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Texas, State Senate, District 30

Texas State Senate District 30
Current incumbentPat Fallon Republican Party
Population829,574
Race76.0% White, 20.9% Black/Hispanic, 3.2% Other
Ethnicity84.7% Not Hispanic, 15.3% Hispanic
Voting age75.2% age 18 and over

Texas' thirtieth state senate district is represented by Republican Senator Pat Fallon.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 829,574 civilians reside within Texas' thirtieth state senate district. Texas state senators represent an average of 811,147 residents. After the 2000 Census, each member represented 672,640 residents.

About the office

Members of the Texas State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. One-half of the Senate membership is elected every two years in even-numbered years, with the exception that all 31 Senate seats are up for election for the first legislature following the decennial census in order to reflect the newly redrawn districts. After the initial election, the Senate is divided by lot into two classes, with one class having a re-election after two years and the other having a re-election after four years. Texas legislators assume office at the beginning of the legislative session (January).

Qualifications

To be eligible to serve in the Texas State Senate, a candidate must be:

  • A U.S. citizen
  • 26 years old before the general election
  • A five-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 senate, 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 State Senate 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 State Senate District 30

Pat Fallon (R) defeated Kevin Lopez (D) in the general election for Texas State Senate District 30 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Pat Fallon (R)
73.9
234,374

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Kevin Lopez (D)
26.1
82,669

Total votes: 317,043
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 30

Kevin Lopez advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 30 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Kevin Lopez (D)
100
15,760

Total votes: 15,760
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 30

Pat Fallon defeated incumbent Craig Estes and Craig Carter in the Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 30 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Pat Fallon (R)
62.0
53,796

Craig Estes (R)
22.6
19,614

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Craig Carter (R)
15.4
13,346

Total votes: 86,756

2014

Elections for 15 of the 31 seats in the Texas State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on March 4, 2014. 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 Craig Estes was unopposed in the Republican primary. Estes defeated Cory Lane (L) in the general election.

Texas State Senate, District 30 General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngCraig Estes Incumbent 86.7% 140,240
Libertarian Cory Lane 13.3% 21,599
Total Votes 161,839

2012

Elections for the office of Texas State Senate consisted of a primary election on May 29, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Craig Estes (R) defeated Richard Forsythe (L) in the general election. Estes defeated Jim Herblin in the Republican primary election. In 2012, a total of $870,547 was raised in campaign contributions. Estes raised $807,200, and Herblin raised $63,347 before being defeated in the primary election. Forsythe did not raise any money.

Texas State Senate, District 30, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngCraig Estes Incumbent 86.1% 217,877
Libertarian Richard Forsythe 13.9% 35,127
Total Votes 253,004

Texas State Senate District 30 Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngCraig Estes Incumbent 65.3% 42,464
Jim Herblin 34.7% 22,599
Total Votes 65,063

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas State Senate District 30 raised a total of $5,440,320. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $453,360 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas State Senate District 30

Year Amount Candidates Average
2014 $589,706 2 $294,853
2012 $870,547 2 $435,274
2010 $435,154 1 $435,154
2008 $756,113 1 $756,113
2006 $513,102 1 $513,102
2004 $663,547 2 $331,774
2002 $1,612,151 3 $537,384
Total $5,440,320 12 $453,360