Texas's 21st congressional district

"TX-21" redirects here. TX-21 may also refer to Texas State Highway 21.

Texas's 21st congressional district
Current Representative		Lamar S. Smith (R–San Antonio)
Population (2000)	651,619
Median income	$55,609
Ethnicity	84.0% White, 3.9% Black, 3.1% Asian, 18.1% Hispanic, 0.5% Native American, 0.5% other
Cook PVI	R+14

Texas District 21 of the United States House of Representatives is a Congressional district that serves the area northeast of San Antonio in the state of Texas. The current Representative from District 21 is Lamar S. Smith.

Austin, TX US Congressial District Boundaries (with street names)

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Years	District home	Note
District created		January 3, 1935
Charles L. South	Democratic	January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1943
O. C. Fisher	Democratic	January 3, 1943 – December 31, 1974		Retired
Vacant		December 31, 1974 – January 3, 1975
Bob Krueger	Democratic	January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1979
Tom Loeffler	Republican	January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1987
Lamar S. Smith	Republican	January 3, 1987–present		Incumbent

2010 election

In the 2010 election, Lamar Smith defeated Lainey Melnick with 68.9 percent of the vote. Melnick, an Austin real estate broker, officially filed papers with the Federal Election Commission on June 23, 2009 to become a candidate.

2006 election

In the case of League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry, 548 U. S. 399 (2006), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the configuration of Texas' 15th, 21st, 23rd, 25th and 28th congressional districts as drawn by the Texas Legislature violated the National Voting Rights Act of 1965. Replacement district boundaries for 2006 election were subsequently issued for the five districts by the local federal district court, and on election day in November, these five districts had open primaries, with a candidate being elected if he or she received over 50 percent of the vote, and runoff elections in December to decide elections in which no candidate gained an absolute majority in November.

In the 2006 election, Lamar Smith defeated veteran and college administrator John Courage with 60% of the vote.

Election results

US House election, 2010: Texas District 21
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lamar S. Smith	162,763	68.9	-11.09
	Democratic	Lainey Melnick	65,834	27.9	+3.39
	Libertarian	James Arthur Strohm	7,687	3.3	-16.7
Majority			96929
Turnout			236,284
	Republican hold		Swing

US House election, 2008: Texas District 21
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lamar S. Smith	243,471	79.99	+19.89
	Libertarian	James Arthur Strohm	60,879	20	+18
Majority			182,592
Turnout			304,350
	Republican hold		Swing

US House election, 2006: Texas District 21
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lamar S. Smith	122,486	60.1	-1.4
	Democratic	John Courage	49,957	24.51	-10.99
	Democratic	Gene Kelly	18,355	9
	Independent	Tommy Ray Calvert Jr	5,280	2.59
	Libertarian	James Arthur Strohm	4,076	2.0	-1.0
	Independent	James Lyle Peterson	2,189	1.07
	Independent	Mark J. Rossano	1,439	0.7
Majority
Turnout			203,782
	Republican hold		Swing

US House election, 2004: Texas District 21
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lamar S. Smith	209,774	61.5	-11.4
	Democratic	Rhett Smith	121,129	35.5	+10.2
	Libertarian	Jason Pratt	10,216	3.0	+1.1
Majority			88,645	26.0
Turnout			341,119
	Republican hold		Swing	-10.8

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present