Gerrymandering in Texas is preventing competitive elections ... despite recent trends showing the state is becoming a toss-up. The Shape Of Things: TX-02.
The district: Texas' gerrymandered 2nd Congressional District.
What's the deal? "Texas is a place where we have to win. This is doable. This is possible."
-- Eric Holder, July 5, 2019
"Texas is turning into a toss-up!" You've probably heard some form of this over the past year or so -- and when it comes to statewide elections, it's true! Growing populations in places like Houston, Austin, and Dallas; strong candidates; and a lot of grassroots energy have made Texas' elections competitive.
But in some of Texas' congressional districts, that's a different story -- one that starts with the 2010 Census, when the Republicans controlled the state legislature and manipulated Texas' congressional districts to retain their grasp on power. Their cheating in 2010 has worked to their party's benefit for nearly a decade: During last year's midterm elections, Republicans secured
four more congressional seats in Texas than the vote share would suggest.
Help All On The Line un-rig districts like this across the country. Adopt TX-02 today with a small monthly donation and stand up to gerrymandering.How bad is TX-02? In late 2018,
Houstonia Magazine's Morgan Kinney described its shape like this: "A boa constrictor mid-meal, strangulating electoral competition in a district snaking improbably from Kingwood to Klein to the Med Center." If you're not familiar with Houston, here's all you need to know: This district has been intentionally drawn in a way that keeps Republican strongholds and slices up Democratic voters.
What does that mean for the people living in the district? This gerrymandered district has almost guaranteed Republican electoral victories in the state every two years. This means the fairly moderate populace around Texas' largest city is now represented in the U.S. House by
Dan Crenshaw, a Republican who supports extreme, far-right positions. More importantly, it means Republicans have intentionally diluted these moderate voices and created incentives for an ideologue like Crenshaw to unfairly win elections.
Crenshaw has voted with President Trump
93.9% of the time, consistently going against common-sense policies supported by most Americans. He has:
- Opposed efforts to create a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers, young DACA recipients who came to the United States as children;
- Voted against a bill to lower prescription drug costs and stop Obamacare sabotage; and
- Opposed legislation that would have implemented universal background checks on all gun sales, which 90% of Americans support.
This is how gerrymandering hurts all of us -- with congressmen like Dan Crenshaw who cater to the extremes and don't represent America as a whole. All On The Line is fighting to un-rig districts like TX-02 nationwide. Adopt TX-02 with a monthly donation to support All On The Line today: If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: Thanks for your support,
Team All On The Line
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