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Texas, House of Representatives, District 147

Texas House of Representatives District 147
Current incumbentGarnet Coleman Democratic Party
Population175,873
Race20.8% White, 73.5% Black/Hispanic, 5.7% Other
Ethnicity64.0% Not Hispanic, 36.0% Hispanic
Voting age77.3% age 18 and over

Texas' one hundred forty-seventh state house district is represented by Democratic Representative Garnet Coleman.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 175,873 civilians reside within Texas' one hundred 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 147

Incumbent Garnet Coleman (D) defeated Thomas Wang (R) in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 147 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Garnet Coleman (D)
80.8
44,314

Thomas Wang (R)
19.2
10,528

Total votes: 54,842
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 147

Incumbent Garnet Coleman defeated Daniel Espinoza in the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 147 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Garnet Coleman (D)
81.2
10,218

Daniel Espinoza (D)
18.8
2,366

Total votes: 12,584
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 147

Thomas Wang advanced from the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 147 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Thomas Wang (R)
100
1,634

Total votes: 1,634

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 Garnet Coleman defeated Matt Murphy and Brian Harrison in the Texas House of Representatives District 147 general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 147 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Garnet Coleman Incumbent 76.27% 43,900
Republican Matt Murphy 20.82% 11,985
Green Brian Harrison 2.91% 1,676
Total Votes 57,561
Source: Texas Secretary of State

Incumbent Garnet Coleman ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 147 Democratic Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 147 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Garnet Coleman Incumbent (unopposed)

Matt Murphy ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 147 Republican Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 147 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Matt Murphy (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 Garnet Coleman 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 Garnet Coleman (D) defeated Deb Shafto (G) in the general election. Coleman defeated Ray Hill in the Democratic primary election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 147, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngGarnet Coleman Incumbent 92.2% 43,589
Green Deb Shafto 7.8% 3,683
Total Votes 47,272

Texas House of Representatives District 147 Democratic Primary, 2012

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngGarnet Coleman Incumbent 87.4% 6,606
Ray Hill 12.6% 950
Total Votes 7,556

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 147 raised a total of $3,180,049. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $289,095 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas House of Representatives District 147

Year Amount Candidates Average
2014 $398,965 1 $398,965
2012 $635,991 2 $317,996
2010 $551,515 1 $551,515
2008 $498,144 2 $249,072
2006 $443,166 2 $221,583
2004 $149,952 1 $149,952
2002 $161,451 1 $161,451
2000 $340,865 1 $340,865
Total $3,180,049 11 $289,095