Texas State House and Senate Races - 2008

[minionofmidas]

To make it seem as if the district were contiguous, it also includes an uninhabited portion of Chambers County. Seems like Republican retention hopes rest on the eastern Democratic appendage not turning out.

There is a tiny strip (about a mile wide) in the southeast corner of Chambers County that is between Galveston and Jefferson County.  If it weren't included, the district wouldn't be contiguous.

Probably the islands east of Galveston. As the Chambers County portion doesn't have any registered voters, the district is not contiguous in my book. (Just as Riker's Island is not contiguous with north Manhattan in NY's 15th Congressional district, inclusion of uninhabited northwest Queens docklands or no.)

[minionofmidas]

Countywide, straight ticket voting was about 50% of the total vote.  HD 55 is entirely in the county, but HD 54 is a big chunk of the county as well.

Yes - Texas State House districting rules. Bell County is too large for one and too small for two districts, so one district has to be entirely in the county and the other includes smaller rural counties (Burnet and Lampasas, in this case) to make up the population balance.

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Yeah, that would seem to apply only if somebody died or resigned between their re-election (or election) and the end of the term. As Julian Dixon (Black Representative from LA) did in December 2000.

[jimrtex]

Countywide, straight ticket voting was about 50% of the total vote.  HD 55 is entirely in the county, but HD 54 is a big chunk of the county as well.

Yes - Texas State House districting rules. Bell County is too large for one and too small for two districts, so one district has to be entirely in the county and the other includes smaller rural counties (Burnet and Lampasas, in this case) to make up the population balance.

About 65% of HD54 is in Bell County, mostly in Killeen.  Harker Heights and the Bell County portion of Fort Hood are in HD55.  Burnet and Lampasas aren't exactly rural.  Lampasas has spillover from Copperas Cove and Fort Hood.  Burnet is exurban Austin, with a couple of lakes - some commuters, retirees, and 2nd homes.  It is one of the faster growing counties in Texas.  Of course, it is just a matter of luck whether the counties stuck together in a house district have any real connection.  The population in Burnet is more towards the south end  nearer to Austin.

The Texas Constitution doesn't have a provision for subdividing counties for house districts.  It either provides for multiple members per county, or a single-member district made up of whole counties.  But there is an exception that let's the surplus (fraction) of a county to be treated as a whole county.  If only the Texas Constitution were relevant - Bell County would have a representative; and Bell, Burnet, and Lampasas would form another district and elect another representative.  Voters in Bell County would get two votes.  This type of floterial district is generally unconstitutional (14th Amendment Equal Protection clause). 

So to reconcile the two constitutions, the Texas Constitution is treated more as defining apportionment, where Bell, Burnet, and Lampasas are apportioned 2 representatives.  But the quota for the last representative has to be made up of fractional surpluses.  You couldn't give counties entitled to 0.7, 0.7, and 0.6 representative 2 representatives collectively.  Then the apportionment unit is divided into single member districts.  But this also has to respect how the the last representative was apportioned based on the fractional members.

In Central Texas, McLennan, Bell, Williamson, and Travis counties have population equivalent to more than one district.  Hays, Comal, and Guadeloupe have substantial fractions.  As it turns out, none of them can be combined North/South along I-35, which would be logical.  So instead they have to be extended eastward or westward into less populated areas - but tending to split these rural areas between districts.  You could legally add counties to the east and west of a large county, but the fractional part of the county would have to also provide the connection.

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Yeah, that would seem to apply only if somebody died or resigned between their re-election (or election) and the end of the term. As Julian Dixon (Black Representative from LA) did in December 2000.[/quote]
I got a response back from the SoS.  Mr. Murphey, the runnerup, withdrew.  The provision for handling this is the section on withdrawal by candidates rather than in the section on vacancies or special elections.

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There is the equivalent provision for party primary runoffs (172.059).

[minionofmidas]

I got a response back from the SoS.  Mr. Murphey, the runnerup, withdrew.  The provision for handling this is the section on withdrawal by candidates rather than in the section on vacancies or special elections.

Ah, thanks.

[jimrtex]

To make it seem as if the district were contiguous, it also includes an uninhabited portion of Chambers County. Seems like Republican retention hopes rest on the eastern Democratic appendage not turning out.

