Texas 8th State Senate District · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.
1892–2024 (partial returns from 1876) · 38 presidential cycles · 38 with a vote-share denominator · 34 with a national benchmark
Highest vote share
Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.
Democratic
Franklin D. Roosevelt1936
92.9%
10,925 votes · D+86.0 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Samuel J. Tilden, 1876 · 92.7%
Republican
Ronald Reagan1984
77.7%
65,606 votes · R+55.5 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Richard Nixon, 1972 · 75.3%
Most votes
Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.
Democratic
Joe Biden2020
191,580votes
43.1% of the vote · R+12.1 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Kamala Harris, 2024 · 188,404 votes
Republican
Donald Trump2024
277,236votes
58.1% of the vote · R+18.6 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2020 · 245,337 votes
Best relative to the U.S.
This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.
Democratic
John W. Davis1924
+91.0pts D vs U.S.
Place D+65.8 · U.S. R+25.2 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · James M. Cox, 1920 · +79.7 pts
Republican
George W. Bush2000
+47.5pts R vs U.S.
Place R+47.0 · U.S. D+0.5 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · George W. Bush, 2004 · +41.5 pts
current representation
Current officeholders
RAngela PaxtonState Senate · 8
State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.
U.S. House elections · 1 House
Senate and governor results are in the Office selector at the top of this page.
U.S. House
Each row is a county-allocated estimate of U.S. House votes for this district — county returns apportioned onto its boundary, not precinct-counted. “Vote lead” is the estimated local lead here, not necessarily the winner of the full contest.
Source · Akashic county-allocated estimate from certified county returns, House; not precinct-counted.
Year
Vote lead
Democratic
Republican
Total
2018
R
41.4%116,856
58.6%165,165
282,021
District 8 recorded an R+18.6 presidential margin in 2024, placing it among the most one-sided state senate districts in Texas. Its nearly one million residents span a stretch of territory where statewide Republican candidates routinely post their strongest numbers.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 86.0 points in 1936 and a Republican high of 55.5 points in 1984. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 6.5 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 18.6 points.
A population of 963,125, a 54% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $116,112 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State Senate District 12 and State Senate District 30.
Akashic
Political twins — state-senate districts
The state-senate districts whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons → · Or open the source-auditable district brief for electoral baseline, electorate, current-cycle coverage, geography, official dates, and methodology. Open campaign intelligence report →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Texas 8th State Senate District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/48008/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
How did Texas 8th State Senate District vote in 2024?
In 2024, Texas 8th State Senate District voted Republican by 18.6 points (R+18.6), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 477,338 votes cast, 188,404 went Democratic and 277,236 went Republican.
When did Texas 8th State Senate District last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Texas 8th State Senate District voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Texas 8th State Senate District?
Texas 8th State Senate District has a population of 963,125 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Texas 8th State Senate District?
Median household income in Texas 8th State Senate District is $116,112 — above the national median of $80,734. The Texas state median is $78,476.
What is the political history of Texas 8th State Senate District?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Texas 8th State Senate District from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 23 went Democratic and 15 went Republican.