1990 Texas House of Representatives election

1990 Texas House of Representatives election

November 6, 1990
All 150 seats in the Texas House of Representatives 76 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Gib Lewis Tom Craddick Party Democratic Republican Leader since January 11, 1983 January 9, 1973 Leader's seat 89th 82nd Last election 93 57 Seats before 91 59 Seats won 93 57 Seat change 2 2
Democratic hold      Democratic gain      Republican hold      Republican gain
Speaker before election Gib Lewis Democratic Elected Speaker Gib Lewis Democratic

The 1990 Texas House of Representatives elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Texas voters elected state representatives in all 150 State House of Representatives districts. The winners of this election served in the 72rd Texas Legislature, with seats apportioned according to the 1980 United States census. State representatives serve for two-year terms. Democrats increased their majority to 93 out of 150 seats.

Background

Democrats had held control of the Texas House of Representatives since Reconstruction. Republicans won 57 seats in the 1988 election, but they gained two more due to special elections in Harris County in early 1989, increasing their caucus to 59 out of 150 seats.

Results

Despite high Republican hopes of making gains in the House, owing to the popularity of president George H. W. Bush in the state and the coattails of popular Senator Phil Gramm, Democrats instead gained seats in the chamber for the first time in a decade. With the victory of Ann Richards in the concurrent gubernatorial election, Democrats regained a government trifecta and with it, full control of the upcoming decennial redistricting.