User:Takinzinnia/2012 Texas State Senate election: Difference between revisions

The Republican Party had held the State Senate since the 1996 elections. Most observers, as well as the national parties, viewed Texas as a safe [[Red states and blue states|red state]], as Republican candidates had swept statewide elections since 1998. State Republicans reached a new zenith after the [[2010 Texas elections|2010 elections]], when [[Tea Party movement|backlash]] to the [[presidency of Barack Obama]] kept the State Senate firmly in their control and led to a record number of victories in the State House of Representatives. Because the legislature draws its own districts, subject to approval by the Governor, after each [[wt:decennial]] [[U.S. Census]], the GOP created the new boundaries for the 2012 elections, the first time Texas Republicans had full control of the state government during the redistricting process. However, the proposed maps for 2012 were challenged under [[Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act]] and in U.S. District Court for racial gerrymandering. The biggest change in the Senate was [[Wendy Davis]] As such, this election used a different GOP-drawn map based on court-drawn boundaries.