the text book Practicing Texas Politics Texas Edition (16th Edition), Brown, et.al. for this assignment: 3,4,5,6,10,13.

Chapter4

Political Parties

• Chapter Introduction

• 4-1 Party Structure

  • 4-1a Temporary Party Organization

  • 4-1b Selection of National Convention Delegates

  • 4-1c Permanent Party Organization

• 4-2 Political Ideology

  • 4-2a Conservatism

  • 4-2b Liberalism

• 4-3 An Overview of Texas Political History

  • 4-3a 1840s to 1870s: The Origin of the Party System

  • 4-3b 1870s to 1970s: A One-Party Dominant System

  • 4-3c 1970s to 1990s: An Emerging Two-Party System

  • 4-3d 2000 to 2014: Republican Dominance

• 4-4 Electoral Trends

  • 4-4a Third Parties

  • 4-4b Independents

• 4-5 Chapter Review

  • 4-5aConclusion

  • 4-5bChapter Summary

  • 4-5cKey Terms

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Chapter 4: Political Parties Chapter Introduction

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

Chapter Introduction

Copyright © 2013 BranchToon. All Rights Reserved.

Critical Thinking

• After reading this chapter and selected reading, do you think that the Democratic Party will return to prominence in Texas in the near future? Why?

Learning Objectives

• 4.1 
Describe the structure of political parties in Texas, distinguishing between the temporary party structure and the permanent party structure.

• 4.2 
Compare and contrast the different political ideologies found in the Lone Star State.

• 4.3 
Trace the history of political parties in Texas.

• 4.4 
Identify electoral trends in Texas, including the roles of dealigned voters, minor parties, and independent candidates.

Although Texas is a two-party state, the Republican Party has dominated Texas elections and politics for more than two decades. No Democratic candidate has been elected to a statewide office since 1998. Additionally, every Republican presidential nominee has carried the Lone Star State in the last 40 years. Red states are those in which the Republican Party is dominant, whereas Blue states are those in which the Democratic Party prevails. Although Texas is a red state, the Democratic Party believes that it will return to prominence given the Republican Party's platform and nomination of more conservative candidates as well as changing demographics among the state's population and voters. This chapter examines the structure of political parties in Texas, their history, recent electoral trends, voting coalitions, and the effect of the changing demographics of Texas on the political parties in 2014.

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-1 Party Structure

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

4-1 Party Structure

LO 4.1

Describe the structure of political parties in Texas, distinguishing between the temporary party structure and the permanent party structure.

Although neither the U.S. Constitution nor the Texas Constitution mentions political parties, these organizations are an integral part of the American governmental process. A political partyAn organization influenced by political ideology whose primary interest is to gain control of government by winning elections. can be defined as a combination of people and interests whose primary purpose is to gain control of government by winning elections. Whereas interest groups tend to focus on influencing governmental policies, political parties are chiefly concerned with the recruitment, nomination, and election of citizens to governmental office. (For a discussion of interest groups, see Chapter 7, “The Politics of Interest Groups.”) In Texas, as throughout the United States, the Democratic and Republican parties are the two leading political parties. State election laws have contributed to the continuity of the two-party system. These laws not only make the process of getting on the ballot complex for third parties, but they also require that the winner of the general election, held in November of even-numbered years, is the candidate who receives the largest number of votes (a plurality). Third-party candidates have little chance of winning an election by defeating the two major-party nominees.

American political parties exist on four levels: national, state, county, and precinct (the division of an area into smaller units within which voters cast their ballots at the same location). In part, these levels correspond to the organization of the U.S. federal system of government. Whereas a corporation is organized as a hierarchy, with a chain of command that makes each level directly accountable to the level above it, a political party is organized as a stratarchyA political system in which power is diffused among and within levels of party organization., in which power is diffused among and within levels of the party organization. Each major party is loosely organized so that state and local party organizations are free to decide their positions on party and policy issues. State- and local-level organizations operate within their own spheres of influence, separate from one another. Although these levels of the two major parties are encouraged to support national party policies, this effort is not always successful. As mandated by the Texas Election Code, Texas's two major parties are alike in structure. Each has permanent and temporary organizational structures (see Figure 4.1).

Figure 4.1

Texas Political Party Organization

© Cengage Learning®

Critical Thinking

• In what ways does the structure of political parties in Texas encourage participation in partisan politics? In what ways does it discourage participation?

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-1a Temporary Party Organization

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

4-1a Temporary Party Organization

The temporary party organizationPrimaries and conventions that function briefly to nominate candidates, pass resolutions, adopt a party platform, and select delegates to party conventions at higher levels. consists of primaries and conventions. These events are temporary because they are not ongoing party activities. Through primaries, members of the major political parties participate in elections to select candidates for public office and local party officers. Primary election voting may involve a second, or runoff, primary.

