Colonel William A. Phillips

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Elections were held in Texas on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Primary elections were held on March 2, 2010.

The Republican Party continued its dominance over Texas politics, maintaining control of all statewide offices and increasing its majorities in both chambers of the Texas Legislature. The GOP also picked up control of three additional seats in the United States House of Representatives.

Federal

United States House of Representatives

All 32 Texas seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2010.

State

Governor

Incumbent Republican Governor Rick Perry ran for re-election against Democratic challenger and former mayor of Houston Bill White and several third-party candidates, and won.

Lieutenant governor

Incumbent Republican Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst ran for re-election and won.

Attorney general

Incumbent Republican Greg Abbott ran for re-election as Texas Attorney General against Democrat Barbara Ann Radnofsky and Libertarian candidate Jon Roland, and won.

State senate

Approximately half of the 31 seats of the Texas Senate were up for election in 2010.

State House of Representatives

All 150 seats in the Texas House of Representatives were up for election in 2010. The GOP captured 99 seats (a record), including 22 that were held by Democrats after the 2008 Texas House of Representatives election. This left the Democrats with 51 seats. Edmund Kuempel, the incumbent GOP candidate for District 44 seat, subsequently died; the seat was filled by special election on December 14 and won by his son, John, also a Republican. Also on December 14, two Democrats (Allan Ritter and Aaron Peña) announced they were switching parties and joining the Republicans, thus giving the GOP 101 seats, and a 2/3 majority in the House, giving them considerable leverage.[1][2] Under Texas law, any bill which passes with 2/3 of both legislative chambers can become effective immediately upon the governor's signature (otherwise a bill does not become effective until September 1, the start of Texas' fiscal year). This also meant that the Democrats could not quorum bust, or deprive the House of the 2/3 of members required for operation.[3]

Commissioner of Agriculture

Incumbent Republican Commissioner Todd Staples successfully ran for re-election to a second term.

Republican primary

Candidates
Results
Republican primary results[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Todd Staples (incumbent) 1,110,353 100.00%
Total votes 1,110,353 100.0%

Democratic primary

Candidates
  • Hank Gilbert, cattle rancher, nominee for the same office in 2006[5]
  • Kinky Friedman, musician, novelist, and candidate for governor in 2006[6]
Results of the 2010 Agricultural Commissioner Democratic Primary by County
County Results
  • Gilbert:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      100%
    Friedman:      50–60%      60–70%
Results
Democratic primary results[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Hank Gilbert 311,087 52.31%
Democratic Kinky Friedman 283,614 47.69%
Total votes 594,701 100.0%

General Election

Results
2010 Texas agricultural commissioner election[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Todd Staples (incumbent) 2,953,775 60.82% {{{change}}}
Democratic Hank Gilbert 1,738,456 35.80%
Libertarian Rick Donaldson 164,035 3.38%
Total votes 4,856,266 100.0%
Republican hold

Other state offices

Elections were held for the positions of Comptroller of Public Accounts, Commissioner of General Land Office, and Railroad Commissioner in 2010.

Legislative elections

Texas House of Representatives

Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
Republican Democratic Vacant
Beginning of the 81st legislature 76 74 150 0
Before 2010 elections 77 72 149 1
Voting share 51% 48%
After 2010 elections 99 51 150 0
Beginning of the 82nd legislature 101 49 150 0
Voting share 67% 33%

Texas Senate

Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
Republican Democratic Vacant
Before 2010 elections 19 12 31 0
Voting share 61% 39%
After 2010 elections 19 12 31 0
Voting share 61% 39%

Judicial positions

Multiple judicial positions were up for election in 2010, including three justices on the Texas Supreme Court.

Ballot measures

There are no statewide ballot measures in Texas in 2010.

Local

Many elections for county and city offices were also held on November 2, 2010.

References

  1. ^ Ramsey, Ross (December 12, 2010). "TribBlog: Ritter Confirms He's Switching Parties". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  2. ^ Hamilton, Reeve (December 14, 2010). "TribBlog: Peña on Party Switching". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  3. ^ "THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION ARTICLE 3. LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT". statutes.capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  4. ^ "2010 Republican Party Primary Election - Race Summary Report". Office of Texas Secretary of State.
  5. ^ "PolitiFact | Hank Gilbert". February 7, 2024.
  6. ^ "Kinky Exits Governor's Race". Texas Tribune. February 7, 2024.
  7. ^ "2018 Democratic Party Primary Election - Race Summary Report". Office of Texas Secretary of State.
  8. ^ "2018 General Election - Race Summary Report". Office of Texas Secretary of State.

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