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November 4, 2014 |
March 4, 2014 |
John Carter |
John Carter |
Cook Political Report: Solid R[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe R[2] |
The 31st Congressional District of Texas held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014.
Incumbent John Carter (R) won re-election in 2014. He was unchallenged in the Republican primary and defeated Louie Minor (D) in the general election.
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Texas utilizes an open primary system. Voters do not have to register with a party in advance in order to participate in that party's primary. The voter must sign a pledge stating the following (the language below is taken directly from state statutes)[3]
| “ | The following pledge shall be placed on the primary election ballot above the listing of candidates' names: 'I am a (insert appropriate political party) and understand that I am ineligible to vote or participate in another political party's primary election or convention during this voting year.'[4] | ” |
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by February 2, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 5, 2014 (30 days prior to election).[5]
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was John Carter (R), who was first elected in 2002.
Texas' 31st Congressional District is located in the central portion of the state and includes Williamson County and parts of Bell County.[6]
General election candidates
March 4, 2014, primary results
|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 64% | 91,607 | ||
| Democratic | Louie Minor | 32% | 45,715 | |
| Libertarian | Scott Ballard | 4% | 5,706 | |
| Total Votes | 143,028 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State | ||||
Below are important votes the incumbent cast during the 113th Congress.
On July 30, 2014, the U.S. House approved a resolution 225 to 201 to sue President Barack Obama for exceeding his constitutional authority. Five Republicans—Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Paul Broun of Georgia, Scott Garrett of New Jersey, Walter Jones of North Carolina and Steve Stockman of Texas—voted with Democrats against the lawsuit.[7] Carter joined the other 224 Republicans in favor of the lawsuit. All Democrats voted against the resolution.[8][9]
On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201.[10] At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference.[11] Eddie Bernice Johnson voted against the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[12]
The shutdown ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[13] The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. Eddie Bernice Johnson voted for HR 2775.[14]
| John Carter (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[15] | April 15, 2013 | $464,659.20 | $91,074.99 | $(59,355.70) | $496,378.49 | ||||
| July Quarterly[16] | July 15, 2013 | $496,378.49 | $122,005.84 | $(125,888.59) | $492,495.74 | ||||
| October Quarterly[17] | October 15, 2013 | $492,495.74 | $132,477.78 | $(67,757.79) | $557,215.73 | ||||
| Year-End[18] | January 31, 2014 | $557,215 | $73,374 | $(182,401) | $448,189 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[19] | February 20, 2014 | $448,189 | $14,000 | $(40,077) | $422,111 | ||||
| Pre-Special[20] | February 27, 2014 | $422,111 | $6,100 | $(6,924) | $421,287 | ||||
| April Quarterly[21] | April 15, 2014 | $421,287 | $118,615 | $(32,545) | $507,357 | ||||
| Pre-Special[22] | July 8, 2014 | $507,357 | $135,488 | $(48,237) | $594,608 | ||||
| July Quarterly[23] | July 15, 2014 | $594,608 | $66,788 | $(52,110) | $609,287 | ||||
| October Quarterly[24] | October 15, 2014 | $609,287 | $159,555 | $(160,673) | $608,169 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $919,478.61 | $(775,969.08) | ||||||||
| Louie Minor (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| October Quarterly[25] | October 15, 2013 | $0 | $10,723 | $(3,415) | $7,307 | ||||
| Year-End[26] | January 31, 2014 | $7,307 | $24,685 | $(24,321) | $7,671 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[27] | February 21, 2014 | $7,671 | $6,379 | $(11,654) | $2,396 | ||||
| April Quarterly[28] | April 15, 2014 | $2,396 | $10,419 | $(10,496) | $2,318 | ||||
| July Quarterly[29] | July 15, 2014 | $2,318 | $9,614 | $(10,679) | $1,253 | ||||
| October Quarterly[30] | October 16, 2014 | $1,253 | $4,321 | $(6,090) | $−1,769 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $66,141 | $(66,655) | ||||||||
| Candidate ballot access |
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The 31st Congressional District of Texas held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012, in which incumbent John Carter (R) won re-election. He defeated Stephen Wyman (D) and Ethan Garofolo (L) in the general election.[31]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 61.3% | 145,348 | ||
| Democratic | Stephen M. Wyman | 35% | 82,977 | |
| Libertarian | Ethan Garofalo | 3.7% | 8,862 | |
| Total Votes | 237,187 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
On November 2, 2010, John Carter won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Bill Oliver (L) in the general election.[32]
| U.S. House, Texas District 31 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | 82.5% | 126,384 | ||
| Libertarian | Bill Oliver | 17.5% | 26,735 | |
| Total Votes | 153,119 | |||
Categories: [U.S. House elections, Texas, 2014]