2010 Census Reapportionment: Texas was the big winner in the 2010 Census, gaining 4 electoral votes through the 2020 presidential election. Texas has gained at least one electoral vote in every Census since 1930 and now has 38.

Texas became a state in December 1845, participating in its first presidential election in 1848. Texas seceded from the Union in 1861 and was not included in the 1864 or 1868 elections. From 1872 through 1976, Texas went Democratic in the vast majority of elections. However, that changed in 1980, and Texas has sided with the Republicans ever since. Having a Bush on the ticket each election from 1980 through 2004 (except 1996) helped make Texas a reliably “red” state. In 2012, Mitt Romney won the state by a margin of 57 percent to 41 percent over Barack Obama. Texas’ population has grown rapidly in recent decades, and its 38 electoral votes are second only to California’s 55.