This year’s election confirmed Texas will continue to be a red state, with Republican victories statewide.
2022 marks the 20th year that Texas has been a solid red state, with the full Republican trifecta: governor, Senate, and House of Representatives.
From 1848—just three years after Texas became a state—until 1995, Texas remained almost entirely a blue state. Every so often, there would be a break from the Democrat Party’s reign over Texas, but within a few years, Texas was retaken by Democrats.
Republicans have controlled the governor’s office since 1995, when George Bush assumed the position.
After a few years of a Republican majority in the House of Representatives, the Democrat Party controlled the House from 1873 to 2002.
For 104 years, from 1872 to 1976, the state of Texas voted for Democrat presidents, with few exceptions. However, this changed in 1980, when Ronald Reagan ran for president. Since then, Texas has voted for Republican presidents.
And that was just the beginning of Texas’ flip to red.
The Republican Party began gaining traction in the 1960s, but for the most part, Texas continued voting blue. 1995 ended the last Texan Democrat governor’s term, and 1997 marked the end of the Democrat reign of the Senate. In 2002, the House of Representatives turned Republican; and the trifecta officially flipped.
Texas has been red ever since.
| Year | 1992-1994 | 1995-1996 | 1997-2002 | 2003-2023 |
| Governor | D | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | D | R | R |
| House | D | D | D | R |
After the 2010 election, Republicans saw even more victories, gaining:
- 23 of 32 U.S. Congressional seats
- 19 of 31 Texas Senate seats
- 101 of 150 Texas House seats
- 234 new Republican elected officials at the county level
- More than two dozen Democrat elected officials have switched to the Republican Party since November 2010.
Gov. Greg Abbott beat Robert “Beto” O’Rourke by 11 points in 2022, Texas Senate retained its majority, and the Texas House of Representatives is currently held by a Republican majority of 86-64.
However, despite these overwhelming numbers, the priorities of grassroots conservatives are often abandoned by the peoples’ elected servants in favor of the lobbyists priorities in Austin.
Looking Ahead
Informed citizens are of the utmost importance to maintaining GOP control and ensuring that elected officials continue to serve their constituents.
“It’s not safe within this institution of the establishment; it’s not safe with the lobby; it’s certainly not safe with the politicians,” former State Rep. Jonathan Stickland says. “The people have to be empowered.”
Only with empowered citizens can Texas remain a red state.
