Hispanic voters targeted in Texas

[Freddie Stubbs]

Experience versus ethnicity in new Texas district
By Lauren Shepherd

Next month Hispanic voters in a new Texas district will be faced with a choice – elect a seasoned incumbent in the Democratic primary or vote for a political newcomer with the same ethnic background.

The quest for the Democratic nomination in the 25th Congressional District has become a campaign primarily about race in which a Hispanic district court judge, Leticia Hinojosa, is taking on a veteran Anglo lawmaker, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas).

The newly drawn, skinny, 350-mile-long district stretches from the south Austin suburbs to the heavily Hispanic area just north of the Mexican border. It was drawn up by Republicans last year in a bitter redistricting battle.

Led by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, the state’s Republicans are banking on new districts like the 25th to tilt the current 16-16 party split in the state’s delegation in their favor. Known as a minority-majority district, the 25th was designed either to put a Republican into the seat or produce a freshman Hispanic face with the forced departure of a strong Democratic incumbent.

more: http://www.thehill.com/campaign/021204_hispanics.aspx