Negotiators in San Antonio -- trying to find common ground on state legislative and congressional districts so a primary date in Texas that can stick may finally be set -- agreed to leave unchanged state Senate District 10, now represented by state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth.
This district has been the subject of lawsuits and is seen as a big win for Davis.
Last year, Fort Worth-based Senate District 10 was a key target for Republicans in the Legislature during redistricting. The Senate map the Legislature approved cut out heavily African-American areas in south and southeast Tarrant County and Hispanic areas in north Fort Worth. It also added Republican-leaning parts of Northeast Tarrant County, including North Richland Hills, Richland Hills, and Watauga. The new map was widely seen as more favorable to Republicans. Davis sued, accusing Republican leaders of violating the Voting Rights Act and disenfranchising minority voters in her district.
Earlier today, Davis' posted the following celebratory tweet:
SD10 partners victorious on preserving&strengthening '08 district.Lege damage repaired. Thanks to all who supported&believed. #txlege
— Wendy Davis (@wendydavistexas) February 15, 2012
The ruling leaves state Rep. Mark Shelton of Fort Worth as the only Republican currently running against Davis.
State Rep. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, had also launched a campaign to run against Davis but doesn't live in the district under the current deal. Hancock has said he would run in neighboring Senate District 9, currently represented by Arlington Republican Chris Harris who is retiring, if District 10 was no longer an option. Two other Republicans, state Rep. Rodney Anderson of Grand Prairie and former state Rep. Toby Goodman, are also currently running for the District 9 seat.
Even with her district unchanged, Davis is still expected to be in a competitive race this year. Davis, a former Fort Worth city councilwoman, won her senate seat in 2008 with just 49.91 percent of the vote. She defeated incumbent Republican state Sen. Kim Brimer, who pulled in 47.52 percent support. Libertarian Richard Cross drew 2.56 percent.
Here's how Senate District 10 is currently drawn, and how it will stay for the next election under the current deal (the other North Texas districts will likely look different):
Here's how the Republican-led Legislature had hoped to redraw Senate District 10:
-- Anna M. Tinsley and Aman Batheja
Well, I guess we'll just have to see if Dist. 10 can have someone new occupy that seat. Thanks to Ms. Davis and others of her ilk, we are now facing major obstacles with our primary, not to mention expense and inconvenience. Way to represent the people.
Posted by: Amy | February 15, 2012 at 02:43 PM
If there is anyone to blame about the obstacles facing the
RPT scheduling their convention is the RPT themselves. They brought this mess upon themselves by drawing maps the maps that couldn't be pre-cleared by law. which creates litigation. Which requires a lot of time.
Posted by: Russ | February 15, 2012 at 03:20 PM
Not sure how you get increased expense, the cost didn't change, just the date. I would suggest that if the original map wasn't so completely gerrymandered to screw over Davis and the two minority communities that got attached to districts in suburban Denton County and rural Johnson County, this wouldn't have happened in the first place.
Posted by: Jon | February 15, 2012 at 04:55 PM
Easy solution: split the primaries and let Davis, Veasly, Burnham and all their slimy cohorts pay for the congressional one.
Posted by: Keith | February 16, 2012 at 06:08 AM
I will take pleasure in voting Davis out of my district.
Posted by: Scott | February 16, 2012 at 04:48 PM
If you are pro 2nd Amendment Wendy Davis is NOT for you.
Posted by: Mike | September 24, 2012 at 11:48 AM