United States House of Representatives, Texas District 2

Texas District 2 of the United States House of Representatives is a Congressional district in the southeastern portion of the state of Texas. As of the 2000 census, District 2 represents 651,619 people.

Related Topics:
United States House of Representatives - Texas - 2000 - Census

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The district once covered large portions of southern East Texas and South Texas, but has shrunken considerably as Texas' population has grown. It currently includes all of Jefferson County, most of Liberty County and portions of Harris, Liberty and Orange counties. For most of its history, the district has been based in Galveston, but has also included the oil-producing cities of Beaumont and Port Arthur, as well as large portions of Houston.

Related Topics:
East Texas - South Texas - Jefferson County - Liberty County - Harris - Orange - Galveston - Beaumont - Port Arthur - Houston

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Historically a Democratic district, the district elected a Republican in the wave of 1994 that saw the party take control of the House for the first time in 40 years. It returned to its Democratic ways in 1996, but was radically altered in a controversial redistricting orchestrated by Tom DeLay, the House Majority Leader and the congressman from the neighboring 22nd District. Galveston and the portion of Houston around the Johnson Space Center were removed, and several much more Republican areas in and around Houston were added in their place. The four-term Democratic incumbent, Nick Lampson, was unseated by Republican Ted Poe, a longtime felony court judge in Harris County.

Related Topics:
Democratic - Republican - 1994 - 1996 - Redistricting - Tom DeLay - House Majority Leader - Johnson Space Center - Nick Lampson - Ted Poe

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The district's best-known congressman, Jack Brooks, represented the district for 42 years, from 1953 to 1995, the last four of those as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He was defeated in the 1994 wave by Republican Steve Stockman in one of the biggest upsets in modern American political history. Stockman was unseated by Lampson in 1997.

Related Topics:
Jack Brooks - 1953 - 1995 - House Judiciary Committee - Steve Stockman - 1997

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