Texas Republicans In Dust-Up Over Redistricting

Politico: A bitter, behind-the-scenes fight has broken out among Texas Republicans over redistricting, pitting Rep. Lamar Smith against longtime colleague Rep. Joe Barton.

The dispute is over the makeup of four new congressional districts for the Lone Star State, and centers on the racial balance — including the controversial issue of “bleaching,” or including more white voters in a district — of the new political map for Texas.

GOP Rep. Lamar Smith has taken the position that Hispanic population growth in Texas means that two of Texas' four new U.S. House districts should be majority-minority. Smith has been working with Dem Rep. Henry Cuellar to create a map that includes the new majority-minority districts. This has infuriated fellow Republican Rep. Joe Barton, who insists that at least three if not all four of the new district be drawn (gerrymandered) to favor non-minority Republicans.

Politico's sources indicate Gov. Perry's alleged plan is to skip Department of Justice pre-clearance and go directly to federal court, perhaps hoping for a friendly conservative panel backed by a conservative-leaning Supreme Court. The piece also reports that proposed maps have been circulated among Republicans, but of course, no one's sharing any copies.

Read more at Politico »

For full details on the 2010 Texas Census and redistricting for Texas and Collin Co. read: Redistricting : U.S. Census Bureau Releases 2010 County Level Counts