1996Final results
1996 election for Texas's 11th District
U.S. House · Texas
Chet Edwards (D) won with 56.8% of the vote, defeating Jay Mathis (R) by 14.5 points.
Chet EdwardsDemocrat · winner
56.8%99,990
Jay MathisRepublican
42.4%74,549
Ken HardinNatural Law
0.8%1,396
175,935 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1996
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Chet EdwardsJay Mathis
$838.5K
Raised by the campaign
$543.6K
$844.1K
Spent by the campaign
$565.4K
$13.3K
Cash on hand
-$21.9K
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 1996.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 1996