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.)[3]
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.[4]
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.[5]
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.