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Texas, House of Representatives, District 118

Texas House of Representatives District 118
Current incumbentLeo Pacheco Democratic Party
Population164,436
Race23.7% White, 74.6% Black/Hispanic, 1.7% Other
Ethnicity28.3% Not Hispanic, 71.7% Hispanic
Voting age71.0% age 18 and over

Texas' one hundred-eighteenth state house district is represented by Democratic Representative Leo Pacheco.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 164,436 civilians reside within Texas' one hundred-eighteenth 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 118

Leo Pacheco (D) defeated John Lujan (R) in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 118 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Leo Pacheco (D)
58.0
24,032

John Lujan (R)
42.0
17,367

Total votes: 41,399
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 118

Leo Pacheco defeated incumbent Tomas Uresti in the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 118 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Leo Pacheco (D)
57.3
3,517

Tomas Uresti (D)
42.7
2,620

Total votes: 6,137
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 118

John Lujan advanced from the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 118 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

John Lujan (R)
100
3,525

Total votes: 3,525

2016

General election

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.

Tomas Uresti defeated incumbent John Lujan in the Texas House of Representatives District 118 general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 118 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Tomas Uresti 55.17% 25,632
Republican John Lujan Incumbent 44.83% 20,831
Total Votes 46,463
Source: Texas Secretary of State

Tomas Uresti defeated Gabe Farias in the Texas House of Representatives District 118 Democratic Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 118 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Tomas Uresti 59.17% 5,115
Democratic Gabe Farias 40.83% 3,529
Total Votes 8,644

Incumbent John Lujan defeated Robert Casias in the Texas House of Representatives District 118 Republican Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 118 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png John Lujan Incumbent 72.80% 5,320
Republican Robert Casias 27.20% 1,988
Total Votes 7,308

This district was included in the Republican State Leadership Committee's list of "16 in '16: Races to Watch." Read more »


Special election

A special election for the position of Texas House of Representatives District 118 was called for November 3. A special runoff election was held on January 26, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was September 2.

The seat was vacant following Joe Farias' (D) resignation on August 10, 2015.

Anthony Alcoser (D), Robert A. Casias (R), Gabe Farias (D), Michael Holdman (R), John Lujan (R) and Tomas Uresti (D) faced off in a special election. Since no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters, Lujan and Uresti, met in a runoff election, which Lujan won.

Texas House of Representatives, District 118, Special Election, 2015

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Lujan (advanced to the runoff) 29.2% 1,904
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngTomas Uresti (advanced to the runoff) 21.7% 1,415
Democratic Gabe Farias 18% 1,170
Republican Michael Holdman 14.4% 938
Democratic Anthony Alcoser 11.4% 741
Republican Robert A. Casias 5.3% 346
Total Votes 6,514

Texas House of Representatives, District 118, Special Election Runoff, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Lujan 52.4% 1,880
Democratic Tomas Uresti 47.6% 1,709
Total Votes 3,589

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 Joe Farias was unopposed in the Democratic primary and was unchallenged in the general election.

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 Joe Farias (D) defeated Robert A. Casias (R) in the general election. Both candidates were unopposed in the primary elections.

Texas House of Representatives, District 118, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJoe Farias Incumbent 59.8% 23,992
Republican Robert Casias 40.2% 16,095
Total Votes 40,087

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 118 raised a total of $2,154,471. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $126,734 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas House of Representatives District 118

Year Amount Candidates Average
2014 $76,350 1 $76,350
2012 $202,083 2 $101,042
2010 $103,750 1 $103,750
2008 $199,146 2 $99,573
2006 $1,205,756 7 $172,251
2004 $208,238 2 $104,119
2002 $80,968 1 $80,968
2000 $78,180 1 $78,180
Total $2,154,471 17 $126,734