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Texas, House of Representatives, District 115

Texas House of Representatives District 115
Current incumbentJulie Johnson Democratic Party
Population166,734
Race44.2% White, 34.8% Black/Hispanic, 21.0% Other
Ethnicity76.4% Not Hispanic, 23.6% Hispanic
Voting age75.4% age 18 and over

Texas' one hundred-fifteenth state house district is represented by Democratic Representative Julie Johnson.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 166,734 civilians reside within Texas' one hundred-fifteenth 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 115

Julie Johnson (D) defeated incumbent Matt Rinaldi (R) in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 115 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Julie Johnson (D)
56.8
32,214

Matt Rinaldi (R)
43.2
24,512

Total votes: 56,726
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 115

Julie Johnson defeated Rock Bower in the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 115 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Julie Johnson (D)
77.1
5,003

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Rock Bower (D)
22.9
1,483

Total votes: 6,486
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 115

Incumbent Matt Rinaldi advanced from the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 115 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Matt Rinaldi (R)
100
5,802

Total votes: 5,802

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 Matt Rinaldi defeated Dorotha M. Ocker in the Texas House of Representatives District 115 general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 115 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Matt Rinaldi Incumbent 50.89% 29,987
Democratic Dorotha M. Ocker 49.11% 28,939
Total Votes 58,926
Source: Texas Secretary of State

Dorotha M. Ocker ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 115 Democratic Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 115 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Dorotha M. Ocker (unopposed)

Incumbent Matt Rinaldi defeated Bennett Ratliff in the Texas House of Representatives District 115 Republican Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 115 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Matt Rinaldi Incumbent 53.45% 8,804
Republican Bennett Ratliff 46.55% 7,668
Total Votes 16,472

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. Matt Rinaldi defeated incumbent Bennett Ratliff in the Republican primary. Paul Stafford was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Rinaldi defeated Stafford and Kim Kelley (L) in the general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 115 General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngMatt Rinaldi 57.1% 16,999
Democratic Paul Stafford 39.5% 11,767
Libertarian Kim Kelley 3.4% 999
Total Votes 29,765

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. Bennett Ratliff (R) defeated Mary Clare Fabishak (D) and Preston Poulter (L) in the general election. Steve Nguyen defeated Ratliff, Matt Rinaldi, Andy Olivo, and Lib Grimmett in the Republican primary election. Ratliff defeated Nguyen in the July 31 primary runoff. Fabishak was unopposed in the Democratic primary election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 115, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngBennett Ratliff 57.6% 41,784
Democratic Mary Clare Fabishak 40.1% 29,082
Libertarian Preston Poulter 2.4% 1,711
Total Votes 72,577

Texas House of Representatives District 115 Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngSteve Nguyen (advanced to runoff) 35% 3,081
Green check mark transparent.pngBennett Ratliff (advanced to runoff) 30.1% 2,644
Matt Rinaldi 26.6% 2,338
Andy Olivo 5.1% 452
Lib Grimmett 3.2% 278
Total Votes 8,793

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 115 raised a total of $2,900,638. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $161,147 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas House of Representatives District 115

Year Amount Candidates Average
2014 $789,006 4 $197,252
2012 $1,297,696 6 $216,283
2010 $98,443 1 $98,443
2008 $103,239 1 $103,239
2006 $101,797 1 $101,797
2004 $56,687 1 $56,687
2002 $207,669 2 $103,835
2000 $246,101 2 $123,051
Total $2,900,638 18 $161,147