State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, claimed a major political and legal victory Wednesday in the battles over the state's political maps, and a federal judge told Texas officials to prepare for May 29 primary elections, weeks later than April 3, the current date.
The later date threatens to relegate Texas to an afterthought in the Republican presidential primaries. The state was once poised to play a decisive role in the GOP campaign.When the Texas primaries are finally held, Davis will be running in the district boundaries that were in place when she ousted Republican Sen. Kim Brimer in 2008. State leaders agreed Wednesday to leave the district unchanged for the 2012 elections.Davis described the agreement in her fight with the Republican legislative leadership, which began more than a year ago, as "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 House seats, and who wins them could decide which party controls that chamber.Meanwhile, federal appellate Judge Jerry Smith told party leaders to instruct candidates and their campaigns to plan for the primaries to be May 29, though he said they could be later. The dispute over Republican-drawn voting maps has derailed two previous primary dates including April 3."Based on all the things going here, it's extremely unlikely there will be a primary in April," said Smith, of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans.GOP leaders expressed disappointment over his instructions. Texas was originally scheduled to be part of next month's Super Tuesday contests, but as the state's primary date has slipped because of the redistricting disputes, so, too, have its chances of influencing the Republican presidential race.State GOP Chairman Steve Munisteri said Texas could still be a "kingmaker" on the back end of the primary calendar if former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney does not clinch the nomination early.Texas has 155 delegates, second only to California. Only six other states, including California, have primaries later than May 29.The political maps passed by the Republican-led Legislature last year are the subject of lawsuits by several minority groups and Democratic lawmakers.On Tuesday night, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia ordered all sides to return the next morning with a deal, sounding as if he were losing patience after 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 to the district, including North Richland Hills, Richland Hills and Watauga.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 of 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, 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 and reduced the proportion of Hispanic and black voters.Tough race aheadEven with her district unchanged, Davis is expected to face a strong challenge this year. She won the seat in 2008 with 49.9 percent of the vote against Brimer, who pulled in 47.5 percent. Libertarian Richard Cross drew 2.6 percent.The ruling leaves state Rep. Mark Shelton of Fort Worth as the only Republican now running against Davis.State Rep. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, began a campaign to run against Davis but doesn't live in the district under the new agreement. A campaign spokesman confirmed that Hancock will run in neighboring Senate District 9, now represented by Chris Harris, R-Arlington, who is retiring. Two other Republicans, state Rep. Rodney Anderson of Grand Prairie and former state Rep. Toby Goodman, have also filed to run in District 9.The shape of District 10 beyond this year's elections remain unknown; a Washington federal court is expected to rule soon on the legality of the Legislature-drawn maps. If approved, those maps could be in place for the rest of the decade. Davis said she hopes the 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 as lawyers for minority groups argued that because 89 percent of the new residents in Texas are minorities, those people should have more districts to let them elect a candidate of their choice. The attorney representing Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the minority groups are more interested in benefiting Democrats than in making sure minority voters are represented.This report includes material from The Associated Press.Aman Batheja, 817-390-7695Twitter: @amanbatheja