Tracy King

American politician

Tracy Ogden King


Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 80th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 11, 2005
Preceded by	Timoteo Garza
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 43rd district
In office January 10, 1995 – January 14, 2003
Preceded by	Pedro G. Nieto
Succeeded by	Irma Lerma Rangel

Personal details
Born	(1960-11-09) November 9, 1960 (age 63)
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Cheryl Baker
Children	2
Residence(s)	Uvalde, Uvalde County, Texas
Alma mater	Southwest Texas Junior College Texas A&M University
Occupation	Hearing aid specialist, politician

Tracy Ogden King (born November 9, 1960) is an American politician and hearing aid specialist from Uvalde, who has been a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 80th district since 2005. Beginning in January 2023, the revised District 80 includes the counties of Dimmit, Frio, Uvalde, Atascosa, Zavala, and some of Webb County outside Laredo.^[1] He is the only Anglo Democrat from a heavily rural district.^{[citation needed]} By contrast, there were eighty-five Anglo Democrats in the House in 1985^{[citation needed]}, eighty-three in 1987, with fifty-six of those from primarily rural areas.^{[citation needed]} King was initially elected to Texas House of Representatives as a representative of the 43rd district on November 8, 1994, when he unseated the one-term Democrat-turned-Republican incumbent Pedro G. Nieto. King received 15,072 votes (61.8 percent) to Nieto's 9,321 (38.2 percent)^{[citation needed]}. With his 2023 victory, King has been elected to a total of fifteen two-year terms.

Background

King graduated from Carrizo Springs High School in Carrizo Springs, the county seat of Dimmit County, Texas. He then attended Southwest Texas Junior College, and Texas A&M University at College Station, from which he received his Bachelor of Science in agricultural engineering. In 1983, King was employed by the Beltone Hearing Aid Center in San Antonio, which served sixteen counties in southwestern Texas. King purchased the Beltone center in 1987 and sold it in 2008. King and his wife, the former Cheryl Baker, originally from Hondo, the county seat of Medina County, have two children, Katelyn Marie King and Clayton Baker King. King is a former trustee of the First United Methodist Church. He is a past president of the Uvalde Kiwanis Club. He is a former president of the Texas Hearing Aid Association. In the house, King currently serves as the Chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, member of the Energy Resources Committee, and is Chairman of the House Water Caucus.^{[citation needed]}

Election of 2012

King won renomination in the Democratic primary election held on May 29, 2012. King said that he opposes state tax increases and will pursue ways to improve the business climate in south Texas. In the primary, King faced Jerry Garza (born 1976), a former two-term member from District 3 of the Webb County Commissioner's Court, also a former television reporter for KGNS-TV, the NBC affiliate in Laredo, and a former faculty member at Laredo Community College. Garza had sought to become the second Democrat from Laredo in the state House. Through April 18, 2012, King amassed $74,350 in campaign contributions, compared to $4,800 for Garza. Only 15 percent of King's contributions came from within District 80, but he did receive a contribution from wealthy Laredo businessman Steve LaMantia. Garza said that most of King's contributions came from lobbyists and political action committees beyond the district. After he defeated Garza in the primary, King ran unopposed in the November 6, 2012, general election.^{[citation needed]}

Electoral history

Year	Type of Election	% of Votes Won
2022	General Election	100.00 (unopposed)^[2]
2022	Democratic Party Primary Election	100.00 (unopposed)^[2]
2020	General Election
2020	Democratic Party Primary Election
2018	General Election
2018	Democratic Party Primary Election
2016	General Election
2016	Democratic Party Primary Election
2014	General Election	89.59^[3]
2014	Democratic Party Primary Election	100.00 (unopposed)^[3]
2012	General Election	100.00 (unopposed)^[3]
2012	Democratic Party Primary Election	59.66^[3]
2010	General Election	100.00 (unopposed)^[3]
2010	Democratic Party Primary Election
2008	General Election	100.00 (unopposed)^[3]
2008	Democratic Party Primary Election	100.00 (unopposed)^[3]
2006	General Election	100.00 (unopposed)^[3]
2006	Democratic Party Primary Election	100.00 (unopposed)^[3]
2004	General Election	100.00 (unopposed)^[3]
2004	Democratic Primary Election
2000	General Election	100.00 (unopposed)^[3]
2000	Democratic Party Primary Election	63.82 ^[3]
1998	General Election	100.00 (unopposed)^[3]
1998	Democratic Primary	100.00 (unopposed)^[3]
1996	General Election	100.00 (unopposed)^[3]
1996	Democratic Party Primary Election	100.00 (unopposed)^[3]
1994	General Election	61.79^[3]
1994	Democratic Primary Election	51.97^[3]
1992	Democratic Primary Runoff Election	Lost 48.61^[3]
1992	Democratic Primary Election	Runoff 34.55^[3]

References

^ "Tracy O. King". Texas Legislators: Past & Present. Texas Legislative Reference Library.
^ ^a ^b "Texas Rep. Tracy King". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t "State Rep. Tracy King - Election info". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on August 2, 2016 – via The Wayback Machine.

Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by Timoteo Garza	Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 80 (Batesville & Uvalde) 2005—present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Pedro G. Nieto	Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 43 (Uvalde) 1995–2003	Succeeded by Irma Lerma Rangel