Tarrant Senate seat might become more rural. Critics fear it will disenfranchise voters
Tarrant County’s sole Democratic-controlled Texas Senate seat would be more solidly red if proposed maps go into effect.
Senate District 10, held by Sen. Beverly Powell of Burleson, falls entirely within Tarrant County. It spans much of the center and southern parts of the county with an arm that stretches up past Colleyville. Of Tarrant County’s four Senate districts, only Powell’s went for Democrat MJ Hegar in the 2020 U.S. Senate race. The district’s population is 39.5% Anglo, 32.2% Hispanic, 21.5% Black and 5.7% Asian, figures from the Texas Legislative Council show.
That will change under the map that’s expected to soon go before the full Senate for consideration. Texas lawmakers started their third-called special session earlier this month, with the crafting the state’s political boundaries one of their main tasks. Over the coming weeks the legislators will continue to draw and debate Texas legislative districts, State Board of Education Districts and congressional districts.
The Tarrant County senate seat as proposed would stretch into surrounding rural counties, which opponents say would dilute the voice of communities of color.
“I personally feel like it’s a direct assault on the voting rights of my constituents,” Powell said. “It’s not a stretch to say that it unconstitutionally disenfranchises Black, brown and Asian voters. It cracks apart their neighborhoods. Takes the southern portion of Tarrant County and submerges it into a district of seven other rural, Anglo, conservative voters.”
The proposed map is likely to change as it makes its way through the Legislature.
Senate District 10 would reach outside Tarrant
The Senate map that passed out of committee has Senate District 10 covering part of south Tarrant County and stretching west into Parker County. To the south, it covers all of Johnson County. It would encompass all of Palo Pinto, Stephens, Shackelford, Callahan and Brown counties.
The reconfiguration would make the county less diverse: 49% Anglo, 28% Hispanic, 17.8% Black and 3.5% Asian.
The district would also be more likely to elect Republicans, according to an analysis of 2020 U.S. Senate Data. Figures from the Texas Legislative Council show Cornyn would have beat Hegar by about 19 percentage points under the proposed boundaries, receiving approximately 58% of the votes. Under the current map, Hegar won the district with nearly 50% of the votes.
In the 2020 presidential race, President Joe Biden won about 53% of the votes. Under the proposed map, former President Donald Trump would have won roughly 57%.
The seat has historically been a swing district and has flipped between parties in past elections. In 2012, it was held by Democrat Wendy Davis. It was then won by Republican Konni Burton, who held the seat until Powell took it over after winning the 2018 general election.
In the 2018 general election, the district went for Democrat Beto O’Rourke in the U.S. Senate race and Gov. Greg Abbott in the gubernatorial race. Under the proposed map, the district would have went for Sen. Ted Cruz and Abbott would have won about 61% of the votes, compared to the 51% he earned in the 2020 contest.
Under the proposed map, four of Tarrant County’s five senate districts would lean Republican, according to 2020 Senate data from the general election. Senate District 23, held by Dallas Democrat Sen. Royce West, would include 4% of the county likely remain blue.
Two districts would have a non-Anglo population higher than the Anglo population: Senate District 10 (51%) and Senate District 23 (82%).
Opponents say map dilutes minority voting strength
Groups representing Black and Hispanic voters have criticized the Senate’s changes to the North Texas district that falls in a region with booming population growth. Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe called the map a “clear action on the part of map drawers to intentionally dilute minority voting strength.”
“The map ... just like it did in 2011, cracks Black and brown communities and splits them up into different senatorial districts to lessen their impact,” he said. “They have been part of a collective coalition that had been able to elect a representative of their choice in Senate District 10, and there was no need to have such a massive change.”
LULAC National President Domingo Garcia raised concerns about rural communities being brought into the district.
“We are looking at a rigging of the political system to disenfranchise Fort Worth, Tarrant County voters of electing a candidate from their choice,” he said. “They’re going to be represented by people from distant rural counties that have no community interest with what’s happening in an urban area like Fort Worth or Arlington.”
Powell had proposed changing the map to keep the district’s current boundaries in tact, but the amendment failed in Senate committee. Powell said she intends to again offer the amendment when the map goes to the Senate floor.
When voted on in committee, Sen. Joan Huffman, a Houston Republican who authored the map, opposed Powell’s suggested changes. Huffman said some neighboring counties are overpopulated and that “shifts throughout the DFW area were needed to account for this growth.” She added that her proposed plans were drafted blind to racial data and that she got legal advice before filing her proposed maps to make sure there were no inadvertent violations of the Voting Rights Act.
Powell noted the map drafted by Huffman includes an overpopulated SD-10. A request for comment left with Huffman’s office was not returned Wednesday.
State representative considers Senate bid
Rep. Phil King, a Weatherford Republican who has served in the House since 1999, says he’ll run for Senate District 10 if the map including part of Parker County is adopted.
Parker said he has lived in Parker county for nearly four decades but has ties to Tarrant County where he was raised. He also served as a Fort Worth police officer for 15 years, according to the statement. King has been endorsed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who served as Secretary of Energy under Trump.
Arlington Attorney Warren Norred has also said he’s running for the seat as a Republican.
King declined to comment beyond his Wednesday statement when reached by phone. He also declined to comment on the proposed district lines, as they’re still being worked on in the Senate.
“Friends, as we know the Democrats in Texas have fully embraced the radical agenda of their national party and are promoting policies that are dangerous to public safety and a threat to individual liberty,” King said in the Facebook post. “They want to open our borders, defund the police, wreck our oil and gas industry and manufacturing base, increase taxes, and push their ‘woke’ social agenda on all of us. It is more critical than ever for Texas to fight back and vigorously defend conservative principles in our state.”
King said he’s represented urban, suburban and rural communities and understands their unique issues.
“After prayerful consideration with Terry and my family, should this map be adopted, I will make a formal announcement that I will be running for this seat in the Texas Senate,” he said.
This story was originally published October 4, 2021 at 5:30 AM.
