Party politics is about power. It's about who has more and by how wide a margin. In an increasingly polarized political culture, a noticeable swing in power to either party could have far-reaching and sweeping legislative consequences. Modern campaigns are costly struggles—fights for a chance, it seems, not to serve a constituency, but to add your name to a group which collectively cares only about increasing their numbers. Nothing could be a more striking example of this than the fights which ensue over traditional post-Census redistricting plans, specifically, the battle for seats in the state of Texas.
[...] in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin and went on to receive her Ph.D. in biostatistics in 1980. She served as President of the Waco Independent School District Board of Trustees and is credited with inspiring George W. Bush's infamous No Child Left Behind Act. President Bush, incidentally, is a close family friend of Mrs. Snyder's; her husband was in the President's fraternity at Yale.[20] Dot Snyder relied most heavily on face-to-face contact with constituents in order to procure votes. [...]
[...] of these Democrats were conservative, and had little interest in playing partisan politics with their Republican counterparts.[3] After the 2000 Census, Texas stood to gain two new seats in the House of Representatives—seats which then House Majority Whip Tom DeLay hoped would end up in Republican hands. At that time, DeLay testified to the Democratic House Redistricting Committee, stating that the districts should be drawn in order that Republicans might win the two new seats, plus six seats currently held by Democrats. [...]
[...] I am confident that she will serve our district, our interests and our values well.”[24] Wohlgemuth's victory in the Republican runoff election set up the general election match that everyone had been predicting from the beginning: Arlene Wohlgemuth would challenge Chet Edwards in a district which had been specifically designed for her almost a year before in a race which would prove not only their strength, but the strength of Tom DeLay and the Republican Party. Would Wohlgemuth be able to use the redistricting scheme to her advantage? [...]
[...] Said Chris Turner, a spokesman for Edwards, “This campaign is being run under a very unusual set of circumstances in that we've now undergone redistricting in Texas for the second time this decade. And because of the all-out push from partisan special interest groups in Washington to defeat Chet and other members of Congress from Texas, we're taking some different approaches in order to have the resources to compete with that outside influence and win.”[14] In addition to major fundraising pushes, Edwards began running a television spot in College Station on the day of the Republican primary runoff election. [...]
[...] It is interesting to note that the new Texas 17th is also home to President Bush's private ranch in Crawford.[12] Part III The Candidates Strategies, Issues, and the Primary The Democrat: “What they really did to Chet Edwards was to take away his military stronghold.” -Thomas Myers, Associate Professor of Political Science, Baylor University Chet Edwards It's a fact that in Congressional races the incumbent wins re-election 95% of the time. Those willing to challenge an incumbent in a house race must have an abundance of energy, personal strength, and cash. [...]
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