In the district held by the top Texas Republican fundraiser and organizer in Congress — U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions of Dallas, who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, (there's been a lot of ethnic change). In 2000, the district was 50.1 percent white. Now it's a majority minority district, with more than 42 percent of them Hispanic and 9 percent black.That said, neither the Democratic Party in general nor Hispanic Democrats in general should start counting their eggs.
"The Republicans do have to react," said Cal Jillson, political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. "I think they will first look at that Pete Sessions district and move him a little bit north, and take some Anglos out of ... the adjoining districts to make him safe." ...
The racial breakdown suggests that a Hispanic-dominated seat in north Texas could help shore up districts held by Republican incumbents such as Sessions because the minorities could be taken out of the Republican's district and put into a new one. U.S. Rep. Kenny Marchant, also from the Dallas suburbs, had a district that was 64 percent white but has now dropped to 47 percent white, figures show.
North Texas Reps. Joe Barton and Michael Burgess also saw significant declines in white voters and large increases in Hispanic clout. State Sen. Kel Seliger, chairman of the Senate redistricting panel, told The Associated Press that it "looks like there's going to be a new congressional seat in North Texas. Because civil rights laws generally mandate the protection of minority voting interests Seliger said it's possible that the seat would be a "minority or Hispanic influence district."
First, as the story notes, Hispanics have a generally younger population and are less likely to be eligible to vote. Second, as the story notes, two strongly Hispanic Congressional seats shifted GOP in November. And, in the state legislature, we've seen some party-switching out of the likes of State Rep. Aaron Peña and other "tacos" or whatever "oreo" takeoff you prefer. Third, not all those Hispanics are here legally. (That said, ardent hardliner anti-immigration activists in Texas and Arizona aren't about to "return" Congressional district gains that came from counting illegals.)
State Democrats in general, and Hispanic ones in particular, need to get out the vote and find leaders of all ethnicities to reinvigorate the party. No more Chris Bells and John Sharps from Anglos. No more rich but apathetic Tony Sanchezes from Hispanics. And, blacks willing to run for Congressional seats at all, especially black men.
The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is expected to get one, if not two, counting exurban areas, of the two new Congressional seats Texas picks up from redistricting after the 2010 Census.
It’s very possible to make a Hispanic-friendly, if not Hispanic-safe, district out of that.
Include much of his west Dallas state House district, and pieces of east central Dallas near downtown. Go into Southwest Dallas and perhaps the suburb of Duncanville, the most Hispanic of the south Dallas suburbs. Include most of Grand Prairie and all of south Irving. Find any other bits and pieces necessary to get to the population total for the district and there you go.
In 2009, a a D Mag story notes Anchia has been rumored to have an eye on Kay Bailey Hutchison’s Senate seat.
And, the last page notes that not all Dallas Hispanics consider him a “Hispanic’s Hispanic.”
But since then, not a peep about his future
On the other hand, former Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Elba Garcia has to carry the stuffed to the gills baggage of her husband, state Rep. Domingo Garcia. But, that didn't stop her from getting elected to the Dallas County Commissioners Court. And, her commission precinct overlaps much of Marchant's current congressional district.
On the flip side to that, she, albeit at the local level, has probably actually gotten a better record of accomplishments than Anchia.
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