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Texas, House of Representatives, District 96

Texas House of Representatives District 96
Current incumbentBill Zedler Republican Party
Population164,930
Race57.8% White, 36.9% Black/Hispanic, 5.3% Other
Ethnicity82.6% Not Hispanic, 17.4% Hispanic
Voting age69.1% age 18 and over

Texas' ninety-sixth state house district is represented by Republican Representative Bill Zedler.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 164,930 civilians reside within Texas' ninety-sixth 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 96

Incumbent Bill Zedler (R) defeated Ryan Ray (D) and Stephen Parmer (L) in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 96 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Bill Zedler (R)
50.8
32,698

Ryan Ray (D)
47.2
30,360

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Stephen Parmer (L)
2.0
1,256

Total votes: 64,314
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 96

Ryan Ray advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 96 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Ryan Ray (D)
100
6,446

Total votes: 6,446
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 96

Incumbent Bill Zedler advanced from the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 96 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Bill Zedler (R)
100
7,945

Total votes: 7,945

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 Bill Zedler defeated Sandra D. Lee in the Texas House of Representatives District 96 general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 96 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Bill Zedler Incumbent 56.98% 38,991
Democratic Sandra D. Lee 43.02% 29,434
Total Votes 68,425
Source: Texas Secretary of State

Sandra D. Lee ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 96 Democratic Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 96 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Sandra D. Lee (unopposed)

Incumbent Bill Zedler defeated Wesley Nelson in the Texas House of Representatives District 96 Republican Primary.

Texas House of Representatives, District 96 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Bill Zedler Incumbent 71.77% 12,071
Republican Wesley Nelson 28.23% 4,748
Total Votes 16,819

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 Bill Zedler was unopposed in the Republican primary. Zedler defeated Quinn Eaker (L) in the general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 96 General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngBill Zedler Incumbent 80.7% 22,822
Libertarian Quinn Eaker 19.3% 5,442
Total Votes 28,264

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 Bill Zedler (R) defeated Max W. Koch, III (L) in the general election. Zedler defeated Mike Leyman in the Republican primary election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 96, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngBill Zedler Incumbent 80.5% 36,940
Libertarian Max Koch III 19.5% 8,931
Total Votes 45,871

Texas House of Representatives District 96 Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngBill Zedler 62.9% 4,536
Mike Leyman 37.1% 2,681
Total Votes 7,217

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 96 raised a total of $4,661,583. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $211,890 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Texas House of Representatives District 96

Year Amount Candidates Average
2014 $64,300 2 $32,150
2012 $194,408 3 $64,803
2010 $1,651,484 3 $550,495
2008 $1,930,395 3 $643,465
2006 $131,346 2 $65,673
2004 $137,776 3 $45,925
2002 $146,973 4 $36,743
2000 $404,901 2 $202,451
Total $4,661,583 22 $211,890