Rarely does a candidate explain the GOP Gerrymander so clearly in one simple image.
Travis Boldt, Democratic candidate running to flip Texas House District HD-29 did that tonight asking voters to consider why Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw’s district, TX CD-2, looks the way it does:
Could it be more clear?
The twisted, meandering, squiggly lines of the district. The racial overlay studiously avoiding the “green” and “yellow” areas that it would be easier to include.
Texas’ current state legislature is dominated by Republicans. The GOP majority has shaped a district so convoluted, so stretched that it famously took Rep. Crenshaw 5 days and 100 miles to run from one end to the other. This district was highlighted by Silicon Valley Data Science as one of the most gerrymandered in the nation:
Compactness score: 0.074
More squiggly than: 95.2 percent of U.S. districts
-Houston Chronicle
But Travis Boldt’s Twitter photo makes another rationale for the shape of the district clear.
The twisted, squiggly, meandering shape creates a district with enough majority white zip codes to make it winnable for a Republican, leaving out almost every possible area where African-Americans are the majority.
Like all modern gerrymanders, this has been done with the scientific precision of a data scientist.
In fact, according to this report from the data scientists at 538.com the district was constructed with a bare white majority just over 50% but the way it is constructed creates a 97% chance of electing a Republican.
This should make you angry.
It should also spur you to take action.
First, please revisit the excellent Dailykos article by David Nir opposing gerrymandering and launching a slate of State Legislative candidates who represent our best chance of flipping state legislatures in 2020.
This is a great slate and I recommended giving generously because it represents our best chance of winning and flipping legislatures. (I’ve given, too!)
Second, please also take a look at Travis Boldt a former Beto volunteer who while endorsed by DFA, Clean Water Action, Human Rights Campaign and End Citizens United, frankly, faces a uphill struggle in his race (and is not on the Dkos slate) and consider donating to his campaign.
Travis Boldt’s state legislative district overlaps with the very competitive Congressional race in TX-22 featuring Sri Preston Kulkarni, so Democratic turnout in TX HD-29 will benefit both candidates.
But, at the end of the day, a grassroots candidate like Travis with the courage to face the ugliness of the TX gerrymander square in the eye and present it simply and clearly is perhaps someone who represents the kind of leadership we Democrats need right now.
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About this series:
I’m a longtime Dailykos blogger dating back to 2003. I was part of helping local blogs and the netroots drive Democrats to take back the House in 2006 and helped build some of the biggest and most successful grassroots groups supporting Barack Obama.
The 2020 Democratic State Legislative candidates are heroes, and deserve our support. They are our best chance of changing US politics including GOP voter suppression and gerrymandering for decades to come and many of them will run campaigns that help us win electoral college votes and key US Senate and House votes:
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