With a supermajority, Republicans have complete control of the Texas Senate. That's at risk this ele

[Elderberry]

Texas Tribune by Alex Samuels Sept. 13, 2018

While the Texas Senate will remain Republican-dominated, the party could lose its ability to move legislation out of the chamber without the support of any Democrats.

Republican lawmakers in the Texas Senate were sitting pretty last year.

For years, the GOP had faced roadblocks to passing some conservative measures by the chamber’s two-thirds rule, which normally required the support of 21 members to get a bill to the floor. With 20 Republicans in the chamber, that left Republicans one short of moving out bills without the help of a single Democrat.

But then in 2015, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick led a successful move to lower the threshold from two-thirds to three-fifths. Suddenly, any measure with the backing of all of the chamber’s Republicans had all the support it needed. For that session and the ones that followed in 2017, the GOP effectively ran the Senate floor.

Now, with less than two months until Election Day, Republicans are finding that keeping that supermajority in the Texas Senate is no longer a sure thing.

“We’re emphasizing the possibility of losses,” said Darl Easton, the Republican Party Chairman in Tarrant County, where state Sen. Konni Burton's re-election bid is seen as a potential toss-up. “The more complacent you become, the more likely it is that you won’t win. We definitely have to keep the voters alert to the possibility of losing some seats. We’re not going to take anything for granted.”

“We are working and making sure we’re leaving no stone unturned,” added Missy Shorey, the Dallas County Republican Party chairwoman, speaking of the party’s efforts in assisting state Sen. Don Huffines, R-Dallas. “People in Dallas certainly know there’s no chance that seat is going to flip. [Huffines] is working for every vote out there.”

The Senate is still poised to remain GOP-dominated during next year’s legislative session. What’s at stake for the chamber’s Republicans this election cycle is losing their three-fifths majority — the crucial threshold for bringing legislation to the Senate floor without any support from Democrats.

In this year’s general election, three Republican-held seats are potentially in play — including two in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In one of the three Senate districts, more voters backed Democrat Hillary Clinton than Republican Donald Trump in 2016. In the other two districts, the president’s winning margin was so small, some wonder if they could flip to Democrats in a year when that party appears to have the momentum.

Those three seats are held by Burton of Colleyville, Huffines and Joan Huffman of Houston. Burton, who did not respond to a request for comment, is the only one that will have to navigate a historically competitive general election. In 2014, Burton flipped the seat from a Democrat with a little more than 52 percent of the vote. Two years later, Trump beat Clinton in the district by only half a percentage point.

More: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/09/13/texas-senate-republican-supermajority/