Texas's 8th congressional district
{{Short description|U.S. House district for Texas}}
{{Disambig-acronym|TX-8|Texas State Highway 8}}
{{Distinguish|Texas's 8th House of Representatives district}}
{{use mdy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox U.S. congressional district
|state = Texas
|district number = 8
|image name = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|from=Texas's 8th congressional district (2023–).map|zoom=8|frame-latitude=30.45|frame-longitude=-95.2|frame-height=300|frame-width=400|overlay-vertical-alignment=bottom|overlay-horizontal-alignment=right|overlay=150px}}
|image width =
|image caption = Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
|representative = Morgan Luttrell
|party = Republican
|residence = Magnolia
|english area =
|metric area =
|distribution ref={{Cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/cd_state.html |title=Congressional Districts Relationship Files (State-based) |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |archive-date=April 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402141525/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/cd_state.html |url-status=dead}}
|percent urban = 67.55
|percent rural = 32.45
|population = 868,181{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=48&cd=08|title=My Congressional District|first=US Census Bureau|last=Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP)|website=www.census.gov}}
|population year = 2023
|percent white = 45.1
|percent black = 12.4
|percent asian = 5.8
|percent other race = 0.9
|percent more than one race = 3.3
|percent hispanic = 32.5
|percent blue collar =
|percent white collar =
|percent gray collar =
}}
Texas's 8th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives includes all of Polk and San Jacinto counties, and parts of Harris, Walker, and Montgomery counties. It includes much of the northern outlying areas of metro Houston, including Conroe, Magnolia, and most of Lake Livingston. The current Representative from the 8th district is Morgan Luttrell and has been since 2023.
District history
Texas received an eighth congressional district through reapportionment in 1881 as a result of population growth reflected in the 1880 census and in 1883, James Francis Miller, a Democrat, was elected its first representative. From 1882-1892 the district was located in South Central Texas between Houston and San Antonio and was represented by Democrats. After 1893, the district was located in North Texas and was represented by a Republican representative from Fort Worth and then a Democrat from Weatherford. After the redistricting of 1902, the district shifted to Southeast Texas and the area outside of Houston and was represented by Congressmen from Huntsville, Hempstead and Richmond. From 1910-1959, the 8th district comprised all of Harris County and the city of Houston.
In 1958, part of southern Harris County became the 22nd district. The 8th and 22nd districts were separated by a boundary consisting roughly of what is now U.S. 290, the western and southern portions of Loop 610, and the portion of Buffalo Bayou east of downtown Houston including the Houston Ship Channel. Everything north of this boundary remained in the 8th.
The district was redrawn mid-decade in 1966 after the Supreme Court ruled in Wesberry v. Sanders two years earlier that congressional district populations had to be equal or close to equal in population. As a result, Houston was split between the 7th, 8th, 9th and 22nd districts. For the next 17 years, the 8th was anchored by northern Houston.
By the 1970s, the 8th district was beginning to move away from its traditional Democratic roots, and in 1980 it elected a Republican congressman, Jack Fields, over liberal seven-term incumbent Bob Eckhardt. After the 1980 census, the 8th district was pushed further north to include conservative areas of northern Harris County (such as Fields' home in Humble) as well as the wealthier portions of Montgomery County, The 8th district's borders changed drastically in the 1990s round of redistricting, which was orchestrated by the Democratic-controlled state legislature as well as then-Congressman Martin Frost, the senior Democrat in the congressional delegation. The new 8th district was designed to pack in as many Republicans as possible and was described by some critics as the "dumbbell district" because of its strange shape. The western half of the district contained parts of Waller, Austin, and Washington counties, as well as much of Brazos County, which is home to the conservative bastion Texas A&M University. The eastern half of the district took in nearly all of now-heavily Republican Montgomery County, as well as Republican areas in northern Harris County. The two halves were joined together by a narrow tendril in Waller County. Fields continued to represent the district until his retirement in 1996, when he was succeeded by fellow Republican Kevin Brady.
The 8th district was made somewhat more compact after the 2000 census, taking in nearly all of Montgomery County and most of northern Harris County. However, it changed dramatically during the 2003 redistricting plan engineered by then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Republican from Texas's 22nd district. DeLay wanted to dislodge 4-term Democratic Congressman Jim Turner from the neighboring 2nd district, who represented a district located in East Texas that was predominantly rural and had begun moving away from its Democratic roots (Bush received 63% of the vote there in 2000). Brady's 8th district lost most of its share of Houston, instead absorbing nearly all of the southern portion of the old 2nd district. Although geographically the new 8th was more Turner's district than Brady's, half its population came from Brady's base in Montgomery County, which has as many people as the rest of the district combined. The new 8th district was so heavily Republican (Bush would have carried it in 2000 with 69% of the vote) that Turner declined to run for reelection. Brady has been reelected from this district four times with only nominal opposition. In 2020, Brady fended off a primary challenge and won re-election against Democrat Elizabeth Hernandez and Libertarian Chris Duncan with 72.5% of the vote.
