Kevin Eltife

Kevin Paul Eltife
Member of the Texas Senate
from the 1st district
Assumed office
March 5, 2004
Preceded by Bill Ratliff
Personal details
Born (1959-03-01) March 1, 1959
Smith County, Texas
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Kelly
Residence Tyler, Smith County, Texas
Alma mater University of Texas at Austin
Profession Owner, Eltife Properties

Kevin Paul Eltife (born March 1, 1959)[1] is a businessman from Tyler, Texas, who is a Republican member of the Texas Senate. He was sworn in on March 5, 2004, as a result of a special election to represent District 1. Eltife defeated Paul Sadler in the special election; in 2012, Sadler was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee against Ted Cruz for one of the two Texas seats in the United States Senate. The position opened when Senator and former Lieutenant Governor Bill Ratliff of Mount Pleasant resigned with less than a year remaining in his Senate term.

Eltife is considered one of the most liberal of the nineteen (as of 2013) Texas Senate Republicans, along with Robert L. Duncan of Lubbock, Kel Seliger of Amarillo, Bob Deuell of Greenville, and John Carona of Dallas, according to an analysis by Mark P. Jones of the political science department at Rice University in Houston. Jones also found that these Republicans saw passage of 90 percent of the bills for which they voted.[2] Of these five senators, Deuell lost a runoff election on May 27, 2014, and Carona was narrowly defeated for re-nomination on March 4.[3] Duncan, meanwhile, resigned from the Senate to become chancellor of the Texas Tech University System.

Eltife is a former mayor of Tyler and a former member of the Tyler City Council.

Eltife will not seek reelection to the Senate in the primary election scheduled for March 1, 2016.[4] Two area state representatives, Bryan Hughes of District 5, based in Mineola, and David Simpson of District 7, center about Longview, will seek the Republican nomination to succeed Eltife. Hughes carries the backing of Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, the presiding officer of the state Senate.[5]

Election history

Most recent election

2006

Texas general election, 2006: Senate District 1[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kevin P. Eltife 109,450 83.13 +14.96
Libertarian Jason Albers 22,211 16.87 +16.87
Majority 87,239 66.26 +29.92
Turnout 131,661 -21.23
Republican hold

Previous elections

2004

Special runoff election, 17 February 2004: Senate District 1, Unexpired term[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kevin Eltife 46,437 51.86 [8]+15.85
Democratic Paul Sadler 43,103 48.14 +8.63
Majority 3,334 3.72
Turnout 89,540 [8]+29.38
Republican hold
Special election, 20 January 2004: Senate District 1, Unexpired term[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kevin Eltife 24,919 36.01
Republican Bill Godsey 502 0.73
Republican Tommy Merritt 14,786 21.36
Democratic Paul Sadler 27,339 39.50
Constitution Daryl Ware[10] 480 0.69
Republican Jerry Yost 1,180 1.71
Turnout 69,206

References

  1. ↑ Texas Department of State Health Services, Vital Records (1929-03-01). "Birth Certificate for Kevin Paul Eltife" (Third party index of birth records for Smith County). Rootsweb.com. Retrieved 2006-12-26. External link in |publisher= (help) Archived January 6, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Enrique Rangel, "Why state Sen. Kel Seliger has a Republican primary challenger," February 24, 2014". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Republican primary election returns, March 4, 2014". team1.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Eltife won't run in 2016". Henderson Daily News. June 15, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  5. ↑ Ross Ramsey (August 25, 2015). "Lt. Gov. Patrick Endorses Hughes in Open Senate Seat". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  6. ↑ "2006 General Election". Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved 2006-12-28.
  7. ↑ "Special Election Runoff, State Senate, District 1". Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved 2006-12-28.
  8. 1 2 change from special election
  9. ↑ "Special Election, State Senate, District 1". Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved 2006-12-28.
  10. ↑ Secretary of State’s web page says party is "CON". Daryl Ware to Run for Texas State Senate (5 January 2004) confirms it is the Constitution Party

External links

Texas Senate
Preceded by
Bill Ratliff		 Texas State Senator
from District 1 (Tyler)
2004 		Incumbent


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