1976 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas

1976 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas
All 24 Texas seats to the United States House of Representatives
Democratic 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% 90>%	Republican 70–80% 90>%

The 1976 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas occurred on November 2, 1976, to elect the members of the state of Texas's delegation to the United States House of Representatives. Texas had twenty-four seats in the House apportioned according to the 1970 United States census.^[1]

Texas underwent mid-decade redistricting as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court case White v. Weiser. The court's modified districts were used in 1974. In 1975, the Texas Legislature modified the boundaries District 2 and District 6 to move the town of Streetman, which is on the border of Navarro County and Freestone County, fully within the boundaries of District 6.^[2]^[3]

These elections occurred simultaneously with the United States Senate elections of 1976, the United States House elections in other states, the presidential election, and various state and local elections.

Democrats maintained their majority of U.S. House seats from Texas, gaining two seats from the Republicans, increasing their majority to twenty-two out of twenty-four seats.^[4]

Overview

1976 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas^[5]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats before	Seats after	+/–
	Democratic	2,368,543	65.38%	20	22	+2
	Republican	1,277,960	35.27%	4	2	-2
	American	13,960	0.39%	0	0	-
	La Raza Unida	2,515	0.07%	0	0	-
	Socialist Workers	735	0.02%	0	0	-
Totals		3,622,918	100.00%	24	24	-

Congressional districts

District 1

Incumbent Democrat Wright Patman, the Dean of the House, died on March 7, 1976.^[6] This prompted a special election to be held, which was won by fellow Democrat Sam B. Hall.^[7]

Texas's 1st congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sam B. Hall (incumbent)	135,384	83.72
	Republican	James Hogan	26,334	16.28
Total votes			161,718	100
	Democratic hold

District 2

Incumbent Democrat Charlie Wilson ran for re-election.

Texas's 2nd congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charlie Wilson (incumbent)	133,910	95.04
	American	James Doyle	6,992	4.96
Total votes			140,902	100
	Democratic hold

District 3

Incumbent Republican James M. Collins ran for re-election.

Texas's 3rd congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James M. Collins (incumbent)	171,343	74.04
	Democratic	Les Shackelford	60,070	25.96
Total votes			231,413	100
	Republican hold

District 4

Incumbent Democrat Ray Roberts ran for re-election.

Texas's 4th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ray Roberts (incumbent)	105,394	62.72
	Republican	Frank Glenn	62,641	37.28
Total votes			168,035	100
	Democratic hold

District 5

Incumbent Republican Alan Steelman retired to run for U.S. Senator.^[8]

Texas's 5th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Mattox	67,871	53.97
	Republican	Nancy Judy	56,056	44.57
	American	Sam McDonnell	1,841	1.46
Total votes			125,768	100
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 6

Incumbent Democrat Olin E. Teague ran for re-election.

Texas's 6th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Olin E. Teague (incumbent)	119,025	65.93
	Republican	Wes Mowery	60,316	33.41
	American	Harley Pinon	1,193	0.66
Total votes			180,534	100
	Democratic hold

District 7

Incumbent Republican Bill Archer ran for re-election unopposed.

Texas's 7th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Archer (incumbent)	193,127	100.00
Total votes			193,127	100
	Republican hold

District 8

Incumbent Democrat Bob Eckhardt ran for re-election.

Texas's 8th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Eckhardt (incumbent)	84,404	60.65
	Republican	Nick Gearhart	54,566	39.21
	Socialist Workers	Gene Lantz	193	0.14
Total votes			139,163	100
	Democratic hold

District 9

Incumbent Democrat Jack Brooks ran for re-election unopposed.

Texas's 9th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack Brooks (incumbent)	112,945	100.00
Total votes			112,945	100
	Democratic hold

District 10

Incumbent Democrat J. J. Pickle ran for re-election.

Texas's 10th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	J. J. Pickle (incumbent)	160,683	76.82
	Republican	Paul McClure	48,482	23.18
Total votes			209,165	100
	Democratic hold

District 11

Incumbent Democrat William R. Poage ran for re-election.

Texas's 11th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William R. Poage (incumbent)	92,142	57.40
	Republican	Jack Burgess	68,373	42.60
Total votes			160,515	100
	Democratic hold

District 12

Incumbent Democrat Jim Wright ran for re-election.

Texas's 12th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Wright (incumbent)	101,814	75.83
	Republican	W. R. Durham	31,941	23.79
	American	Larry Kutchinski	504	0.38
Total votes			134,259	100
	Democratic hold

District 13

Incumbent Democrat Jack Hightower ran for re-election.

Texas's 13th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack Hightower (incumbent)	101,798	59.30
	Republican	Bob Price	69,328	40.38
	American	William Hathcock	547	0.32
Total votes			171,673	100
	Democratic hold

District 14

Incumbent Democrat John Andrew Young ran for re-election.

Texas's 14th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Andrew Young (incumbent)	93,589	61.42
	Republican	L. Dean Holford	58,788	38.58
Total votes			152,377	100
	Democratic hold

District 15

Incumbent Democrat Kika de la Garza ran for re-election.

