Lamar S. Smith

★ U.S. Representative

Born: November 19, 1947
Current age: 78
Home state: Texas
Party: Republican
On the ballot: 1986–2016

Career timeline

1986Rep 1988Rep 1990Rep 1992Rep 1994Rep 1996Rep

1998Rep 2000Rep 2002Rep 2004Rep 2006Rep 2008Rep

2010Rep 2012Rep 2014Rep 2016Rep

16-0

RecordWin–Loss

Total Popular Votes

Smith2.9M

Opponents1.1M

Elections run

Between 1986 and 2016, Lamar S. Smith ran in 16 U.S. House elections, winning all 16. Smith's biggest single-election total was 251,049 votes, in the 2000 U.S. House election in Texas's District 21. Smith's closest win came in the 1986 U.S. House election in Texas's District 21, decided by 36,567 votes.

Browse every U.S. House race in Texas's District 21 or all 2016 U.S. House races.

How many votes has Lamar S. Smith received?

Lamar S. Smith has received 2,853,538 popular votes across 16 U.S. elections, with a career record of 16–0.

Election history

Lamar S. Smith’s election history
Year	Office	Result	Votes	Opponent(s)
2016	U.S. HouseTexas	Won	202,96757.01%	Tom Wakely Mark Loewe Antonio Tony Diaz (head-to-head)
2014	U.S. HouseTexas	Won	135,66071.78%	Antonio Tony Diaz (head-to-head) Ryan Shields
2012	U.S. HouseTexas	Won	187,01560.55%	Candace E. Duval John-Henry Liberty
2010	U.S. HouseTexas	Won	162,92468.88%	Lainey Melnick James Arthur Strohm (head-to-head)
2008	U.S. HouseTexas	Won	243,47180%	James Arthur Stohm
2006	U.S. HouseTexas · Special	Won	122,48660.11%	John Courage (head-to-head) Gene Kelly Tommy Calvert James Arthur Strohm (head-to-head) James Lyle Peterson Mark J Rossano
2004	U.S. HouseTexas	Won	209,77461.5%	Rhett Rosenquest Smith Jason Pratt
2002	U.S. HouseTexas	Won	161,83672.87%	John Courage (head-to-head) D. G. Roberts
2000	U.S. HouseTexas	Won	251,04975.87%	Jim Green C. W. Steinbrecher
1998	U.S. HouseTexas	Won	165,04791.38%	Jeffrey Charles Blunt
1996	U.S. HouseTexas	Won	205,83076.43%	Gordon H. Wharton Randy Rutenbeck
1994	U.S. HouseTexas	Won	165,59589.96%	Kerry L. Lowry
1992	U.S. HouseTexas	Won	190,97972.16%	James M. Gaddy William E. Grisham
1990	U.S. HouseTexas	Won	144,57074.85%	Kirby J. Roberts
1988	U.S. HouseTexas	Won	203,98993.24%	James A. Robinson (head-to-head)
1986	U.S. HouseTexas	Won	100,34660.61%	Pete Snelson James A. Robinson (head-to-head)

Identity & sources. Identity verified against the Congressional Bioguide (S000583) and Wikidata (Q685149). Election results come from official certified totals and the MIT Election Data and Science Lab; see methodology.

Cite this profile. PolitiFinder, “Lamar S. Smith: election history & vote totals.” https://politifinder.com/p/lamar-s-smith. Accessed [date].

Compiled by PolitiFinder. Election results from official certified sources and the MIT Election Lab. See Data & sources and methodology. Data last verified July 28, 2026.