The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form a bicameral system for the state legislature of Texas. The Senate has meetings at the Texas State Capitol in Austin for several occasions, such as budgeting, lawmaking, addressing important issues, or joint sessions.
The Republicans currently control the chamber. With 1 vacant seat, there is currently a total of 18 Republicans and 12 Democrats making up the Senate.
The Senate is made up of 31 members, where each represents a single-member district across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 940,000 per constituency, based on the 2020 U.S. census. Texas Senate districts contain the second largest electorate per member for a legislature in the United States (slightly under the 988,000 per California State Senator). Elections are held in even-numbered years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Senators serve four year terms, with no term limits. Senators are divided into two groups based in part on the intervening Census: In elections in years ending in "2" (the election after the Census), all 31 seats are up for election. Once the Senate meets in session after said election, the Senators will participate in a drawing to determine their election cycle: One-half will have a 2-4-4 cycle, whereupon the seat would stand for election after two years (the year ending in "4"), then again in four years (the year ending in "8"), then finally in another four years (coinciding with all seats standing for election in the year ending in "2"). The other half will have a 4-4-2 cycle, whereupon the seat would stand for election after four years (the year ending in "6"), then again in four years (the year ending in "0"), then finally in only two years (coinciding with all seats standing for election in the year ending in "2"). As such, every two years, almost half of the senate is up for election.
Leadership The Lieutenant Governor of Texas serves as the President of the Senate. Unlike most lieutenant governors who are constitutionally designated as presiding officers of the upper house, the Lieutenant Governor regularly presides over the chamber rather than delegate this role to the President Pro Tempore. The Lieutenant Governor's duties include appointing chairs of committees, committee members, assigning and referring bills to specific committees, recognizing members during debate, and making procedural rulings. The Lieutenant Governor may also cast a vote should a Senate floor vote end in a tie. If the Senate votes to dissolve itself into the Committee of the Whole, in which all members are part of the Committee, the President Pro-Tempore presides over the proceedings, with the Lieutenant Governor acting as a regular voting member. Due to the various powers of committee selection and bill assignment, the Lieutenant Governor of Texas is considered one of the most powerful lieutenant governorships in the United States.
Unlike other state legislatures, the Texas Senate does not have official majority or minority leaders. Instead, the President Pro Tempore is considered the second most powerful position, regardless of party affiliation. Presidents Pro Tempore are usually the most senior members of the Senate. The President Pro Tempore presides when the Lieutenant Governor is not present or when the legislature is not in regular session.
Leaders Position Name Party Residence District Lieutenant Governor/President of the Senate Dan Patrick Republican Houston Elected Statewide President Pro Tempore Charles Perry Republican Lubbock 28
History
Quorum-busting
There have been at least three cases of quorum-busting in Texas Senate history. The first case was in 1870, with the Rump Senate, followed by the 1979 Killer Bees and finally the "Texas Eleven" in August 2003 during the controversial mid-decade redistricting plan at the time.
Committee structure The Lieutenant Governor appoints the members to the various standing committees. The exact number and size of these committees can change with any given session. In addition to the standing committees there can be issue specific special, joint, and interim committees.
The following represents the Senate standing committee structure for the 89th Legislature (numbers in parentheses are the number of committee members).
Administration (7) Border Security (5) Business and Commerce (11) Criminal Justice (7) Economic Development (5) Education K-16 (11) Finance (15) Health & Human Services (8) Jurisprudence (5) Local Government (7) Natural Resources (8) Nominations (9) State Affairs (11) Transportation (9) Veteran Affairs (7) Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs (9)
In addition to these committees, there are also six joint committees composed of members of both the State Senate and House:
Criminal Justice Legislative Oversight Legislative Audit Committee Legislative Budget Board Legislative Reference Library Board Sunset Advisory Commission Texas Legislative Council
Current composition + ↓ 12 18 Democratic Republican
AffiliationParty (shading indicates majority caucus)TotalVacantRepublicanDemocratic2011–1219123102013–1419123102015–1620113102017–1820113102019–2019123102021–2218133102023–241912310Begin 20252011310June 18, 2025Republican Kelly Hancock (District 9) resigned to take office as Comptroller of Texas. 19301October 2, 2025Republican Brandon Creighton (District 4) resigned to take office as Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System. 18292January 31, 2026Democrat Taylor Rehmet elected to succeed Hancock. 12301May 2, 2026Republican Brett Ligon elected to succeed Creighton. 19310May 26, 2026Republican Brian Birdwell (District 22) resigned in order to take a position with the U.S. Department of Defense. 18301Latest voting share