There is a tiny strip (about a mile wide) in the southeast corner of Chambers County that is between Galveston and Jefferson County.  If it weren't included, the district wouldn't be contiguous.

Probably the islands east of Galveston. As the Chambers County portion doesn't have any registered voters, the district is not contiguous in my book. (Just as Riker's Island is not contiguous with north Manhattan in NY's 15th Congressional district, inclusion of uninhabited northwest Queens docklands or no.)

Rip that page out, then.

Galveston County consists of 4 parts:   (1) Mainland where Texas City, La Marque, Dickinson, and League City are; (2) Galveston Island, including the city of Galveston at its northern tip; (3) Bolivar Peninsula; and (4) parts of Galveston Bay: (a) West Bay - which is north of Galveston Island, but not shown as blue on the map.  The center of channel roughly follows the turquoise line which also shows the senate district boundary where it is not coincident with a county line.  The triangular tip of Galveston County at the extreme SW corner of the map marks San Luis Pass, the second entrance to the bay, and why Galveston Island is an Island; (b) East Bay - which is north of the Bolivar Peninsula.  The county line between Galveston and Chambers County is on the northern shore of East Bay; and (c) Lower Galveston Bay, the area south of the dotted grey line between San Leon and Smith Point.

Chambers County consists of 2 parts: (1) Upper Galveston Bay, including Trinity Bay, which is the eastern part; and (2) an area on the mainland, generally north of East Bay.  Most of the population is in the north, closer to I-10 which runs across the northern edge of the county.  The land area in the NC part of the map, just east of Baytown, is connected north of Trinity Bay.  Chambers County also includes a narrow panhandle between Galveston and Jefferson counties (and extends into the Gulf Of Mexico - not shown on this map).



Zooming in.  High Island is not an island, but rather a town built on top of a salt dome (the Pikes Peak of the Gulf Coast).  It is in Galveston Island, and is considered part of the Bolivar Peninsula.

Texas 87, High Island to Sabine Pass  Texas 87 runs along the coast, just behind the sand dunes.  It is blocked just past High Island because it washed away in a hurricane.  The coast in Jefferson County is mostly in a wildlife refuge, and there would be problems moving the highway back further from the coast.  Texas 87 has a small stretch in the city of Galveston, is connected by a ferry to the Bolivar Peninsula and then runs eastward along the coast to Sabine Pass and Port Arthur, and then about halfway up the eastern edge of the state.   So now, to travel from Galveston to Port Arthur, you turn north at High Point, and then connect into an east west highway into Port Arthur.

The Intracoastal Waterway (a barge canal), is cut through the back edge of the Bolvar Peninsula.  At the eastern end of East Bay it follows a bayou which forms the border between Galveston and Chambers counties.  It then follows the coast about 3 miles inland.

The part of Chambers County that is in SD 17 is between the intracoastal waterway and the coast and is not accessible except from the east or west.



The mustard color delimits census block boundaries.  There is a census block between TX-87 and the coast, and another in the Gulf of Mexico.  The Intracoastal Waterway (roughly 50 feet wide) is itself a census block.



Texas Coast, post Ike.

High Island as an island.  The road junction in the bottom of the picture is where a curve has been added for turning from TX-87 to go north.



Galveston-Chambers county line.



Chambers County coast line.  The bump is TX-87.



Chambers-Jefferson county Line.

 

[minionofmidas]

Rip that page out, then.

Yeah, I realized that that couldn't be quite correct without your help, and quite how tiny the Chambers portion must be.

One thing you omitted to mention though is the exact boundaries of the district. When I spoke of the "eastern appendage" in the original post, I did mean Galveston as well as Port Arthur. Note that noone's living in between Port Arthur and High Island (except for the very small settlement of Sabine Pass, if that's the name - quoted from memory), so the district is "really" three separate parts (although I need to look up where the population in the Brazoria portion is thickest - I know where the population in Brazoria as a whole is thickest - namely, in the SD 11 portion, but obviously there's a lot of population in SD17 as well).

http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/redist/pdf/s1188/map.pdf

That's not a district, that's a disgrace.

