One of the goals of gerrymandering is for the majority to pack as many of the other side into as few districts as possible. According to a new study, Texas Republicans have succeeded in doing it:
A majority of the state's congressional districts -- 20 of the 32 -- give the GOP an edge of at least 10 percentage points in electoral contests, Cook found. Only one of those -- the 17th district, which includes Waco and Aggieland, is currently represented by a Democrat (Chet Edwards).
How heavily weighted are Texas districts? Four of the ten most Republican districts in the country are in the Lone Star State. Those reps are: Clarendon's Mac Thornberry (#2), Midland's Mike Conaway (#3), Lubbock's Randy Neugebauer (#5) and The Woodlands' Kevin Brady (#7).
Texas Democrats are packed into five overwhelmingly Democratic districts, all represented by minorities.
Just eight Texas districts are "swing districts" -- with neither party having a built-in electoral edge of more than 8 percentage points. And seven of those eight districts are represented by Democrats, meaning that there is more opportunity for Republicans to pick up Texas congressional seats than Democrats (setting incumbency aside).
