Redistricting

The TribCast gang is back together again to talk about health care reform's effect on Texas, the redistricting fight coming up for the next legislature, and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison: Should she just stay in the Senate until 2012?

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In 2011, political mapmakers will take the latest census numbers (Texas is expected to have a population of more than 25 million) and use them to draw new congressional and legislative districts. The last time this was done, in 2003, Republican mappers took control of the U.S. House by peeling away seats from the Democrats. This time, Texas is poised to add up to four seats to its congressional delegation — and early numbers indicate bad news ahead for West Texas and other areas that haven't kept up with the state's phenomenal growth.

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"You want a good count both because you want to have your representation and because you want to get the resources your community needs," says demographer Steve Murdock.

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More than 373,000 Texans went uncounted by the 2000 census, resulting in a loss of $1 billion in federal funds. With eight of the nation's 50 hardest-to-count counties right here in our state, the coming 2010 census is a cause for concern — and an apparent lack of attention by elected officials is making matters worse.

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Dallas County Republicans are jockeying for a chance to topple two freshman Democrats who seized House districts in 2008. The incumbent Dems — hoping to claim their first House majority in eight years — are girding for battle.

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Census offices across Texas are gearing up to collect data for the 2010 census. Population growth in Texas is expected to bring the state 3 to 4 new congressional seats. Ben Philpott, who's covering politics for KUT News and the Tribune, says it will also lead to another round of redistricting battles between Democrats and Republicans.

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What does the 2010 census mean for 2011 redistricting? Ben Philpott filed this report for KUT News and the Tribune.

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It's going to be a noisy start to the year for Republicans, who have an unusual number of primary challengers to incumbents. Democrats, meanwhile, are making a weak play for political control in the next decade.

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The political window is about to close: Today's the last day to become a candidate in the 2010 state elections. What we know so far is that the ballot will have a fireworks show at the top, with contested and well-financed gubernatorial primaries on both sides. A couple of statewide Democratic races will be competitive, but with incumbents seeking reelection on the Republican side, there's little action there.

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We added more people this year than any other state — more than Florida, Arizona, California, Nevada and Colorado combined.

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Stiles and Thevenot collaborate on the salaries paid to superintendents, and even compare them on price per student… Ramsey’s look at redistricting and next year’s elections… Aguilar’s report on jails, brought to you by the federal agency that’s in the ag business… Rapoport’s peek at the power behind Texas pre-kindergarten programs… Smith’s conversation with Dan Patrick, in three parts… Grissom’s narrative on a circular immigration and deportation route financed by two governments… Ramshaw finds doctors agreeing on public policy and split on strategy and tactics… Hu’s latest Stump Interrupted puts the camera on Farouk Shami… Hamilton’s story on two retired cops who are taking on cargo theft in Texas… And Kreighbaum and Stiles pop open the itineraries of your folks in Congress. The best of our best from December 12 to 18, 2009.

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On the eve of a noisy election year, the former lieutenant governor of Texas takes us on a tour through voting and demographic statistics.

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Texas voters won't be offered a real chance at change in the Legislature and Congress next year. Four out of five state and federal lawmakers face no real competition in their primary or general elections.

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Think like the political pros and your mind will go to the long game instead of the short one. The short game is the elections of 2010. The long game is redistricting in 2011, when maps are drawn that corral the voters into the districts that will elect legislators for the next ten years.

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The number-crunchers among the Republicans and the Democrats in Texas use election results to get a feel for the political environment in each legislative district. They start with statewide races and then bake in some assumptions about what might happen if they put the right candidates in place. We and other political watchers need the same thing, without the partisan ingredients. So we cooked up the Texas Tribune Index.

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Guess which demographic group is calling dibs on new congressional seats?

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Texas should create a committee to promote participation in the 2010 U.S. Census, state Rep. Mike Villarreal told Gov. Rick Perry in a letter Tuesday.

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