Due to redistricting in 2012, Texas's 8th district lost its entire eastern half, with Orange, Newton, Jasper, Tyler, Hardin, Polk, and Liberty counties being removed from the district. Counties added include all of Trinity, Houston, Grimes, Madison, and the southern half of Leon County.{{cite web|url=http://gis1.tlc.state.tx.us/ |title=DistrictViewer - Texas Legislative Council |publisher=Gis1.tlc.state.tx.us |access-date=2012-05-29}}
in 2022, Kevin Brady, who eventually rose to become Chairman of the influential House Ways and Means Committee (where he notably shepherded the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017), announced his retirement from Congress. At the same time, Brady's hometown of The Woodlands was redrawn into the 2nd District of neighboring Republican Dan Crenshaw, while the 8th was redrawn to now cover all areas of Montgomery County north of The Woodlands along with southern portions of Walker County, all of San Jacinto and Polk counties (including Lake Livingston) and a western section of Harris County that includes a sizable number of middle-class Hispanics with neighborhoods that vary in composure from heavily Republican to heavily Democratic (including some that were central to the Democrats' pickup of the traditionally Republican 7th District in the 2018 elections). The new district remains heavily Republican, even though the Harris County portion is considered more competitive than the overwhelmingly Republican remainder of the district.
On March 1, 2022 the Texas Republican primary was held. Morgan Luttrell won the primary with 52.2% of the vote against 11 different challengers. Christian Collins held 2nd at 22.2% and Jonathan Hullihan in 3rd with 12.6%. Luttrell defeated Democratic nominee Laura Jones on November 8, 2022.{{Cite web |title=Texas' 8th Congressional District |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Texas%27_8th_Congressional_District |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}
Composition
For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities:[https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd118/cd_based/ST48/CD118_TX01.pdf https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd118/cd_based/ST48/CD118_TX08.pdf]
Harris County (3)
: Houston (part; also 2nd, 7th, 9th, 18th, 22nd, 29th, 36th, 38th; shared with Fort Bend and Montgomery counties), Katy (part; also 10th and 22nd; shared with Fort Bend and Waller counties), Waller (part; also 10th; shared with Waller County)
Montgomery County (10)
: Conroe (part; also 2nd), Cut and Shoot, Grangerland (part; also 2nd), Magnolia, Montgomery, Panorama Village, Pinehurst, Stagecoach, Willis, The Woodlands (part; also 2nd; shared with Harris County)
Polk County (10)
: All 10 communities
: All 6 communities
Walker County (2)
: Huntsville (part; also 17th), New Waverly
List of members representing the district
District borders are periodically redrawn and some district residences may no longer be in the 8th district.
