The rightwing holds a trifecta — majorities in both legislative chambers, plus control of the governor’s seat. These lawmakers have used their power to:
For more than two decades, there has been virtually no check on the rightwing’s power in Texas. But this November, we see an opportunity to change that.
Right now, the rightwing holds a 14-seat majority in the Texas State House. This November, we see an opportunity to narrow that margin by picking up seats in the chamber. And that matters in a state where the Speaker of the House is elected by a majority of the full chamber, not just a majority of the party in power. If we can gain enough seats, it may be possible for lawmakers in the minority to influence who becomes the Speaker of the House, and help prevent some of the worst outcomes of the rightwing majority. And in what we believe will be a strong year, we cannot afford to leave the opportunity to check the rightwing’s power in Texas on the table.
When lawmakers in the Texas House Minority Caucus walked out to prevent one of the most anti-democratic and anti-voter bills to pass in Texas history, The States Project mobilized to support them. We worked to get a head start on the 2022 elections by ensuring that these lawmakers could get their message out to their constituents about the importance of their action to protect the rights of Texas voters.
In 2021 we also worked to ensure that our in-state partners remained focused on the 2022 state legislative races by supporting state legislature-specific recruitment. By ensuring the flow of resources into these races, we are laying the groundwork now for elections beyond.
In our first year working electorally in Texas, TSP helped defend the ground gained in 2016; +12 in the State House and came within one percent of the votes needed to flip the chamber. In 2020, a net gain of nine seats was needed to flip the State House and build the governing power needed for lasting change in Texas. We came close.
Thanks in part to the support of The States Project Giving Circles, just 11,000 out of about 11 million total voters would have had to flip to hand over control of the chamber, representing just 0.1 percent of all votes cast in Texas. In these close races, polling error was the difference between achieving the sweep and coming up short, but the narrow margins show exactly how close the minority came to picking up seats in 2020.
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State lawmakers have the power to enact policies that can protect millions of Americans, and the overall direction of the country, from the worst impacts of a second Trump presidency.
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