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Jefferson County, Texas
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==Government and politics== ===County=== The County Commissioners Court, considered the administrative arm of the state government, is made up of a county judge and four commissioners. The four commissioners are elected to staggered terms from [[single-member district]]s or precincts, two in years of presidential elections and two in off-years. The County Commissioners Court carries out the "budgetary and policy making functions of county government. In addition, in many counties, commissioners have extensive responsibilities related to the building and maintenance of county roads."<ref name="duties">[http://www.co.jefferson.tx.us/prct1/HTML/duties.aspx "Duties of Texas County Commissioner"], Jefferson County, Texas, website; accessed January 2, 2016</ref> The elected county judge in Texas may also be the judge of the County Criminal Court, County Civil Court, Probate Court and Juvenile Court.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.county.org/About-Texas-Counties/About-Texas-County-Officials/%E2%80%8BTexas-County-Judge |title=TAC β Texas County Judge Duties, Responsibilities, and Requirements |publisher=County.org |date=September 1, 1987 |accessdate=June 19, 2022}}</ref> === State === Jefferson County was represented in [[Texas State House District 21]] from 1999 to 2015 in the [[Texas House of Representatives]] by the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Allan Ritter]], a businessman from Nederland.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/25363/allan-ritter#.UwYx25WPIfg|title=Allan Ritter's Biography|publisher=votesmart.org|access-date=February 20, 2014}}</ref> On January 13, 2015, Republican [[Dade Phelan]] of Beaumont succeeded Ritter, who did not seek reelection in 2014. It is also represented in [[Texas State House District 22]], which takes in much of Beaumont and Port Arthur, by [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Joe D. Deshotel]], who has served in this seat since 1999. In the 81st Legislative Session, Deshotel was appointed to serve as chairman of the House Business and Industry Committee, a post he continues to hold today.<ref>[https://house.texas.gov/members/member-page/?district=22 "Bio: Rep. Deshotel, Joe."], Texas House Member</ref> The [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]] operates three facilities in the county: the [[Gist Unit]], a state jail;<ref>"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/unitdirectory/bj.htm Gist Unit] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125212409/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/unitdirectory/bj.htm |date=2010-01-25 }}." [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]]. Retrieved on January 11, 2010.</ref> the [[Stiles Unit]], a prison;<ref>"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/unitdirectory/st.htm Stiles Unit] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125212031/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/unitdirectory/st.htm |date=2010-01-25 }}." [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]]. Retrieved on January 11, 2010.</ref> and the Leblanc Unit, a pre-release facility, in an [[unincorporated area]] of Jefferson County.<ref>"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/unitdirectory/ba.htm Leblanc Unit] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100108140655/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/unitdirectory/ba.htm |date=2010-01-08 }}." [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]]. Retrieved on January 11, 2010.</ref> In addition, the [[Texas Youth Commission]] operated the Al Price State Juvenile Correctional Facility in an [[unincorporated area]]<ref>"[http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/programs/facility_address.html Facility Address List] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725200244/http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/programs/facility_address.html |date=2010-07-25 }}." [[Texas Youth Commission]]. Retrieved on July 31, 2011.</ref> within the Mid County region.<ref>Moore, Amy. "[http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/education/article/Al-Price-one-of-three-juvenile-facilities-to-close-1408479.php#photo-1029508 Al Price one of three juvenile facilities to close]." ''[[The Beaumont Enterprise]]''. Friday June 3, 2011. Retrieved on February 28, 2012.</ref> The facility was among three selected for closure on August 31, 2011, because of agency budget shortfalls.<ref name="3closing">"[http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/news/press_06-03-11.html TYC Announces Closure of Three Facilities] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305203532/http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/news/press_06-03-11.html |date=2012-03-05 }}." [[Texas Youth Commission]]. Retrieved on July 3, 2011.</ref> In 2015 the county commissioners announced that it would lease the facility to a Beaumont charter school, Evolution Academy, at a minimal cost for 35 years. This was reported as an attempt to prevent the state from housing sex offenders here who had completed their sentences.