| class=wikitable style="text-align:center" |
| style="height:3em"
! Member ! Party ! Term ! Cong ! Electoral history |
| style="height:3em"
| colspan=6 | District established March 4, 1883 |
| style="height:3em"
| align=left | 100px | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1883 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|48|49}} | Elected in 1882. |
| style="height:3em"
| align=left | 100px | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1887 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|50|52}} | Elected in 1886. |
| style="height:3em"
| align=left | 100px | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1893 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|53|54}} | Elected in 1892. |
| style="height:3em"
| align=left | 100px | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1897 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|55|57}} | Elected in 1896. |
| style="height:3em"
| colspan=2 | Vacant | nowrap | January 15, 1903 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|57}} | |
| style="height:3em"
| align=left | 100px | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1903 – | rowspan=2 | {{USCongressOrdinal|58}} | Redistricted from the {{ushr|Texas|1|C}} and re-elected in 1902. |
| style="height:3em"
| colspan=2 | Vacant | nowrap | November 16, 1903 – | |
| style="height:3em"
| align=left | 100px | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic | nowrap | November 17, 1903 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|58|59}} | Elected to finish Ball's term. |
| style="height:3em"
| colspan=2 | Vacant | nowrap | April 24, 1905 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|59}} | |
| style="height:3em"
| align=left | 100px | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic | nowrap | June 6, 1905 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|59|62}} | Elected to finish Pinckney's term. |
| style="height:3em"
| align=left | 100px | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1913 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|63|66}} | Elected in 1912. |
| style="height:3em"
| align=left | 100px | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1921 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|67|72}} | Elected in 1920. |
| style="height:3em"
| colspan=2 | Vacant | nowrap | December 13, 1932 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|72}} | |
| style="height:3em"
| align=left | 100px | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic | nowrap | January 28, 1933 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|72|74}} | Elected to finish Garrett's term. |
| style="height:3em"
| align=left | 100px | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1937 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|75|89}} | Elected in 1936. |
| style="height:3em"
| colspan=2 | Vacant | nowrap | February 15, 1966 – | rowspan=2 | {{USCongressOrdinal|89}} | |
| style="height:3em"
| align=left | 100px | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic | nowrap | March 26, 1966 – | Elected to finish her husband's term. |
| style="height:3em"
| align=left | 100px | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1967 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|90|96}} | Elected in 1966. |
| style="height:3em"
| align=left | 100px | {{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1981 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|97|104}} | Elected in 1980. |
| style="height:3em"
| align=left | 100px | {{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1997 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|105|117}} | Elected in 1996. |
| style="height:3em"
| align=left | 100px | {{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 2023 – | {{USCongressOrdinal|118|Present}} |
Recent election results from statewide races
| class=wikitable
! Year ! Office ! Resultshttps://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::1c2c1e0d-2fd1-43a8-a039-73e7023124d1 |
| |2008
| align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|McCain 67% - 32% |
| |2012
| align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|Romney 72% - 28% |
| rowspan=2|2014
| Senate | align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|Cornyn 76% - 24% |
| Governor
| align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|Abbott 73% - 27% |
| |2016
| align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|Trump 64% - 32% |
| rowspan=4|2018
| Senate | align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|Cruz 63% - 37% |
| Governor
| align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|Abbott 66% - 33% |
| Lt. Governor
| align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|Patrick 63% - 35% |
| Attorney General
| align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|Paxton 62% - 36% |
| rowspan=2|2020
| align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|Trump 63% - 36% |
| Senate
| align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|Cornyn 64% - 34% |
| rowspan=4|2022
| Governor | align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|Abbott 67% - 32% |
| Lt. Governor
| align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|Patrick 66% - 32% |
| Attorney General
| align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|Paxton 66% - 32% |
| Comptroller of Public Accounts
| align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|Hegar 68% - 30% |
| rowspan=2|2024
| align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|Trump 66% - 32% |
| Senate
| align="right" {{party shading/Republican}}|Cruz 63% - 35% |
Election results
{{Election box begin no change|title=United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2024: District 8{{cite web |title=U.S. Representative District 8 |url=https://results.texas-election.com/contestdetails?officeID=2007&officeName=U.%20S.%20REPRESENTATIVE%20DISTRICT%208&officeType=FEDERAL%20OFFICES&from=race |publisher=Texas Secretary of State |access-date=11 January 2025}}
}}{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Morgan Luttrell (incumbent)
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 233,423
| percentage = 68.2
}}{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Laura Jones
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 108,754
| percentage = 31.8
}}{{Election box total no change
| votes = 342,177
| percentage = 100.0
}}{{Election box hold with party link no change
| winner = Republican Party (United States)
}}{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin no change|title=United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2022: District 8[https://results.texas-election.com/contestdetails?officeID=2007&officeName=U.%20S.%20REPRESENTATIVE%20DISTRICT%208&officeType=FEDERAL%20OFFICES&from=race U. S. REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 8], Texas Secretary of State, November 8, 2022.}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Morgan Luttrell
