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Texas, House of Representatives, District 77

Texas House of Representatives District 77
Current incumbentEvelina Ortega Democratic Party
Population160,385
Race16.1% White, 81.7% Black/Hispanic, 2.2% Other
Ethnicity21.5% Not Hispanic, 78.5% Hispanic
Voting age72.3% age 18 and over

Texas' seventy-seventh state house district is represented by Democratic Representative Evelina Ortega.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 160,385 civilians reside within Texas' seventy-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 77

Incumbent Evelina Ortega (D) won election in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 77 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Evelina Ortega (D)
100
27,685

Total votes: 27,685
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 77

Incumbent Evelina Ortega advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 77 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Evelina Ortega (D)
100
8,116

Total votes: 8,116
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 Marisa Marquez (D) did not seek re-election.

Evelina Ortega ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 77 general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 77 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Evelina Ortega (unopposed) 100.00% 28,819
Total Votes 28,819
Source: Texas Secretary of State

Evelina Ortega defeated Adolfo Lopez in the Texas House of Representatives District 77 Democratic Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 77 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Evelina Ortega 69.21% 6,957
Democratic Adolfo Lopez 30.79% 3,095
Total Votes 10,052


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 Marisa Marquez defeated Lyda Ness-Garcia in the Democratic primary and was unchallenged in the general election. Ben Mendoza (I) was defeated by Marquez in the general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 77 General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngMarisa Marquez Incumbent 78.2% 11,324
Independent Ben Mendoza 21.8% 3,166
Total Votes 14,490

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. Marisa Marquez (D) was unchallenged in the general election. Marquez defeated Aaron Barraza in the Democratic primary election.

Texas House of Representatives District 77 Democratic Primary, 2012

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngMarisa Marquez 62.1% 6,406
Aaron Barraza 37.9% 3,915
Total Votes 10,321

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 77 raised a total of $1,469,679. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $104,977 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas House of Representatives District 77

Year Amount Candidates Average
2014 $336,751 3 $112,250
2012 $349,722 2 $174,861
2010 $123,748 1 $123,748
2008 $367,433 2 $183,717
2006 $70,965 1 $70,965
2004 $35,572 1 $35,572
2002 $77,405 2 $38,703
2000 $108,083 2 $54,042
Total $1,469,679 14 $104,977