# Tommy Williams (Texas politician)

Thomas David Williams, known as Tommy Williams (born December 17, 1956), is a Republican former member of the Texas Senate, who represented District 4 in The Woodlands in Montgomery County in the Houston suburbs.

## Background

Williams was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2002, after incumbent District 4 Senator David Bernsen, a Democrat, declined to seek re-election after redistricting changed the composition of the district. (Bernsen instead ran unsuccessfully for Texas Land Commissioner, losing that race to Jerry E. Patterson.)
After more than ten years in office, Williams, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, was in October 2013 in the process of resigning, to accept a government relations position at his alma mater, Texas A&M University in College Station. On October 3, Williams confirmed that he would not run again in the Republican primary election scheduled for March 4, 2014.
Williams previously served three terms from 1997 to 2003 in the Texas House of Representatives. Williams has served as president of Woodforest Financial Services, an affiliate of Woodforest National Bank. Williams started his new position at Texas A&M on December 2, 2013.
Among those seeking to fill Williams' Senate seat were neighboring State Representatives Steve Toth of District 15 in The Woodlands and Brandon Creighton of District 16 in Conroe, both of Montgomery County. Creighton defeated Toth in a runoff election to claim the seat.

## Election results
### Most recent election
#### 2004

Texas general election, 2004: Senate District 3 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Tommy Williams (Incumbent) | 176,464 | 100.00 | +36.47 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 176,464 | 100.00 | +72.93 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 176,464 | | +15.30 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### Previous elections
#### 2002

Texas general election, 2002: Senate District 3 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Tommy Williams | 97,237 | 63.53 | +18.69 |
| | Democratic | Mike Smith | 55,808 | 36.47 | −18.69 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 41,429 | 27.07 | +16.76 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 153,045 | | +10.28 |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |
Republican primary runoff, 2002: Senate District 3 :
| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % | ± |
| | Michael Galloway | 5,320 | 46.11 | +11.32 |
| ✓ | Tommy Williams | 6,218 | 53.89 | +8.69 |
| Majority | Majority | 898 | 0.92 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | 11,538 | | |
Republican primary, 2002: Senate District 3 :
| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Martin Basaldua | 4,571 | 20.01 |
| ✓ | Michael Galloway | 7,947 | 34.79 |
| ✓ | Tommy Williams | 10,327 | 45.20 |
| Turnout | Turnout | 22,845 | |

#### 2000

Texas general election, 2000: House District 15 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Tommy Williams (Incumbent) | 53,164 | 88.38 | +18.78 |
| | Libertarian | Allen Wolf | 6,988 | 11.62 | +11.62 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 46,176 | 76.77 | +37.56 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 60,152 | | +63.81 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

#### 1998

Texas general election, 1998: House District 15 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Tommy Williams (Incumbent) | 25,558 | 69.60 | +0.65 |
| | Democratic | Larry R. Hickman | 11,163 | 30.40 | −0.65 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,395 | 39.20 | +1.30 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,721 | | −26.11 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

#### 1996

Texas general election, 1996: House District 15 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Tommy Williams | 34,264 | 68.94 | −31.05 |
| | Democratic | Peter B. Plotts | 15,431 | 31.05 | +11.03 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,833 | 37.90 | −62.10 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,695 | | +74.34 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |
Republican primary runoff, 1996: House District 15 :
| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % | ± |
| | Nelda Luce Blair | 3,733 | 40.39 | +11.37 |
| ✓ | Tommy Williams | 5,509 | 59.60 | +25.38 |
| Majority | Majority | 1,776 | 19.22 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | 9,242 | | |
Republican primary, 1996: House District 15 :
| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Jim Alexander | 2,613 | 20.02 |
| ✓ | Nelda Luce Blair | 3,788 | 29.02 |
| | A.R. Mikhail | 1,919 | 14.70 |
| | A. Neal Sample | 264 | 2.02 |
| ✓ | Tommy Williams | 4,468 | 34.23 |
| Turnout | Turnout | 13,052 | |