<ref>[http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Al-Price-unit-to-house-charter-school-6335148.php Dan Wallach, "Here's what's moving into the old Al Price detention center"], ''Beaumont Enterprise,'' June 18, 2015; accessed January 2, 2016</ref> ===Federal=== Jefferson County is part of [[Texas's 14th congressional district]], represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by [[Randy Weber]] (Republican). The Texas U.S. Senators are [[John Cornyn]] (Republican) and [[Ted Cruz]] (Republican). The [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] operates the [[Beaumont Federal Correctional Complex]] in an [[unincorporated area]] in Jefferson County. It is a high-security prison with a capacity of nearly 1400 inmates.<ref>"[http://www.bop.gov/DataSource/execute/dsFacilityAddressLoc?start=y&facilityCode=bml FCI Beaumont Low Contact Information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528001000/http://www.bop.gov/DataSource/execute/dsFacilityAddressLoc?start=y&facilityCode=bml |date=May 28, 2010 }}." [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]]. Retrieved on January 11, 2010.</ref> ===Presidential elections=== Membership in political parties in Texas has undergone realignment since the late 20th century, following passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and renewed participation by minorities in the political system. Jefferson County had been dominated by [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] voters in presidential elections: prior to 1965 they were majority white and the party has since attracted many minorities. In many parts of Texas, [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] voters have predominated in presidential elections, especially since the turn of the 21st century. In 2004, Jefferson was one of only 18 counties in Texas that gave Senator [[John Kerry]] a majority of the popular vote. Kerry received 47,050 votes while [[George W. Bush]] received 44,412.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=2004&fips=48&off=0 |title=2004 Presidential General Election Results - Texas|website=uselectionatlas.org}}</ref> In 2008, [[Barack Obama]] won 51.25% of the vote. [[John McCain]] won 48.38% of the vote. Other candidates received 1% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/statesub.php?year=2008&fips=48245&f=1&off=0&elect=0 |title= 2008 Presidential General Election Results - Texas, Jefferson County |website=uselectionatlas.org}}</ref> The Democratic trend continued in 2012 when [[Barack Obama]] won Jefferson County with 50.34% of the vote, while 48.73% went to [[Mitt Romney]]. In 2016, [[Donald Trump]] won the county by a very narrow margin over [[Hillary Clinton]], becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to win in Jefferson County since [[Richard Nixon]] in [[1972 United States presidential election in Texas|1972]]. Trump carried the county again in 2020, this time with a majority, as well as in 2024. {{PresHead|place=Jefferson County, Texas|source=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|first=David|last=Leip|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=November 10, 2024}}</ref>}} <!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} --> {{PresRow|2024|Republican|46,596|38,936|901|Texas}} {{PresRow|2020|Republican|47,570|46,073|1,116|Texas}} {{PresRow|2016|Republican|42,862|42,443|2,313|Texas}} {{PresRow|2012|Democratic|43,242|44,668|825|Texas}} {{PresRow|2008|Democratic|42,905|44,888|637|Texas}} {{PresRow|2004|Democratic|44,423|47,066|377|Texas}} {{PresRow|2000|Democratic|40,320|45,409|1,180|Texas}} {{PresRow|1996|Democratic|32,821|45,854|5,751|Texas}} {{PresRow|1992|Democratic|29,622|48,405|17,516|Texas}} {{PresRow|1988|Democratic|35,754|55,649|290|Texas}} {{PresRow|1984|Democratic|45,124|54,846|245|Texas}} {{PresRow|1980|Democratic|36,763|45,642|2,197|Texas}} {{PresRow|1976|Democratic|32,451|47,581|514|Texas}} {{PresRow|1972|Republican|45,819|29,909|109|Texas}} {{PresRow|1968|Democratic|26,007|30,032|21,829|Texas}} {{PresRow|1964|Democratic|28,771|44,584|239|Texas}} {{PresRow|1960|Democratic|29,395|40,533|403|Texas}} {{PresRow|1956|Republican|30,102|25,057|270|Texas}} {{PresRow|1952|Democratic|25,363|29,384|48|Texas}} {{PresRow|1948|Democratic|5,749|22,475|5,290|Texas}} {{PresRow|1944|Democratic|4,525|22,066|2,489|Texas}} {{PresRow|1940|Democratic|4,860|19,694|37|Texas}} {{PresRow|1936|Democratic|2,544|18,187|77|Texas}} {{PresRow|1932|Democratic|3,584|17,129|152|Texas}} {{PresRow|1928|Republican|9,209|7,006|16|Texas}} {{PresRow|1924|Democratic|4,348|5,925|483|Texas}} {{PresRow|1920|Democratic|1,110|4,246|1,094|Texas}} {{PresRow|1916|Democratic|488|3,082|186|Texas}} {{PresFoot|1912|Democratic|187|1,703|503|Texas}} {{U.S. SenHead|place=Jefferson County, Texas|Seat=1|source=<ref>{{cite news |title=2024 Senate Election (Official Returns) |website=Commonwealth of Texas by county |date=November 5, 2024 |access-date=December 5, 2024 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-elections/texas-senate-results}}</ref>}} <!-- U.S. SenRow should be {{U.S. SenRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} --> {{U.S. SenRow|2024|Republican|43,888|39,643|1,425|Texas}} {{U.S. SenFoot}}
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