In the last few years the United States has been an open minded nation as a whole. The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of gay-marriage in all states, people are now allowed to go into whatever bathroom of the gender that they identify in (in some states), also most states are pro-choice. It seems that the nation has become more democratic the question is how will that affect Texas. Will Texas in deed become a democratic state? The only way to answer this question is to analyze the new generation of voters, study the latest polls on controversial topics, and review the political culture of Texas. To truly determine if Texas will eventually become a Democratic state people must first look at the new generation of voters.
Texas is currently dominated by the Republican culture with a popular belief in conservatism that has lasted for many years. Democratic and Liberal groups are also present in the Texas but play as the minorities. Although demographics through the years show that a change in the dominant party could very well be eminent, Texas remains a red state for the time being. Currently the population is estimated at 24.5 million and is dominantly Anglo with minorities including African American, and Hispanic. In the coming years though, it is estimated to change where as the Hispanic population will surpass become the new majority.
States’ rights, the fight for the unborn and their right to life, and resistance to gun legislation, tend to be some of the top issues for conservative Texas voters. The last time a Democrat carried the state of Texas was in 1976, when Jimmy Carter won the Presidential election. During the 2004 presidential election, then President and Republican candidate, George W. Bush, won with 61.09% against 38.30% votes for the Democratic candidate John Kerry. However, in the more recent Presidential elections that were held in 2008 and in 2012, the very popular Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, did not win the majority vote for Texas. Thus, looking at this information, it can be said that the state of Texas tends to lean more towards the Republican side.
The people of Texas are diverse and carry their “big can-do attitudes and accents” (Pearson); making Texas a bigger than life state. The political culture of Texas is impacted by two different subgroups of
We can conclude that in order to amend the Texas constitution a proposal must be initiated during a regular session or special session of the legislator. In addition, a unanimous two-thirds vote must be achieved before an election can be held for the people to vote on the amendment. Although citizens voiced their concerns for reform of the constitution during the 1970’s only one reform attempt resulted in an opportunity for the electorate to vote. In the end the constitutional reform did not succeed because of shady tactics, specific individuals, and fear of change. The recent Supreme Court Ruling on gay marriages is an example of why the Texas constitution is to constrict and non-free flowing. Due to the fact that it is so detailed they would not of had the ability to allow gay marriages to be legal without a specific
Texas represents a national demographic shift that will cause the United States to become a “minority-majority” country in the near future. Texas achieved that status in 2004, when racial and ethnic minority populations, both native and foreign-born, collectively outnumber non-Hispanic whites; in addition, the state
The Democratic party had regained control of the state's government in 1873 and had a goal to redraft a new constitution for Texas after Governor Edmund J. Davis had left office. Out of the seven constitutions Texas has passed, The Texas Constitution of 1876 was the last and final constitution by which Texas has been under since gaining its independence from Mexico in 1836. This constitution was adopted in February of 1876 after being framed at the constitutional convention of 1875, it was passed by a vote 136,606 to 56,652. Still remaining the basic law of Texas to this day, the constitution contains some unusual provisions to it, but are uniquely Texan at the same time. Many of these provisions were the results of the state's unusual history.
In order to fully grasp how Texas’ Republican Party has progressed throughout the years, one must also have an understanding of the history of the state. The first thirteen colonies of the United States were under British control, a circumstance that Texas was not a part of. Even though many other countries tried to control Texas, they were not able to do so for long periods of time, due in part, to the independent nature of the people throughout the state. Because of the constant threats Texans faced, such as invading armies from foreign countries, the struggles of living out west, amongst many others, the people became incredibly independent, freedom loving, and extremely hard working. At the start of Texas’ history Texans did all of the
Not only this, according to the recent presidential election held in 2016, in the United States, when we look the report of Texas, it illustrates that the republic won with 52.6% while the democrats got around 43.4%. While examining this data, it clearly shows that the Texans favor republic party than democratic. But in case of only Dallas county, Democrats won the election with 61.1%.
Over the course of United States history, Texas has always been a peculiar state. It has had it's fair share of triumphs and downfalls, some of which were the Battle of The Alamo, the defeat of the Spanish army, and its acquisition by the United States. Although the history of Texas might seem to dominate the opinions of many, the governmental component is no different. In fact, some have debated if the very foundation of our government is a democracy or a republic. In response, and through thorough research, I have concluded that Texas is, in fact, a democracy, because there is a multitude of electoral systems, an array of elected positions that citizens can run for, and a myriad of court systems to which justice can be served.
It is widely believed that the strongest state level Republican Party is found in the state of Texas. The Republican Party of Texas has control of the senate, the state house of representatives and the state’s education board . Without a doubt, Texas is the strongest Republican state in the nation. Republicans now have majorities in 107 Texas counties that contain nearly two-thirds of the state’s population. Texas own George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States. Things haven’t always been so great for Texas Republicans. For over one hundred years, the Republican Party was not a viable force in Texas politics. We were the second party in a one-party state. During that time, the GOP failed to win a single
I do not believe Texas with its changing demographics and social climate will be on the brink of another switch in party dominance anytime soon as immigration, guns and education are major factors. The demographics of Texas deal with the rising growth of the minority population throughout the years. In my opinion, I think minorities make up roughly half of Texas’s overall population. According to utexas.edu, “[a]s the reality of demographic changes set in during the late 1990s, part of what defined many Republicans as moderates was an emphasis in both rhetoric and policy toward increasing the party's appeal to Latinos and other ethnic and racial minorities”. Although the Democratic Party is known for receiving votes from minorities, the Republican
For decades, the state of Texas was Democratic and then suddenly in 1998 the state flipped to Republican. Currently, Texas is the boldest Republican state in the country. For so long it was Democrat and strongly so but it has been Republican now since the nineties. The big question surrounding this topic is what happened to make it flip suddenly? Well, research provided a very strong answer that I didn’t expect to find. In 1988 two people were voted in that changed everything for Republicans; Kent Hance and Judge Thomas Phillips were the first republicans voted in since the Reconstruction. This kick started a Republican makeover of the state that all through the nineties Texans saw Republicans overtaking Democrats in every area. To understand how this went down in the nineties there must be an examination of the past. The Democratic party was the face of Texas for a century until the Republicans came back stronger than ever.
Texas has a reputation throughout history of differing views from the federal government in laws and politics pertaining to social, fiscal, and educational issues. On the whole, Texas operates as a largely conservative state. Because of this, policy-making is often right wing. With the institution of a Democratic, liberal president, the State’s dissent from the Federal government has only increased over certain issues. One hot topic of the 2012 Presidential election was immigration. With the major increase in immigration, it is no surprise that the issue was so emphasized. Between 2000 and 2011 there was a 30 percent
I believe that many people in Texas do not care to vote because of apathy and the majority see a system that is corrupt, full of lies and
Texas is a state that has always been recognized for its size and politics. Elections are a huge part of democratic societies that are intended for citizens to choose their public leaders and approve the policies set by candidates. Political parties and interest groups also play a key role in shaping opportunities for public participation. Most Texans and historians know that the Democratic Party’s historical dominance is important to state politics. It is less likely that people are not aware of the consequences of the one-party system for public participation and democracy in Texas. Like many of the rim South states, the white elitist belonged to the Democratic Party which stemmed from the end of Reconstruction until the late 20th