Davis: Deal to preserve her state Senate district is "a tremendous victory"

By Aman Batheja

abatheja@star-telegram.com

State Sen. Wendy Davis claimed a major political and legal victory Wednesday in the ongoing battles over the state's political maps and a federal judge told Texas officials to prepare for a May 29 primary, weeks later than the current date of April 3.

In a political and legal dispute with the Texas Republican leadership that began over a year ago, Davis ended out on top when state leaders agreed to leave her senate district unchanged for the 2012 elections.

Davis described the ruling as a "a tremendous victory not just for my opportunity to run again and have the honor of serving this seat, but much more importantly a victory for the voices of Senate District 10 that otherwise would have been silenced."

Separate challenges to the Texas House and congressional maps remained unresolved late Wednesday. Texas is adding four congressional seats and who wins them could decide which party controls the U.S. House.

Meanwhile, U.S. Appeals Court Judge Jerry Smith told party leaders to instruct candidates and their campaigns to plan as if the primary would be on May 29, though warned it could end up even later. An ongoing battle over Republican-drawn voting maps has derailed two previously scheduled primary dates, including April 3.

"Based on all the things going here, it's extremely unlikely there will be a primary in April," Smith said.

GOP leaders expressed disappointment over the new instructions to aim for a May 29 primary. Texas was originally scheduled to be part of next month's Super Tuesday contests, but as the state's primary date has slipped due to the redistricting battle, so too have its chances of influencing the Republican presidential race.

Steve Munisteri, the state's GOP chairman, said Texas could still wind up as "kingmaker" on the backend of the primary calendar if Mitt Romney does not clinch the nomination early.

Texas has 155 delegates, second only to California. Only six other states have primaries later than May 29, including California, which has the most delegates of any state.

The new political maps passed by the Republican-led Legislature last year are the subject of lawsuits by several minority groups and Democratic lawmakers.

U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia on Tuesday night ordered all sides return the next morning with a deal, sounding as though he was losing patience with weeks of stalled talks despite repeated court-ordered negotiations.

Fort Worth-based Senate District 10 was the only point of contention on the Senate map. The Legislature cut out heavily African-American areas in south and southeast Tarrant County and Hispanic areas in north Fort Worth from the district, moving them into districts that were dominated by Anglos. It also added Republican-leaning parts of Northeast Tarrant County, including North Richland Hills, Richland Hills, and Watauga, to Senate District 10.

The Legislature's map was widely seen as an effort to doom Davis' bid for re-election. Davis sued, accusing Republican leaders of violating the Voting Rights Act and disenfranchising minority voters in her district.

Republican leaders "were racially motivated to pull apart the voices of people in our community," Davis said. She said she was targeted because of her advocacy on issues such as funding for public education and increasing regulations on payday lenders.

Under Wednesday's deal, Senate District 10's voting age population will remain approximately 52 percent Anglo, 25 percent Hispanic and 18 percent Black. The Legislature's plan would have boosted the Anglo voting age population to 59 percent of the district and reduced the proportion of Hispanic and Black voters.

Tough race ahead

Even with her district unchanged, Davis is still expected to face a strong challenge this year. She won her senate seat in 2008 with 49.9 percent of the vote against incumbent Republican state Sen. Kim Brimer, who pulled in 47.5 percent support. Libertarian Richard Cross drew 2.6 percent.

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, also launched a campaign to run against Davis but doesn't live in the district under the current deal. A campaign spokesman confirmed Hancock will run in neighboring Senate District 9, currently represented by Arlington Republican Chris Harris who is retiring. Two other Republicans, state Rep. Rodney Anderson of Grand Prairie and former state Rep. Toby Goodman, are also filed to run for the District 9 seat.

The shape of Senate District 10 beyond this year's elections remain unknown as a Washington federal court is expected to rule soon on the legality of the maps passed by the Legislature. If approved, those maps could be in place for the rest of the decade. Davis said she was hopeful that court will overturn the Senate map, paving the way for one that boosts voting power of the region's minorities.

"Arlington has had a very vibrant growth in the minority community and yet right now those minority voters are in a highly Anglo Republican district," Davis said. "So joining them together in a way that allows them to really reflect a community of interest in a Senate district, I think, makes the most sense."

The state House maps remained hung up Wednesday afternoon as lawyers for the minority groups argued that because 89 percent of the new residents in Texas were minorities, those people should have more districts that would allow them to elect a candidate of their choice. The attorney representing Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the minority groups were more interested in benefiting Democrats than making sure minority voters were represented.

By some counts, more than 50 of the state House's 150 districts remained in dispute.

The federal courts must redraw the maps created by the Republican-controlled Legislature because of two parallel lawsuits that have yet to be resolved. Because Texas has a history of racial discrimination, any changes to electoral law must be approved either by the Department of Justice or the federal court in Washington. A three judge panel in Washington declined to approve the maps and the justice department said they discriminated against minorities.

Minority groups also brought a lawsuit against the state in San Antonio, asking the federal court to block the maps because they dilute the voting power of minorities. Pending an outcome of the Washington case, the San Antonio court must draw temporary maps.

This report includes material from the Associated Press.

Aman Batheja, 817-390-7695

Twitter: @amanbatheja

Looking for comments?