Okay, before I get started let me clearly state that the intent of this thread has nothing to do with racism. Rather, I am citing Latinos as a voting block just as I would if the voting block in question were Jews, Brits, people aged 18-20, or Martians. That said, Latinos overwhelmingly vote Democrat, and it is the rapid increase in their numbers into Texas that has me worried about the state's future. I seriously wonder if, as a growing voting block, they will change the state to another California in 15 or 20 years. Here are two relevant articles that discuss this issue:
Latino Numbers Soar in Texas - WSJ.com
Latinos Join the Electoral Land Grab - WSJ.com
Some salient excerpts:
Latino Numbers Soar in Texas - WSJ.com
Latinos Join the Electoral Land Grab - WSJ.com
Some salient excerpts:
In Texas, Latinos accuse Republicans, who control both houses of the state legislature and the governorship, of illegally redrawing the lines to protect Republican incumbents. In Illinois, Republicans are preparing a lawsuit making a similar charge against Democrats, who control the state legislature and the executive branch, and prominent Hispanic groups aren't sure which side to take. In California, Hispanics are unhappy with a 14-member bipartisan commission responsible for redrawing the districts. They argue that the panel has paid too much attention to county and city borders and not enough to creating the new Hispanic-majority districts they say their populations surge warrants.
Texas' overall gain of four congressional seats, from 32 to 36, was largely the result of Hispanic population growth, so Ms. Perales was expecting to pick up possibly three new majority-Latino districts: one in south-central Texas, one in the Dallas/Fort-Worth area, and one in the Houston area.