and Nick Tanner (L) in the general election. Workman defeated Ryan Downtown in the Republican primary election. Frandsen was unopposed in the Democratic primary election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 47, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngPaul Workman Incumbent 58.1% 49,220
Democratic Chris Frandsen 36.9% 31,294
Libertarian Nick Tanner 5% 4,216
Total Votes 84,730

Texas House of Representatives District 47 Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngPaul Workman Incumbent 66.9% 9,652
Ryan Downtown 33.1% 4,786
Total Votes 14,438

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 47 raised a total of $6,089,422. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $225,534 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas House of Representatives District 47

Year Amount Candidates Average
2014 $269,401 2 $134,701
2012 $641,259 4 $160,315
2010 $1,477,360 5 $295,472
2008 $877,958 2 $438,979
2006 $2,417,816 9 $268,646
2004 $92,308 1 $92,308
2002 $215,240 2 $107,620
2000 $98,080 2 $49,040
Total $6,089,422 27 $225,534