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 152,797
| percentage = 68.09
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Laura Jones
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 68,485
| percentage = 30.52
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Roy Eriksen
| party = Libertarian Party (United States)
| votes = 3,116
| percentage = 1.39
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 224,398
| percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin no change|title=United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2020: District 8{{cite web |title=Texas Election Results - Official Results |url=https://results.texas-election.com/races |website=Texas Secretary of State |access-date=November 26, 2020}}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|candidate=Kevin Brady (incumbent)|party=Republican Party (United States)|votes=277,327|percentage=72.5}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|candidate=Elizabeth Hernandez|party=Democratic Party (United States)|votes=97,409|percentage=25.5}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|candidate=Chris Duncan|party=Libertarian Party (United States)|votes=7,735|percentage=2.0}}
{{Election box total no change|votes=382,471|percentage=100.0}}
{{Election box hold with party link no change|winner=Republican Party (United States)}}
{{Election box end}}{{Election box begin | title=United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2018: District 8}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = Kevin Brady (incumbent)
| votes = 200,619
| percentage = 73.44
| change = -26.56
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Steven David
| votes = 67,930
| percentage = 24.87
| change = +24.87
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Libertarian Party (United States)
| candidate = Chris Duncan
| votes = 4,621
| percentage = 1.69
| change = +1.69
}}
{{Election box majority
| votes = 132,689
| percentage = 48.57
| change = -51.43
}}
{{Election box turnout
| votes = 273,170
| percentage =
| change =
}}
{{Election box hold with party link
| winner = Republican Party (United States)
| swing =
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin | title=United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2016: District 8}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = Kevin Brady (incumbent)
| votes = 236,379
| percentage = 100.00
| change = +10.68
}}
{{Election box majority
| votes = 236,379
| percentage = 100.00
| change = +21.36
}}
{{Election box turnout
| votes = 236,379
| percentage =
| change =
}}
{{Election box hold with party link
| winner = Republican Party (United States)
| swing =
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin | title=United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2014: District 8}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = Kevin Brady (incumbent)
| votes = 125,066
| percentage = 89.32
| change = +12.03
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Ken Petty
| votes = 14,947
| percentage = 10.68
| change = -9.65
}}
{{Election box majority
| votes = 110,119
| percentage = 78.64
| change = +21.68
}}
{{Election box turnout
| votes = 140,013
| percentage =
| change =
}}
{{Election box hold with party link
| winner = Republican Party (United States)
| swing =
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin | title=United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2012: District 8}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = Kevin Brady (incumbent)
| votes = 194,043
| percentage = 77.29
| change = -2.98
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Neil Burns
| votes = 51,051
| percentage = 20.33
| change = +3.08
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Libertarian Party (United States)
| candidate = Roy Hall
| votes = 5,958
| percentage = 2.37
| change = -0.11
}}
{{Election box majority
| votes = 142,992
| percentage = 56.96
| change = -6.06
}}
{{Election box turnout
| votes = 251,052
| percentage =
| change =
}}
{{Election box hold with party link
| winner = Republican Party (United States)
| swing =
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin | title=US House election, 2010: Texas District 8}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Republican Party (US)
|candidate = Kevin Brady (incumbent)
|votes = 161,257
|percentage = 80.27
|change = +7.71
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Democratic Party (US)
|candidate = Kent Hargett
|votes = 36,566
|percentage = 17.25
|change = -7.53
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Libertarian Party (US)
|candidate = Bruce West
|votes = 4,988
|percentage = 2.48
|change = -0.17
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin | title=US House election, 2008: Texas District 8}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Republican Party (US)
|candidate = Kevin Brady (incumbent)
|votes = 207,128
|percentage = 72.56
|change = +5.3
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Democratic Party (US)
|candidate = Kent Hargett
|votes = 70,758
|percentage = 24.78
|change = -7.9
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Libertarian Party (US)
|candidate = Brian Stevens
|votes = 7,565
|percentage = 2.65
|change = +1.2
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin | title=US House election, 2006: Texas District 8}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Republican Party (US)
|candidate = Kevin Brady (incumbent)
|votes = 105,665
|percentage = 67.27
|change = -1.63
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Democratic Party (US)
|candidate = James "Jim" Wright
|votes = 51,393
|percentage = 32.72
|change = +3.02
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin | title=US House election, 2004: Texas District 8}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Republican Party (US)
|candidate = Kevin Brady (incumbent)
|votes = 179,599
|percentage = 68.9
|change = -24.2
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Democratic Party (US)
|candidate = James Wright
|votes = 77,324
|percentage = 29.7
|change = +29.7
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Libertarian Party (US)
|candidate = Paul Hansen
|votes = 3,705
|percentage = 1.4
|change = -5.4
}}
{{Election box end}}
Historical district boundaries
See also
References
{{reflist|refs=
- {{cite book|title=The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress|last=Martis|first=Kenneth C.|year=1989|publisher=Macmillan Publishing Company|location=New York}}
- {{cite book|title = The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts|last = Martis|first = Kenneth C.|year = 1982|publisher = Macmillan Publishing Company|location = New York}}
- [http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present]
}}
{{USCongDistStateTX}}
{{coord|30|50|00|N|95|32|37|W|region:US_type:city_source:kolossus-eswiki|display=title}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Texas's 8th Congressional District}}