Posted on 08/04/2006 3:19:12 PM PDT by WestTexasWend
A three-judge federal panel today released a new congressional map for the November elections that gives U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, more of Travis County and Central Texas.
Under the plan, Doggett would keep southeast Travis County, add the southwestern portion of the county as well as southern Bastrop County and all of Hays, Caldwell, Gonzales, Lavaca, Colorado and Fayette counties. Doggett loses the portion of his current district in the Rio Grande Valley.
The judges also reunited Webb County into one congressional district, solidifying Hispanic voting strength in South Texas.
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered a new map to reverse discrimination against Latinos in the sprawling 23rd District, now represented by U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-San Antonio. Changes in that district forced judges to adjust neighboring districts, including Doggett's.
"These changes restore Latino voting strength to District 23 without dividing communities of interest," the judges said.
The panel placed Webb County, which includes Laredo, entirely in the 28th Congressional District, which is represented by U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo.
It added portions of Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, to Bonilla's 23rd District. That district, which includes most of the region near the state's border with Mexico, stretches from Laredo to El Paso County and north to San Antonio. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the district boundaries drawn by Republican state legislators in 2003 diminished Hispanic voting power because a large cluster of Webb County Hispanics were divided into two different congressional districts.
The new plan also moves Kerr, Kendall, Bandera and Real counties into the 21st Congressional District, represented by Republican Lamar Smith of San Antonio.
http://www.statesman.com/
The only CD worth talking about here is TX-23, the other incumbents actually gain strength through the changes.
Bonilla trades part of Webb County, Real, Bandera, Kerr and Kendall County for the southern part of Bexar County presently in TX-28.
In 2004, roughly 250,000 people voted in TX-23. The sections switching hands here would count for 65-70,000 votes in 2004.
The new sections in Bexar County voted around 70% Democrat. The old sections of CD-23 voted around 70%-75% Republican.
These sections of Bexar County have not been growing very much since the last census and are historically low turnout areas.
All in all, I would say this changes the CD from a safe Rep CD to 55% to 60% Rep CD, depending on whether a major Bexar County Democrat (like Ciro Rodriguez) decides to run.
Even though it would be closer, it would hard to beat Bonilla, imho.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.