Analysis: Winners and losers in court-ordered Texas congressional redistricting
Written by William K. Moore of ViaNovo:
After months of disarray, a panel of federal judges in San Antonio ordered interim legislative maps last week and set May 29 as primary election day, with runoffs July 31. Candidates have until March 9 to file for races. The Department of Justice is expected to approve the lines quickly.
The new congressional districts look likely to produce two new seats for each party, resulting in 25 Republicans in the Texas delegation compared to 11 Democrats. Congressional beneficiaries include Republicans Blake Farenthold, Joe Barton, Michael McCaul and perhaps Michael Williams. Incumbent Republican Quico Canseco will face challenger Democratic State Representative Pete Gallego in a toss-up district. The new DFW district should elect a Democrat, but will no longer automatically favor State Representative Marc Veasey. Incumbent Democrat Lloyd Doggett will again have to contend in a Hispanic majority district, facing Bexar County Tax Assessor Sylvia Romo in a primary.
Like the congressional map, the plan for the Texas House of Representatives appears to split the partisan difference. Republicans now hold 101 House seats. Under the interim plan, Republican are likely to lose between 2 and 7 seats, with the focus on districts in the Rio Grande Valley, Tarrant and Bexar counties. The previously agreed to Senate districts could shift one seat: Democratic State Senator Wendy Davis’ Fort Worth district is the balance. The 83rd Texas Legislature is likely to redistrict the state again in 2013.
The new primary date gives rivals a deadline to catch US Senate primary front-runner Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst. Finance reports show that former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert leads the cash-on-hand contest with $4.1 million, with Dewhurst holding $3.8 million and former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz with $2.8 million, forecasting that if a runoff is needed the two most likely candidates are Dewhurst and Leppert.
http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2012/03/analysis-winners-and-losers-in-court-ordered-texas-congressional-redistricting/
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This whole process has been so confusing I'm not even sure who is running against anyone. I thought Doggett had jumped into the district Joaquin Castro was running in. Now it looks like that district challenger is a Latina woman from Bexar. I still have no idea how much weight the Austin portion of this district has, but I hope we have enough clout to keep Lloyd Doggett.
