Demographic Composition of the Texas State Legislature
Overview
Demographic Composition of the Texas State Legislature
Learning Objective
At the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Discuss the demographic composition of the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate
Introduction
This section describes the demgraphic composition of the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate
General Description: Pale, Male, and Stale
It’s often been said the Texas State Legislature is “pale, male, and stale.” This may not be quite as accurate as in the past, but the Texas State Legislature is predominantly white, male, and middle-aged, making it far less diverse than Texas as a whole.
Descriptive data on the composition of the Texas State Legislature is available at the Legislative Reference Library.
Partisan Makeup
The Republican Party controls both the Texas State House of Representatives and the Texas State Senate:
The Texas State House of Representatives currently has 83 Republicans and 67 Democrats.
The Texas State Senate currently has 18 Republicans and 13 Democrats.
Gender Makeup
The Texas State Legislature is predominantly male. Although their overall count is growing, women remain incredibly outnumbered in the 87th Texas Legislature— just 48 of 181 seats in the House and Senate are currently held by women.
Approximately 25% of the Texas State House of Representatives is female (112 males, 38 females)
Approximately 32% of the Texas State Senate is female (21 males, 10 females)
Taken together, only 27% of the total membership of the Texas State Legislature is female (48 of 181 total members).
Notably, with the addition of Democrats Julie Johnson, Jessica González, and Erin Zwiener to the 86th Legislature in 2019, the number of legislators who identify as members of the LGBT community increased from two to five.
Age Distribution
Description | House Members | Senate Members | Total |
Under 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
30 - 39 | 16 | 0 | 16 |
40 - 49 | 43 | 1 | 44 |
50 - 59 | 44 | 15 | 59 |
60 - 69 | 29 | 7 | 36 |
70 and over | 17 | 8 | 2 |
Licenses and Attributions
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL
Revision and Adaptation. Authored by: Kris S. Seago. License: CC BY: Attribution
Revision and Adaptation: Composition of Texas Legislature. Authored by: John Osterman. License: CC BY: Attribution