Texas' 13th Congressional District election, 2020

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2022
2018
Texas' 13th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
Republican primary runoff
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: December 9, 2019
Primary: March 3, 2020
Primary runoff: July 14, 2020
General: November 3, 2020

Pre-election incumbent:
Mac Thornberry (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in Texas
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
Texas' 13th Congressional District
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Texas elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

All U.S. congressional districts, including the 13th Congressional District of Texas, held elections in 2020.

Ronny L. Jackson won election in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 13.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
December 9, 2019
March 3, 2020
November 3, 2020


Heading into the election the incumbent was Republican Mac Thornberry, who was first elected in 1994.


Ronny Jackson defeated Josh Winegarner in the Republican primary runoff. Gus Trujillo defeated Greg Sagan in the Democratic primary runoff.


Texas' 13th Congressional District is located in the northern portion of the state and includes Archer, Armstrong, Baylor, Briscoe, Carson, Childress, Clay, Collingsworth, Cooke, Cottle, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Dickens, Donley, Foard, Gray, Hall, Hansford, Hardeman, Hartley, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Jack, King, Knox, Lipscomb, Montague, Moore, Motley, Ochiltree, Oldham, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Sherman, Swisher, Wheeler, Wichita, and Wilbarger counties. Parts of Floyd and Wise counties are also included in the district.[1]


Democratic Party For more information about the Democratic primary, click here.
Republican Party For more information about the Republican primary, click here.

Post-election analysis

The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

Presidential and congressional election results, Texas' 13th Congressional District, 2020
Race Presidential U.S. House
Democratic candidate Democratic Party 19.4 18.5
Republican candidate Republican Party 79.2 79.4
Difference 59.8 60.9

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Texas modified its absentee/mail-in voting, candidate filing, and early voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

  • Absentee/mail-in voting: Local election officials could not reject an absentee ballot due to a perceived signature mismatch unless the voter was given a pre-rejection notice of this finding and a "meaningful opportunity to cure his or her ballot's rejection." Return locations for absentee/mail-in ballots were limited to one per county.
  • Candidate filing procedures: The petition deadline for independent candidates for non-presidential office was extended to August 13, 2020.
  • Early voting: Early voting began on October 13, 2020.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 13

Ronny L. Jackson defeated Gus Trujillo and Jack Westbrook in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 13 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Ronny-Jackson.jpg
Ronny L. Jackson (R)
 
79.4
 
217,124
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/GusTrujillo.jpg
Gus Trujillo (D) Candidate Connection
 
18.5
 
50,477
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Jack_Westbrook.jpg
Jack Westbrook (L)
 
2.2
 
5,907

Total votes: 273,508
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 13

Gus Trujillo defeated Greg Sagan in the Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 13 on July 14, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/GusTrujillo.jpg
Gus Trujillo Candidate Connection
 
66.4
 
4,988
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Greg_Sagan_.jpg
Greg Sagan
 
33.6
 
2,529

Total votes: 7,517
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = 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.

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 13

Ronny L. Jackson defeated Josh Winegarner in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 13 on July 14, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Ronny-Jackson.jpg
Ronny L. Jackson
 
55.6
 
36,684
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Josh__Winegarner.jpg
Josh Winegarner
 
44.4
 
29,327

Total votes: 66,011
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 13

Gus Trujillo and Greg Sagan advanced to a runoff. They defeated Timothy Gassaway in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 13 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/GusTrujillo.jpg
Gus Trujillo Candidate Connection
 
42.2
 
6,995
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Greg_Sagan_.jpg
Greg Sagan
 
34.7
 
5,752
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/TimothyGassaway2024.jpg
Timothy Gassaway
 
23.1
 
3,825

Total votes: 16,572
Candidate Connection = 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 13

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 13 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Josh__Winegarner.jpg
Josh Winegarner
 
38.9
 
39,062
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Ronny-Jackson.jpg
Ronny L. Jackson
 
20.0
 
20,048
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/80182230_chrisekstrom.jpg
Chris Ekstrom Candidate Connection
 
15.3
 
15,387
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Elaine_Hays.jpg
Elaine Hays
 
7.7
 
7,701
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/LeeHarvey.jpg
Lee Harvey
 
3.8
 
3,841
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/VanceSnider.jpg
Vance Snider II
 
3.5
 
3,500
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/MarkNeese.jpg
Mark Neese Candidate Connection
 
3.0
 
2,984
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/MattMcArthur.jpg
Matt McArthur
 
1.8
 
1,816
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/DianeKnowlton.png
Diane Knowlton
 
1.5
 
1,464
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/80182230_ar-303309899.jpg
Richard Herman Candidate Connection
 
0.9
 
915
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/AsusenaResendizTX.png
Asusena Resendiz
 
0.8
 
818
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/80182230_culley_2020.jpg
Jamie Culley Candidate Connection
 
0.8
 
779
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/monique2.jpg
Monique Worthy Candidate Connection
 
0.7
 
748
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Catherine_Carr.jpg
Catherine Carr Candidate Connection
 
0.7
 
707
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/JF.jpg
Jason Foglesong Candidate Connection
 
0.6
 
579

Total votes: 100,349
Candidate Connection = 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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Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 13

Jack Westbrook advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 13 on March 21, 2020.

