Texas's 16th congressional district explained
| State: | Texas |
| District Number: | 16 |
| Image Name: | Texas US Congressional District 16 (since 2021).tif |
| Image Width: | 400 |
| Image Caption: | Texas's 16th congressional district since January 3, 2023 |
| Representative: | Veronica Escobar |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Residence: | El Paso |
| Distribution Ref: | [1] |
| Percent Urban: | 98.36 |
| Percent Rural: | 1.64 |
| Population: | 773,386 |
| Population Year: | 2022 |
| Median Income: | $53,477[2] |
| Percent White: | 11.7 |
| Percent Black: | 2.9 |
| Percent Asian: | 1.3 |
| Percent More Than One Race: | 1.2 |
| Percent Hispanic: | 82.1 |
| Percent Other Race: | 0.7 |
| Cpvi: | D+17[3] |
Texas's 16th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives includes almost all of El Paso and most of its suburbs in the state of Texas. The current Representative is Democrat Veronica Escobar.
The district was initially created in 1903. For most of the next six decades, it stretched across 42000sqmi, from El Paso in the west to the Permian Basin (Midland and Odessa) in the east. However, after Texas' original 1960 district map was thrown out as a result of Wesberry v. Sanders, the 16th was shrunk down to the city of El Paso (except a sliver in the east) and most of its surrounding suburban communities.
Since the 1990s, the 16th has been the only Democratic bastion in heavily Republican West Texas. While it has been a majority-Hispanic district since the 1970s, only two Hispanics have ever represented it, Silvestre Reyes and Escobar.
Election results from presidential races
List of members representing the district
| Representative | Party | Years | Cong
ess | Electoral history |
|---|
| District established March 4, 1903 |
| align=left |
William Robert Smith
| | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1903 –
March 3, 1917 | | Elected in 1902.
Re-elected in 1904.
Re-elected in 1906.
Re-elected in 1908.
Re-elected in 1910.
Re-elected in 1912.
Re-elected in 1914.
|
| align=left |
Thomas L. Blanton
| | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1917 –
March 3, 1919 | | Elected in 1916.
Redistricted to the . |
| align=left |
Claude Benton Hudspeth
| | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1919 –
March 3, 1931 | | Elected in 1918.
Re-elected in 1920.
Re-elected in 1922.
Re-elected in 1924.
Re-elected in 1926.
Re-elected in 1928.
|
| align=left |
R. Ewing Thomason
| | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1931 –
July 31, 1947 | | Elected in 1930.
Re-elected in 1932.
Re-elected in 1934.
Re-elected in 1936.
Re-elected in 1938.
Re-elected in 1940.
Re-elected in 1942.
Re-elected in 1944.
Re-elected in 1946.
Resigned to become U.S. District Judge. |
| Vacant | nowrap | July 31, 1947 –
August 23, 1947 | | |
| align=left |
Kenneth M. Regan
| | Democratic | nowrap | August 23, 1947 –
January 3, 1955 | | Elected to finish Thomason's term.
Re-elected in 1948.
Re-elected in 1950.
Re-elected in 1952.
Lost renomination. |
| align=left |
J. T. Rutherford
| | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1955 –
January 3, 1963 | | Elected in 1954.
Re-elected in 1956.
Re-elected in 1958.
Re-elected in 1960.
Lost re-election. |
| align=left |
Ed Foreman
| | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1963 –
January 3, 1965 | | Elected in 1962.
Lost re-election. |
| align=left |
Richard C. White
| | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1965 –
January 3, 1983 | | Elected in 1964.
Re-elected in 1966.
Re-elected in 1968.
Re-elected in 1970.
Re-elected in 1972.
Re-elected in 1974.
Re-elected in 1976.
Re-elected in 1978.
Re-elected in 1980.
Retired. |
| align=left |
Ronald D. Coleman
| | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1983 –
January 3, 1997 | | Elected in 1982.
Re-elected in 1984.
Re-elected in 1986.
Re-elected in 1988.
Re-elected in 1990.
Re-elected in 1992.
Re-elected in 1994.
Retired. |
| align=left |
Silvestre Reyes
| | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1997 –
January 3, 2013 | | Elected in 1996.
Re-elected in 1998.
Re-elected in 2000.
Re-elected in 2002.
Re-elected in 2004.
Re-elected in 2006.
Re-elected in 2008.
Re-elected in 2010.
Lost renomination. |
| align=left |
Beto O'Rourke
| | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 2013 –
January 3, 2019 | | Elected in 2012.
Re-elected in 2014.
Re-elected in 2016.
Retired to run for U.S. Senator. |
| align=left |
Veronica Escobar
| | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 2019 –
present | | Elected in 2018.
Re-elected in 2020.
Re-elected in 2022. | |
Recent elections
2022
Historical district boundaries
See also
References
- Book: Martis, Kenneth C.. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. 1989. Macmillan Publishing Company. New York.
- Book: Martis, Kenneth C.. The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. 1982. Macmillan Publishing Company. New York.
- Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
Notes and References
- Web site: Congressional Districts Relationship Files (state-based) . United States Census Bureau.
- Web site: My Congressional District: Congressional District 16 (118th Congress), Texas . United States Census Bureau.
- Web site: 2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List. 2023-01-10. Cook Political Report. July 12, 2022 . en.
