Democrats take aim at redistricting
Harris County key as Holder, Obama hope to tip competitive state races
AUSTIN — Texas is among 11 states targeted by a national Democratic group that wants to chip away at Republican domination in the state.
And Harris County will be a big part of the plan.
The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, set up by former Attorney General Eric Holder and endorsed by former President Barack Obama, will focus on competitive state and local races this year and beyond in an effort to change the legislative redistricting process, which recently has sharply favored Republicans.
State Democrats have already highlighted more than 20 seats in the Texas House that Hillary Clinton won over Donald Trump in 2016 or lost narrowly — a list expected to get close scrutiny from the new group, said Kelly Ward, the redistricting group’s executive director.
Five key Houston-area districts will almost certainly be included in the conversations.
In state District 134, held
by state Rep. Sarah Davis, and state District 138, held by Rep. Dwayne Bohac, Clinton outpaced Trump in 2016. In three other districts — state House 135 held by Rep. Gary Elkins, District 26 held by Rep. Rick Miller, and District 132 held by Rep. Mike Schofield — Clinton was within 5 percentage points of winning.
Ward said specific targets will be set after the March 6 primary election weeds out the unprecedented field of candidates. And while she doesn’t expect Democrats to win all of those races this year, Ward said she expects to help Democrats make some gains they can build on in years to come.
“We’re here for the long term,” Ward said.
The Republican Party of Texas’ answer? Bring it on.
“This is just the latest in a series of attempts to mess with Texas by Obama and his administration over the years,” Texas GOP Chairman James Dickey said.
He pointed to the Obama network’s attempt to help Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis in the 2014 gubernatorial election as an example of how futile their work has been.
‘Seat at the table’
Republicans hold a solid edge in both the Texas House and Senate. In the House, Republicans have 95 seats compared to 55 for Democrats, and 20 seats in the Texas Senate compared to 11 for Democrats.
But the new group hopes to get enough Democrats elected to influence redistricting, which is likely to come up in 2021.
“In 2011, Republicans created gerrymandered districts that locked themselves into power and shut out voters from the electoral process,” Holder said in announcing the targeted states last week. “By focusing on these state and local races, we can ensure Democrats who will fight for fairness have a seat at the table when new maps are drawn in 2021.”
The work in Texas will include helping with litigation to fight what the group calls unconstitutional redistricting, mobilizing communities by creating longterm infrastructure to get more of the public engaged in redistricting, and helping Democratic candidates win seats in the Legislature so they can play a bigger role in drawing redistricting maps.
Obama has made redistricting one of his top postpresidential priorities, and Ward said Holder will be traveling the country to support the effort.
Ward says a different political environment is building in the U.S. and Texas heading into the 2018 elections. Democrats have a serious contender for the U.S. Senate in Beto O’Rourke, who is hoping to unseat Texas Republican Ted Cruz, and have fielded candidates in every U.S. House race in the state, including the 7th Congressional District now held by John Culberson.
“All of these are signs of momentum growing,” she said.
Building a foundation
Manny Garcia, the Texas Democratic Party’s deputy executive director, said he’s seen a record surge in the number of candidates willing to run for office in state legislative races and for Congress.
“We need to compete everywhere,” Garcia said.
Harris County is a prime example. In the nine congressional districts that include Harris County, a record 37 Democrats have qualified for the ballot on March 6.
Garcia said state Democrats welcome the attention from national groups. He said recognition from group’s such as Holder’s acknowledges the progress he believes Texas Democrats are making.
In 2011, the Texas House had 101 Republicans and 49 Democrats. Since then, Democrats have gained six seats and have hopes for more in 2018.
In the Texas Senate, though Republicans have a nine-seat edge, Garcia said picking up just two seats would have a big impact on how the Senate operates. Currently, Democrats have few procedural tools to slow down the Republican agenda in Austin. Ward said by starting three years ahead of redistricting, her group will build a foundation to put Democrats at the table.
“It starts now,” she said.