Texas's electoral votes in U.S. presidential elections 1848-2020

Texas has taken part in 42 U.S presidential elections between 1848 and 2020, correctly voting for the overall winner on 24 occasions, giving a success rate of 57 percent. Texas has voted for the Democratic nominee in 27 elections, and the Republican nominee in 15 elections, although eleven of these 15 results make up Texas' current voting streak. Texas has been considered a Republican stronghold for the past two decades (after being heavily contested throughout the 80s and 90s), but was viewed as a battleground state going into the 2020 election; however, Donald Trump surprised many by winning the popular vote by a relatively comfortable, six percent margin.

Texan presidents

Two U.S. presidents have been born in Texas; the first was Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was born in Denison (the family moved to Kansas while he was an infant, which he considered his home state); the second was Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ), who was born, raised and died in Stonewall, Texas. Two other presidents, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, also considered themselves Texans, having held public office there and resided there for the majority of their lives, although both were born in other states. All four of these presidents won the popular vote in Texas in each election, and LBJ's inclusion as John F. Kennedy's running mate in the 1960 was seen as a deciding factor in helping Kennedy win in the south. No other major party candidate has come from the Lone Star State, although the Independent and Reform Party candidate, Ross Perot, who was influential in the 1992 and 1996 elections, came from Texarkana.

Demographic changes

Texas' allocation of electoral votes has consistently grown throughout its history, and recent elections, Texas has had the second-most electoral votes of any state (behind California), with 38 votes. This number is expected to increase to 42 votes in the 2024 election, as Texas' birth rate and positive migration rate are both higher than the national average. Much of this demographic change is due to the growth of the Hispanic community in Texas, which is also seen as the reason for the Democratic Party's growing popularity in the state.