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Texas, House of Representatives, District 125

Texas House of Representatives District 125
Current incumbentRay Lopez Democratic Party
Population174,549
Race20.4% White, 76.6% Black/Hispanic, 3.0% Other
Ethnicity27.7% Not Hispanic, 72.3% Hispanic
Voting age71.7% age 18 and over

Texas' one hundred twenty-fifth state house district is represented by Democratic Representative Ray Lopez.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 174,549 civilians reside within Texas' one hundred twenty-fifth 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.

2019

A special election for District 125 of the Texas House of Representatives was called for February 12, 2019. Candidates wishing to run in this election were required to file by January 14, 2019. Ray Lopez (D) and Fred Rangel (R) advanced from the special general election. They faced off in a runoff election on March 12, 2019.

The seat became vacant after Justin Rodriguez (D) was appointed in January 2019 to serve as the Precinct 2 representative on the Bexar County Commissioners Court.

General runoff
Special general runoff election for Texas House of Representatives District 125

Ray Lopez (D) defeated Fred Rangel (R) in the special general runoff election for Texas House of Representatives District 125 on March 12, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes

Ray Lopez (D)
58.4
5,312

Fred Rangel (R)
41.6
3,780

Total votes: 9,092
General election
Special general election for Texas House of Representatives District 125

Fred Rangel (R) and Ray Lopez (D) advanced to a runoff. They defeated Coda Rayo-Garza (D), Arthur Reyna (D), and Steve Huerta (D) in the special general election for Texas House of Representatives District 125 on February 12, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes

Fred Rangel (R)
37.9
2,323

Ray Lopez (D)
19.5
1,194

Coda Rayo-Garza (D)
19.0
1,166

Arthur Reyna (D)
17.1
1,049

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Steve Huerta (D)
6.4
395

Total votes: 6,127


2018

General election
General election for Texas House of Representatives District 125

Incumbent Justin Rodriguez (D) defeated Eric Pina (L) in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 125 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Justin Rodriguez (D)
81.4
32,953

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Eric Pina (L)
18.6
7,541

Total votes: 40,494
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 125

Incumbent Justin Rodriguez advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 125 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Justin Rodriguez (D)
100
7,555

Total votes: 7,555
Republican primary election

No Republican candidates ran in the primary.

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 Justin Rodriguez ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 125 general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 125 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Justin Rodriguez Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 38,774
Total Votes 38,774
Source: Texas Secretary of State

Incumbent Justin Rodriguez ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 125 Democratic Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 125 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Justin Rodriguez Incumbent (unopposed)


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 Justin Rodriguez was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Rodriguez defeated Daniel Behrman (L) in the general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 125 General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJustin Rodriguez Incumbent 76.9% 17,143
Libertarian Daniel Behrman 23.1% 5,144
Total Votes 22,287

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. Justin Rodriguez (D) defeated Alma Jackson (R) and Timothy Giddens (G) in the general election. Rodriguez defeated Delicia Herrera in the Democratic primary election. Jackson was unopposed in the Republican primary election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 125, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJustin Rodriguez 61.2% 28,857
Republican Alma Jackson 37.1% 17,501
Green Timothy Giddens 1.7% 799
Total Votes 47,157

Texas House of Representatives District 125 Democratic Primary, 2012

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngJustin Rodriguez 66.8% 3,085
Delicia Herrera 33.2% 1,532
Total Votes 4,617

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 125 raised a total of $1,904,044. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $126,936 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas House of Representatives District 125

Year Amount Candidates Average
2014 $217,961 2 $108,981
2012 $458,793 3 $152,931
2010 $120,245 1 $120,245
2008 $100,536 1 $100,536
2006 $349,209 2 $174,605
2004 $23,071 1 $23,071
2002 $463,394 3 $154,465
2000 $170,835 2 $85,418
Total $1,904,044 15 $126,936