Candidate
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Jack_Westbrook.jpg
Jack Westbrook (L)

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Runoff elections in Texas

In Texas, a primary election candidate for congressional, state, or county office must receive a majority of the vote (more than 50%) to be declared the winner. If no candidate wins the requisite majority, a runoff election is held between the top two vote-getters.[2]

As of 2020, the Texas Secretary of State office stated, "There is no requirement to have previously voted in the general primary election in order to participate in the subsequent primary runoff election. Therefore, if a qualified voter did not vote in the general primary election, they are still eligible to vote in the primary runoff election." The office also stated that "if a voter votes in the primary of one party, they will only be able to vote in that party’s primary runoff election. ... After being affiliated with a party, a voter is not able to change or cancel their party affiliation until the end of the calendar year."[3]

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

One of 254 Texas counties—0.4 percent—is a Pivot County. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Jefferson County, Texas 0.48% 1.61% 2.25%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Texas with 52.2 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 43.2 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Texas cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 66.7 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Texas supported Democratic candidates slightly more often than Republicans, 53.3 to 46.7 percent. The state, however, favored Republicans in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Texas. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[4][5]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 54 out of 150 state House districts in Texas with an average margin of victory of 37.4 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 65 out of 150 state House districts in Texas with an average margin of victory of 36.4 points. Clinton won 10 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 96 out of 150 state House districts in Texas with an average margin of victory of 36.2 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 85 out of 150 state House districts in Texas with an average margin of victory of 34.5 points.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+33, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 33 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Texas' 13th Congressional District the most Republican nationally.[6]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.01. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.01 points toward that party.[7]

Campaign finance

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Gus Trujillo Democratic Party $22,826 $18,820 $4,006 As of November 23, 2020
Ronny L. Jackson Republican Party $2,151,194 $1,764,055 $387,139 As of December 31, 2020
Jack Westbrook Libertarian Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.


Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from three outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato's Crystal Ball. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[8]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[9][10][11]

Race ratings: Texas' 13th Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

Candidate ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for 13th Congressional District candidates in Texas in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Texas, click here.

Filing requirements, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
Texas 13th Congressional District Democratic or Republican N/A N/A $3,125.00 Fixed number 12/9/2019 Source
Texas 13th Congressional District Unaffiliated 500 5% of all votes cast for governor in the district in the last election; not to exceed 500 N/A N/A 12/9/2019 (declaration of intent); 8/13/2020 (final filing deadline) Source

District election history

2018

See also: Texas' 13th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 13

Incumbent Mac Thornberry defeated Greg Sagan and Calvin DeWeese in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 13 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Mac_Thornberry.jpg
Mac Thornberry (R)
 
81.5
 
169,027
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Greg_Sagan_.jpg
Greg Sagan (D)
 
16.9
 
35,083
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Calvin DeWeese (L)
 
1.5
 
3,175

Total votes: 207,285
Candidate Connection = 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 13

Greg Sagan advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 13 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Greg_Sagan_.jpg
Greg Sagan
 
100.0
 
7,322

Total votes: 7,322
Candidate Connection = 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 13

Incumbent Mac Thornberry advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 13 on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Mac_Thornberry.jpg
Mac Thornberry
 
100.0
 
71,018

Total votes: 71,018
Candidate Connection = 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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2016

See also: Texas' 13th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Mac Thornberry (R) defeated Calvin DeWeese (L) and Rusty Tomlinson (G) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Thornberry faced no opposition in the Republican primary on March 1, 2016. No Democrats filed to run in the race.[12][13]

U.S. House, Texas District 13 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngMac Thornberry Incumbent 90% 199,050
     Libertarian Calvin DeWeese 6.7% 14,725
     Green Rusty Tomlinson 3.4% 7,467
Total Votes 221,242
Source: Texas Secretary of State

2014

See also: Texas' 13th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 13th Congressional District of Texas held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Mac Thornberry (R) defeated Mike Minter (D), Emily Pivoda (L) and Don Cook (G) in the general election.

U.S. House, Texas District 13 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngMac Thornberry Incumbent 84.3% 110,842
     Democratic Mike Minter 12.8% 16,822
     Libertarian Emily Pivoda 2.2% 2,863
     Green Don Cook 0.7% 924
Total Votes 131,451
Source: Texas Secretary of State

See also

External links

Footnotes


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
Al Green (D)
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
Chip Roy (R)
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
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District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
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District 37
District 38
Republican Party (27)
Democratic Party (13)