Texas State Senate District 12

Texas State Senate District 12 is represented by Tan Parker (R).

As of the 2020 Census, Texas state senators represented an average of 941,396 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 815,110 residents.

About the office

Members of the Texas State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Texas legislators assume office at the beginning of the legislative session, which starts at noon on the second Tuesday in January in the year after the election.

One-half of the Senate membership is elected every two years in even-numbered years, with the exception that all 31 Senate seats are up for election for the first legislature following the decennial census in order to reflect the newly redrawn districts. After the initial election, the Senate is divided by lot into two classes, with one class having a re-election after two years and the other having a re-election after four years.^[1]

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

To be eligible to serve in the Texas State Senate, a candidate must be:^[2]

A U.S. citizen
26 years old before the general election
A five-year resident of Texas before the general election
A district resident for one year prior to the general election

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

State legislative salaries, 2023
Salary	Per diem
$7,200/year	$221/day

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the Texas State Legislature, the governor must call a special election to fill the vacant seat.^[3] A governor's proclamation to hold a special election must be delivered to county judges in the legislative district no later than 36 days before the scheduled election.^[4]

The secretary of state can declare a candidate duly elected in a special election if there is no opposition.^[5]

See sources: Texas Elec. Code § 203.001 et. seq.

District map

Redistricting

See also: Redistricting in Texas

In Texas, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the Texas State Legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor.^[6]

If the state legislature is unable to approve a state legislative redistricting plan, a backup commission must draw the lines (the backup commission is not involved in congressional redistricting). This backup commission, established in 1948, comprises the following members:^[6]

Lieutenant governor
Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives
Attorney general
State comptroller
Commissioner of the General Land Office

The Texas Constitution requires that state legislative districts be contiguous and "that they preserve whole counties when population mandates permit."^[6]

2020-2023

See also: Redistricting in Texas after the 2020 census

State legislative maps enacted in 2023

See also: State legislative district maps implemented after the 2020 census

Texas enacted new legislative district boundaries in June 2023 for use in 2024 and until the 2030 census. These districts were the same as those enacted by the state in October 2021. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed HB 1000—establishing state House district boundaries—on June 12, 2023, and he allowed SB 375—establishing state Senate district boundaries—to become law without his signature on June 18, 2023.^[7]^[8] The Texas Tribune's James Barragan wrote in January 2023 that Senate Legislative Redistricting Committee Chairperson Joan Huffman (R) said the state was re-doing the redistricting process "to ensure that Legislature had met its constitutional requirement to apportion districts in the first regular session after the publishing of the results of the federal census, which is done every 10 years. Because of the pandemic, census numbers were not released until after the end of the last regularly scheduled legislative session on May 31, 2021. Redistricted maps were passed in a subsequent special session that year."^[9] Texas had originally enacted new state legislative districts on October 25, 2021.

State Senate map

Below is the state Senate map in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle. The map on the right was in effect for Texas’ 2024 state legislative elections.

Texas State Senate Districts
until January 9, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Texas State Senate Districts
starting January 10, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

State House map

Below is the state House map in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle. The map on the right was in effect for Texas' 2024 state legislative elections.

Texas State House Districts
until January 9, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Texas State House Districts
starting January 10, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

State legislative maps enacted in 2021

Texas had originally enacted new state legislative districts on October 25, 2021. After both sets of legislative district maps passed their respective chambers, the House and Senate both approved maps for the other chamber's districts on October 15, 2021. The House approved the Senate map by an 81-60 vote, and the Senate approved the House map by an 18-13 vote.^[10] Gov. Abbott signed both maps into law on October 25, 2021.^[11]These maps took effect for Texas' 2022 legislative elections.

In a filing for a motion to stay in League of United Latin American Citizens, et al., v. Abbott, et al., in April 2022, legal representatives from the state said, “...article III, section 28 of the Texas Constitution requires that “[t]he Legislature shall, at its first regular session after the publication of each United States decennial census, apportion the state into senatorial and representative districts, agreeable to the provisions of Sections 25 and 26 of” Article III of the Constitution. In this instance, due to the U.S. Census Bureau’s delays in releasing the necessary data, that first regular session is the 2023 regular session. The State has already acknowledged that while federal law required the State to reapportion sooner than 2023, that does not relieve the State of its obligation to enact redistricting legislation in 2023 as required by its Constitution.”^[12]

Reactions to 2021 state legislative maps

Lt. Gov Dan Patrick (R) said of the Senate map: "This map illustrates our commitment to making sure every Texan is well-represented in their state Legislature and their voices are heard."^[13] State Rep. Rafael Anchia (D) said the Senate proposal did not adequately reflect the racial composition of the state. “There are nearly three times as many districts that are majority white compared to majority Hispanic,” Anchia said.

State Rep. Todd Hunter (R) said the House map “achieves fair representation for the citizens of Texas.” State Sen. Eddie Lucio (D) criticized revisions to the House districts in the Rio Grande Valley, saying “In my time in the Legislature, I have never seen such blatant disregard for the process.”^[14]

Below are the maps in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle. The map on the right was in effect for Texas' 2024 state legislative elections.

Texas State Senate District 12
until January 9, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Texas State Senate District 12
starting January 10, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2024

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Texas State Senate District 12

Incumbent Tan Parker and Stephanie Draper are running in the general election for Texas State Senate District 12 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
		Tan Parker (R)
		Stephanie Draper (D)

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 12

Stephanie Draper advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 12 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Stephanie Draper	100.0	29,564

	There were no incumbents in this race. Source	Total votes: 29,564
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 12

Incumbent Tan Parker advanced from the Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 12 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tan Parker	100.0	83,217

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 83,217
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.