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.[5]
In the 2006 election, Lamar Smith defeated veteran and college administrator John Courage with 60% of the vote.
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.
Incumbent Lamar Smith faced five challengers in the 2012 general election on November 6, 2012: Candace Duval (Dem), John-Henry Liberty (Lib), Fidel Castillo (Grn), Bill Stout (Grn), and Carlos Pena (Ind).
[6]
Lamar Smith did not run for reelection in 2018.[7]
On the Republican side of the ticket, Attorney Chip Roy (R) served as chief of staff to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and senior advisor to Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R).[8].
On the Democratic side, four candidates ran to replace him: Joseph Kopser, entrepreneur and Army veteran; Derrick Crowe, activist; Elliott McFadden, Executive Director of Austin B-cycle; and Mary Wilson, pastor.[9] The primary election took place on March 6, 2018.[10] After a runoff against Mary Street Wilson, Joseph Kopser won the May 22, 2018 Democratic primary with 58% of the vote.[11]
Charles L. South
O. C. Fisher
Bob Krueger
Tom Loeffler
Lamar Smith
Chip Roy
