Royce Barry West (born September 26, 1952) is an American politician who serves as a member of the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...

, representing the

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

-based 23rd District.

Early life and education

West was born in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in sociology from the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A& ...

. As an undergraduate, he was initiated into the

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was founded on November 17, 1911 at Howard University. Omega Psi Phi is a founding member of ...

fraternity. West then earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Houston Law Center The University of Houston Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1947, the Law Center is one of 12 colleges of the University of Houston, a state university. It is ...

Career

Politics

In 1986, West ran his first campaign for public office, losing his bid for Dallas County district attorney. His first successful political campaign was in 1992, when he ran for the

Texas Senate, District 23 District 23 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves portions of Dallas County, Texas, Dallas and Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant counties in the United States, U.S. state of Texas. The current senator from District 23 i ...

seat after the incumbent, Eddie Bernice Johnson, was elected to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

. From April 2006 to January 2007, West served as president pro tempore of the Texas Senate. On November 18, 2006, West was Governor for a Day, a ceremonial title that honors the service of the president pro tempore. On July 22, 2019, West announced his candidacy for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

in the 2020 election for the seat held by

John Cornyn John Cornyn III ( ; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. ...

. He finished second in the March 3 primary, but lost the July 14 runoff to M. J. Hegar.

Legal career

In addition to serving in the Texas Senate, West is a managing partner at the law firm West & Associates L.L.P. Part of his practice involves providing bond counsel and other legal services for public entities such as

Dallas Independent School District The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas, United States. It operates schools in much of Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and t ...

, the city of Dallas, and

Dallas Area Rapid Transit Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is a transit agency serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex of Texas. It operates buses, light rail, commuter rail, and high-occupancy vehicle lanes in Dallas and twelve of its suburbs. In , the system had a r ...

. West's legal services have led to concerns over possible ethics violations in his Senate work due to a

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...

Electoral history

2018

2014

2012

2008

2004

2002

1998

1994

1992

References

External links

Profile
at the

Royce West for Texas SenateProject Vote Smart - Senator Royce West (TX)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Royce West
2006200420021998
campaign contributions *

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:West, Royce 1952 births African-American people in Texas politics Living people Politicians from Dallas Presidents pro tempore of the Texas Senate Democratic Party Texas state senators University of Texas at Arlington alumni UT Arlington Mavericks football players University of Houston Law Center alumni Candidates in the 2020 United States Senate elections 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians African-American candidates for the United States Senate 21st-century members of the Texas Legislature 20th-century members of the Texas Legislature