[Sam Spade]

One thing you omitted to mention though is the exact boundaries of the district. When I spoke of the "eastern appendage" in the original post, I did mean Galveston as well as Port Arthur. Note that no one's living in between Port Arthur and High Island (except for the very small settlement of Sabine Pass, if that's the name - quoted from memory), so the district is "really" three separate parts (although I need to look up where the population in the Brazoria portion is thickest - I know where the population in Brazoria as a whole is thickest - namely, in the SD 11 portion, but obviously there's a lot of population in SD17 as well).

Sabine Pass is actually south of Port Arthur, along the Texas-Louisiana border.  But I guess that does qualify.

However yes, there literally is nothing between Port Arthur and High Island.  The one road in that area (St. Highway 87) has been closed for ages and is probably largely washed away by the Gulf now.  Or at least it was when I drove through there about 10 years ago.  Rita and Ike probably fully did it away.  There were nudist colonies out there at one time, as I recall.

[jimrtex]

One thing you omitted to mention though is the exact boundaries of the district. When I spoke of the "eastern appendage" in the original post, I did mean Galveston as well as Port Arthur. Note that no one's living in between Port Arthur and High Island (except for the very small settlement of Sabine Pass, if that's the name - quoted from memory), so the district is "really" three separate parts (although I need to look up where the population in the Brazoria portion is thickest - I know where the population in Brazoria as a whole is thickest - namely, in the SD 11 portion, but obviously there's a lot of population in SD17 as well).

Sabine Pass is actually south of Port Arthur, along the Texas-Louisiana border.  But I guess that does qualify.

However yes, there literally is nothing between Port Arthur and High Island.  The one road in that area (St. Highway 87) has been closed for ages and is probably largely washed away by the Gulf now.  Or at least it was when I drove through there about 10 years ago.  Rita and Ike probably fully did it away.  There were nudist colonies out there at one time, as I recall.

Sabine Pass is actually within the city limits of Port Arthur (though it is about 15 miles south of the city proper).   The SD 17 boundaries very neatly include everything in Port Arthur, and excludes everything north  (Port Neches, Groves, Nederland).  The basic idea was to chop out enough of Jefferson County, so that the Montgomery County portion of the district to the north (SD 4) could outvote the Golden Triangle.  And they were also careful not to tip SD 11.  I suspect that in 2010, Port Arthur will be moved into SD 4, and Orange County into SD 3 in East Texas, which is more reliably Republican now, or you can run it up into Tyler and Longview.

In 1998, the Democrats picked up CD 4, while the GOP had a 71:29 (against a D, not an L) in CD 17.  Buster Brown was the senator from CD 17 - and the district may have been drawn to remove him.

In one of my reply's to Lewis, there was a link to a road trip on the old portion of TX-87, which took 3 hours for 20 miles, all in 4 wheel drive.  Basically the pavement is broken up into chunks so that it is kind of like driving over rock piles.  It may be easier to drive the beach.  The part at the eastern end is maintained because it is the access road to Sea Rim State Park.

There were also some pictures of the coast post Ike, showing this thin little line where the road and dunes were, and then water for miles beyond it.  The pictures were taken by the USGS from Quintana (near the mouth of the Brazos all the way into Louisiana.  There are 100s of them, and they're tied to a nifty map.

[minionofmidas]

One thing you omitted to mention though is the exact boundaries of the district. When I spoke of the "eastern appendage" in the original post, I did mean Galveston as well as Port Arthur. Note that no one's living in between Port Arthur and High Island (except for the very small settlement of Sabine Pass, if that's the name - quoted from memory), so the district is "really" three separate parts (although I need to look up where the population in the Brazoria portion is thickest - I know where the population in Brazoria as a whole is thickest - namely, in the SD 11 portion, but obviously there's a lot of population in SD17 as well).

Sabine Pass is actually south of Port Arthur, along the Texas-Louisiana border.  But I guess that does qualify.

It does - as the district curves south from Port Arthur to the coast, then westward along the coast, it includes the settlement there.

[jimrtex]

Sabine Pass is actually south of Port Arthur, along the Texas-Louisiana border.  But I guess that does qualify.

It does - as the district curves south from Port Arthur to the coast, then westward along the coast, it includes the settlement there.