Current members, 2025–2027 DistrictNamePartyBornOccupation(s)Previous elective office(s)EducationAssumed officeNext ElectionResidence1RepublicanAttorneyTexas HouseUniversity of Texas at Tyler Baylor University January 10, 20172026Mineola2RepublicanU.S. Air Force Captain Business Owner (Retired)NoneThe Citadel January 13, 20152026Edgewood3RepublicanEngineerMayor of JacksonvilleLamar University January 9, 20072026Jacksonville4RepublicanAttorneyDistrict Attorney of Montgomery CountyTexas A&M University South Texas College of Law Houston May 19, 20262026Montgomery5RepublicanOrthopedic SurgeonTexas HouseUniversity of Texas at Austin University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston January 8, 20132026Georgetown6DemocraticSmall Business OwnerTexas House Houston City CouncilUniversity of Houston December 21, 20182028Houston7RepublicanPresident and CEO, Bettencourt Tax Advisors L.L.C.Tax Assessor-Collector of Harris CountyTexas A&M University January 13, 20152028Houston8RepublicanLeadership Consultant TeacherNoneBaylor University University of Texas, Clear Lake January 8, 20192028McKinney9DemocraticAerospace Machinist U.S. Air ForceNoneNoneFebruary 19, 20262026Fort Worth10RepublicanAttorney Small Business OwnerTexas HouseDallas Baptist University Texas Wesleyan University January 10, 20232028Weatherford11RepublicanPresident & CEO, Middleton OilTexas HouseUniversity of Texas at Austin January 10, 20232026Galveston12RepublicanBusinessman EntrepreneurTexas HouseUniversity of Dallas London School of Economics January 10, 20232028Flower Mound13DemocraticInsurance brokerTexas HouseSam Houston State University January 10, 20172026Houston14DemocraticAttorneyTravis County Judge Travis County CommissionerNew York University University of Texas at Austin July 31, 20202028Austin15 DemocraticEmergency room nurse MusicianNoneUniversity of Texas at Austin Johns Hopkins University May 16, 20242028Houston16DemocraticAttorney ComposerNoneUniversity of Arizona University of Texas at Austin January 8, 20192028Dallas17RepublicanAttorneyNoneLouisiana State University South Texas College of Law December 29, 20082028Houston18RepublicanBusiness OwnerTexas HouseTexas Christian University December 22, 20142026Brenham19DemocraticAttorneyTexas House San Antonio City CouncilUniversity of Texas at San Antonio St. Mary's University January 12, 20212026San Antonio20DemocraticAttorney U.S. Marine CorpsTexas HouseUniversity of Texas, Pan American Georgetown University January 14, 20032028McAllen21DemocraticCommunications Specialist EducatorNoneUniversity of Texas at Austin University of Houston Laredo Junior CollegeJanuary 13, 19872026Laredo22 Vacant202623DemocraticAttorneyNoneUniversity of Texas at Arlington University of Houston January 12, 19932028Dallas24RepublicanGame WardenTexas SenateTexas A&M University Laredo Junior CollegeJanuary 10, 20232026Pleasanton25RepublicanEmergency Room PhysicianNoneUniversity of Central Oklahoma Texas Women's University Texas Tech University January 8, 20132028New Braunfels26DemocraticVice President, Stewart Title GuarantyTexas House San Antonio City CouncilSouthern Methodist University March 4, 20152026San Antonio27RepublicanSmall Business OwnerNoneDel Mar CollegeJanuary 14, 20252028Corpus Christi28RepublicanCertified Public AccountantTexas HouseTexas Tech University September 30, 20142026Lubbock29DemocraticConsultant U.S. NavyTexas HouseUniversity of Texas at El Paso January 12, 20212028El Paso30RepublicanOwner & Chairman, Titus Transport, Inc. U.S. NavyNoneUnited States Naval Academy Stanford University University of California, Los Angeles January 14, 20252028Denton31RepublicanOil and Gas OperatorNoneUniversity of Texas at Austin January 10, 20232026Midland
Past composition of the Senate
The Senate was continuously held by Democrats from the end of the Reconstruction era until the Seventy-fifth Texas Legislature was seated in 1997, at which point Republicans took control. The Republican Party has maintained its control of the Senate since then.
Obsolete districts Texas Senate, District F (1846–1848) Texas Senate, District 32 (1853–1866) Texas Senate, District 33 (1853–1866)
Notable past members
Edward Clark, Lieutenant Governor of Texas (1859–1861), Governor of Texas (1861). Wayne Connally, Senator from Wilson County (1967–1973), brother of Governor John Connally. Lloyd Doggett, Texas Supreme Court Justice (1989–1994), U.S. House of Representatives (1995–present). Robert L. Duncan, State Senator from Lubbock, 1996–2014; Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System, 2014-2018. Chet Edwards, U.S. House of Representatives (1991–2011). Pat Fallon, U.S. House of Representatives (2021–present). James W. Flanagan, U.S. Senate (1870–1875). Sylvia Garcia, U.S. House of Representatives (2019–present). Glenn Hegar, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (2015–2025). John Ireland, Texas Supreme Court Justice (1876), Governor of Texas (1883–1887). Eddie Bernice Johnson, U.S. House of Representatives (1993–2023). Rienzi Melville Johnston, U.S. Senate (1913). Barbara Jordan, U.S. House of Representatives (1973–1979). Earle Bradford Mayfield, U.S. Senate (1923–1929). William Neff "Bill" Patman, Senator from Jackson County (1961–1981), U.S. House of Representatives (1981–1985). Dan Patrick, current Lieutenant Governor of Texas (2015–present). Jerry E. Patterson, Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office (2003–2015). Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Governor of Texas, (1887–1891). Joseph D. Sayers, Lieutenant Governor of Texas (1879–1881), U.S. House of Representatives (1885–1899), Governor of Texas (1899–1903). Phillip Barry Miller, Lieutenant Governor of Texas (1925–1931), Candidate for Governor of Texas, 1932). Allan Shivers, Lieutenant Governor of Texas (1946–1949), Governor of Texas (1949–1957). Preston Smith, Governor of Texas (1969–1973). Frank Tejeda, U.S. House of Representatives (1993–1997). James W. Throckmorton, Governor of Texas (1866–1867), U.S. House of Representatives (1875–1879, 1883–1887).