Texas's 15th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kika de la Garza (incumbent)	102,837	74.37
	Republican	Lendy McDonald	35,446	25.63
Total votes			138,283	100
	Democratic hold

District 16

Incumbent Democrat Richard Crawford White ran for re-election.

Texas's 16th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Crawford White (incumbent)	71,876	57.79
	Republican	Vic Shackelford	52,499	42.21
Total votes			124,375	100
	Democratic hold

District 17

Incumbent Democrat Omar Burleson ran for re-election unopposed.

Texas's 17th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Omar Burleson (incumbent)	127,613	100.00
Total votes			127,613	100
	Democratic hold

District 18

Incumbent Democrat Barbara Jordan ran for re-election.

Texas's 18th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Barbara Jordan (incumbent)	93,953	85.51
	Republican	Sam Wright	15,381	14.00
	Socialist Workers	Sylvia Zapata	542	0.49
Total votes			109,876	100
	Democratic hold

District 19

Incumbent Democrat George H. Mahon ran for re-election.

Texas's 19th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George H. Mahon (incumbent)	87,908	54.64
	Republican	Jim Reese	72,991	45.36
Total votes			160,899	100
	Democratic hold

District 20

Incumbent Democrat Henry B. González ran for re-election unopposed.

Texas's 20th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Henry B. Gonzalez (incumbent)	90,173	100.00
Total votes			90,173	100
	Democratic hold

District 21

Incumbent Democrat Bob Krueger ran for re-election.

Texas's 21st congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Krueger (incumbent)	149,395	71.04
	Republican	Bobby Locke	56,211	26.73
	Raza Unida	Ramon Carrillo	2,515	1.20
	American	Ed Gallion	2,179	1.03
Total votes			210,300	100
	Democratic hold

District 22

Incumbent Democrat Robert R. Casey resigned to become commissioner to the United States Maritime Commission.^[9] This prompted a special election to be held. Republican Ron Paul won the election in a runoff against former State Senator Robert Gammage, running primarily on Libertarian economic issues, flipping the district.^[10]^[11] He ran for re-election.

Texas's 22nd congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert Gammage	96,535	50.07
	Republican	Ron Paul (incumbent)	96,267	49.93
Total votes			192,802	100
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 23

Incumbent Democrat Abraham Kazen ran for re-election unopposed.

Texas's 23rd congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Abraham Kazen (incumbent)	96,481	100.00
Total votes			96,481	100
	Democratic hold

District 24

Incumbent Democrat Dale Milford ran for re-election.

Texas's 24th congressional district, 1976^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dale Milford (incumbent)	82,743	63.39
	Republican	Leo Berman	47,075	36.07
	American	Earl Armstrong	704	0.54
Total votes			130,522	100
	Democratic hold

References

^ "Historical Apportionment Data (1910-2020)". Census.gov. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
^ "History". redistricting.capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
^ "Texas Congressional Districts 1976-1980 Elections" (PDF). Texas Redistricting.
^ Texas State Historical Association (1978). "Texas Almanac, 1978-1979". The Portal to Texas History. The Dallas Morning News. p. 528. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y Guthrie, Benjamin; Henshaw, Edmund (April 15, 1977). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 1976" (PDF). pp. 47–48.
^ Times, Eileen Shanahan Special to The New York (March 8, 1976). "Wright Patman, 82, Dean of House, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
^ "Our Campaigns - TX District 1 - Special Election Race - Jun 19, 1976". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
^ "What will it take to persuade Americans on impeachment? Former Dallas Rep. Alan Steelman has some experience on the issue". Dallas News. October 6, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
^ House Committee Print (December 2010). A Concise History of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations.
^ "Our Campaigns - TX District 22 - Special Runoff Race - Apr 03, 1976". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
^ "Up in the Air - Ron Paul, 1976-03-18 | ArchivesSpace Public Interface". archives.library.rice.edu. March 18, 1976. Retrieved July 20, 2022.

[1] "Historical Apportionment Data (1910-2020)". Census.gov. Retrieved June 17, 2022.

[2] "History". redistricting.capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved July 17, 2022.

[3] "Texas Congressional Districts 1976-1980 Elections" (PDF). Texas Redistricting.

[4] Texas State Historical Association (1978). "Texas Almanac, 1978-1979". The Portal to Texas History. The Dallas Morning News. p. 528. Retrieved July 17, 2022.

[Election_Results-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y Guthrie, Benjamin; Henshaw, Edmund (April 15, 1977). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 1976" (PDF). pp. 47–48.

[6] Times, Eileen Shanahan Special to The New York (March 8, 1976). "Wright Patman, 82, Dean of House, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 20, 2022.

[7] "Our Campaigns - TX District 1 - Special Election Race - Jun 19, 1976". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 20, 2022.

[8] "What will it take to persuade Americans on impeachment? Former Dallas Rep. Alan Steelman has some experience on the issue". Dallas News. October 6, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2022.

[casey-9] House Committee Print (December 2010). A Concise History of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations.

[10] "Our Campaigns - TX District 22 - Special Runoff Race - Apr 03, 1976". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 20, 2022.

[11] "Up in the Air - Ron Paul, 1976-03-18 | ArchivesSpace Public Interface". archives.library.rice.edu. March 18, 1976. Retrieved July 20, 2022.

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