Sabine Pass is within the city limits of Port Arthur which extend even further south to the mouth of the Sabine River. 

Connecting Galveston and Port Arthur along the coast is not so illogical (remember that the beach is a public conveyance in Texas), nor extending it further west in Brazoria County.  What is illogical is splitting the city of Galveston, and then connecting it to western Harris County.

ps. A curiosity about the Battle of Sabine Pass is that the hero of the battle, Dick Dowling, is the namesake of the Houston chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians.

[jimrtex]

Early Voting:

Huffman 60.2% Bell 39.8%.

By County:

Brazoria: Huffman 1906 Bell 724
Chambers: Huffman 0 Bell 0 (includes election day results
Fort Bend: Huffman 3314 Bell 1453
Galveston: Huffman 92 Bell 204
Harris: Huffman 5830 Bell 3511
Jefferson: Huffman 236 Bell 1132

I suspect that early voting will be a really huge percentage of the vote, since there is only the single race.  The Galveston vote is low, but it might be pretty hard to vote there.  For the general election, people would be more willing to put out the effort to early vote, and I think that they allowed people to vote on the mainland on election day.

[Sam Spade]

192 of 211 Precincts

22,552 (57.18%) Huffman
16,888 (42.81%) Bell

Most everything left is from Harris or Fort Bend.  This one's over.

Chris Bell lost another one, surprise, surprise...

[jimrtex]

192 of 211 Precincts

22,552 (57.18%) Huffman
16,888 (42.81%) Bell

Most everything left is from Harris or Fort Bend.  This one's over.

Chris Bell lost another one, surprise, surprise...

I was wrong about the early voting vs. election day voting, it appears early voting was under 50%.  Overall turnout is running a little under 18% of the election day total.  The best is in Jefferson which is 24%.  It looks like the GOP knew what they were doing splitting up Port Arthur and Beaumont.  In 1996, after the Democrat's congressional district lines were overturned, the districts that had been redrawn were conducted as special elections in November.  Nick Lampson defeated Steve Stockman based on heavy turnout in Jefferson County during the runoff.  The areas in Harris County, Clear Lake, Atascosita, Baytown didn't even know there was a runoff since most of the districts in Houston had a majority result (or were a rematch of the GOP primary).

[agcatter]

Huffman was a very good candidate.

[Mr.Phips]

I imagine that this district is quite Republican.  It seems to be pretty much a smaller version of TX-14 or TX-22.  Am I correct here?

[Sam Spade]

I imagine that this district is quite Republican.  It seems to be pretty much a smaller version of TX-14 or TX-22.  Am I correct here?

Not as Republican as you might think, mainly because the black population is a bit higher (15% vs. 8-9%).  That's because of the Jefferson county add-on, which is mainly black.

Bush won it probably around 60-40 or 61-39.  Obama was undoubtedly closer.  Moody got 47% in 2006, but he probably performed better among whitey than Obama did.

[jimrtex]

In 2004, Bush carried SD-17 by 58%, vs 64% for CD-22, and 67% for CD-14.  A lot more of it is in Harris County.

[Sam Spade]

Final Total:

211 of 211 Precincts

24,431 (56.11%) Huffman
19,104 (43.88%) Bell

[minionofmidas]

Stronger Republican result than I would have thought likely.

[Meeker]

Apparently my grandmother has lived next to Linda Harper-Brown for 45 years. She has a very festive yard at Christmas time.

yay texas

[Frodo]

Sam, when did you become a Republican? 

[Sam Spade]

Look at the MN Sen Recount results and then at Forum Community for a locked thread I posted (that's now a few pages back).

[Frodo]

Look at the MN Sen Recount results and then at Forum Community for a locked thread I posted (that's now a few pages back).

I'm supposed to dig through at least 58 pages on that thread in order to find out?  Can't you just tell me what happened? 

[Lunar]

it's one page on the forum board

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=90311.0

[Meeker]

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=90311.0

That's kind of an odd reaction. There were plenty of sexually disturbed people in the Democratic Party long before Al Franken, and there are plenty of sexually disturbed people currently in the Republican Party. Sexual perversion and partisan identification have nothing in common.