Texas flag by Texas Coalition
Texas may be the largest state of the continental United States, but it has more to boast about: the huge challenges that come with its gain of four electoral votes, for a total of thirty-eight--twice the gain (two) of its nearest competitor, Florida, which has twenty-nine.
Mexico may have lost Texas at the beginning
of the nineteenth century, but the additional electoral votes herald a large
immigration to the 28th state by Hispanics, 37.62 percent of its
population in 2010. White residency has
descended by 7.1 percent, and African American by less than one percent; the
Asian population's presence has increased by 1.07 percent as of 2010 also.
But the main
focus of today's round table at Washington DC's Center for American Progress
was Houston, the state's largest city and "one of the most diverse metros in
the nation." The question was whether Texas would go blue as a result of such
diversity there as well as in Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio, and the answer
was yes, in the next ten to twelve years.
The round table
today consisted of five Texans: Jeremy Bird of 270 Strategies; Julie Ortega of
PowerPac.org, and Rudy Teixeira and Vanessa Cardena of the Center for American
Progress. The keynote speaker was a sixth Texan, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX),
the first to answer whether his home state was turning blue. A second-generation
Mexican American (coincidentally), he said that of the 26 million residents of
his state, 40 percent are now Hispanic; and that this percentage is expected to
rise to 45 percent to 48 percent by 2020.
Much of this
immigration originated in the Northeast, the West, and California. He called
his home state "a big draw," containing three of the largest cities in the
United States, the fasted growing, whose voter participation is among the
bottom three in the country--"fertile ground to mobilize the growth," he added
ironically. A pathetic 50 percent of Texas voters stay home from the polls.
The Lone Star
State has the highest percentage of citizens lacking health insurance, he
continued; given this human tragedy, Gov. Rick Perry's refusal to accept
Medicaid funding, part of Obamacare, which will cost the state nothing until at
least 2017, is disgraceful. Funding for Planned Parenthood will also be
lacking.
Contrast this
deadbeat attitude with the words of the grateful and receptive Republican
governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie: "Who am I to deny access to health
care?"
Texas's
demography alone won't turn it blue, Castro said. There is a crying need for
voter registration, and a statewide effort to mobilize qualified citizens to
vote. Calling his state "the brain trust of the Republican nation," he
specified former President George W. Bush as well as Karl Rove, Bob Perry
(financer of the Swiftboat debacle blamed for keeping Kerry from the presidency
in 2004), Karen Hughes, and others as guarantees that the electoral outcome
this year will be red.
Of course, this
"clue crew" will fight to keep this color, which Castro expects will change in
ten to twelve years.
Activists have
left his state temporarily to work on behalf of fellow Democrats in other
states, he concluded; more attention must now be paid to Texas.
*****
In the round table discussion that followed, other
statistics were quoted. The Texan population rises by one percent each year; 48
percent of the voting-age population are minorities; in 2008 they comprised 37
percent. There was no way to give the exact numbers in 2012 because there were
no exit polls, but 40 percent of voters were estimated as minorities in that
presidential election.
In 2016 it is
estimated that white voters will comprise only a slight majority, as contrasted
with their ratio of three to one [minority] in 2008. Most Obama votes came from
just twelve Lone Star counties, more like six, but in each of the state's 254
counties there were Democratic voters, a point neglected due to routine
stereotyping. Gerrymandering occurs at three levels--local, state, and
federal--but is not allowed at the county level. The next round of
"redistricting" will occur in seven years. Only ten counties are competitive
when this round occurs; that is, have a chance to go blue from red.
Much work is
needed to ensure equal opportunities for all, a stated goal of the Center for
American Progress. Minorities must be informed and engaged. Door-to-door
canvassing is most effective, one-on-one contact, which allows for the most
trust and effective communication.
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