Conventions elect state-level and senate-district party officers and can be scheduled at precinct, county, state senatorial district, and state levels. Each convention lasts a limited time, from less than an hour to one or two days. At the state level, conventions select party leaders chosen by delegates elected at the local level. Rules of the Texas Democratic and Republican parties mandate that party policy be determined at their conventions. These policy decisions are evidenced by resolutions, passed in both local and state conventions, and by party platforms adopted at the state conventions. A party's platformA document that sets forth a political party's position on issues such as income tax, school vouchers, or public utility regulation. is a document that sets forth the party's position on current issues. In presidential election years, state-level conventions select delegates who attend a party's national convention. Additionally, state delegates nominate a slate of electors to vote in the electoral college if their party's presidential candidate wins a plurality of the general election vote. At the national party convention, candidates are officially chosen to run for president and vice president of the United States. All Texas political conventions must be open to the media, according to state law.

In March 2012, a three-judge federal panel in San Antonio issued an order setting a May primary election date for the Lone Star State—nine days before the Republican state convention and 10 days before the Democratic state convention. The new primary election date significantly affected the Texas Democratic and Republican parties' temporary party organizations and altered their processes for delegate selection. The State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) eliminated precinct conventions, and the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) made them optional. Both parties set April 21 as the date for county and senatorial district conventions. In 2013 under HB3102, the 83rd Legislature provided greater flexibility to the state's political parties by allowing party officials to determine the date, time, and place of all conventions.

Precinct Conventions

Precinct conventionsIf a political party decides to conduct a precinct convention, this serves as the lowest level of temporary political party organization. Delegates convene in even-numbered years on a date and at a time and place prescribed by the party's state executive committee to adopt resolutions and to select delegates to a county (or district) convention. in Texas have traditionally occurred every even-numbered year on the first Tuesday in March, which is the day of the first primary. The state executive committees of each party determine the date, time, and place for precinct conventions. In 2014, however, the State Democratic Executive Committee decided not to hold precinct conventions. At the county or senatorial district conventions, those in attendance caucused (met) with other attendees from their precinct. Republican precinct conventions were held at the traditional time after the polls closed on primary election day.

By state law, if a political party decides to conduct a precinct convention, any citizen who voted in the party primary or has completed an oath of affiliation with a political party is permitted to attend and participate in that party's precinct convention as a delegate. Each party's state executive committee may adopt a rule requiring the precinct chair to be the permanent chair of the precinct convention. Otherwise, the precinct chair serves as the temporary chair and the delegates select a chairperson to preside over the convention. Delegates select a secretary to record the proceedings. If a political party holds a precinct convention, it must preregister attendees for the convention by any method the party may adopt by rule. The preregistration requires attendees to affiliate with the party by taking an oath and signing a roster for a primary election that states at the top of each page, “A person commits a criminal offense if the person knowingly votes in a primary election or participates in a convention of a party after having voted in a primary election or participated in a convention of another party during the same voting year.”

The main business of the precinct convention is to elect delegates to the county or district convention. Delegates to a party's precinct convention are also allowed to submit and debate resolutions. These resolutions express the positions of precinct convention participants on any number of issues, ranging from immigration and abortion to the national debt. If adopted, a resolution will be submitted to a county or district convention for consideration.

Political parties often place several nonbinding resolutions on the primary ballot for voters to decide upon. These proposals are used to express party primary voters' opinions and have no legal effect. In 2014, the SREC placed six propositions on the Texas Republican primary ballot, each of which was approved by the percentage of voters indicated below.

• Religious Freedom: Texans should be free to express their religious beliefs, including prayer, in public places. (97 percent)

• Second Amendment: Texas should support Second Amendment liberties by expanding locations where concealed handgun license holders may legally carry. (87 percent)

• Franchise Tax: Texas should abolish the state franchise tax, also known as the margins tax, to encourage business growth. (88 percent)

• Welfare Reform: Texas recipients of taxpayer-funded public assistance should be subject to random drug testing as a condition of receiving benefits. (95 percent)

• No Lawmaker Exceptions: All elected officials and their staffs should be subject to the same laws, rules, regulations, and ordinances as their constituents. (99 percent)

• Obamacare: The Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” should be repealed. (93 percent)

The following four propositions appeared on the 2014 Democratic ballot and were approved by the percentages indicated:

• On Immigration Reform: The United States Congress must pass immigration reform, including an earned path to citizenship for those individuals contributing to the economy and the dependents of those individuals (86 percent)

• A Living Wage for All Texans: Congress should pass legislation raising the federal minimum wage to at least 110% of the federal poverty level for a family of four without exception (89 percent)

• Medicaid Expansion: The Governor and the Texas Legislature should accept federal funds, as provided in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, for the expansion of Medicaid to provide coverage to millions of uninsured and underinsured Texans (89 percent)

• On Non-Discrimination Legislation: The Congress and the Texas Legislature should adopt legislation that expands protections against discriminations in employment, housing, and public accommodations based upon sexual orientation and gender identity (88 percent)

County and District Conventions

State law requires that county conventionsA party meeting of delegates held in even-numbered years on a date and at a time and place prescribed by the party's state executive committee to adopt resolutions and to select delegates and alternates to the party's state convention. and district conventionsHeld in even-numbered years on a date and at a time and place prescribed by the party's state executive committee in counties that have more than one state senatorial district. Participants select delegates and alternates to the party's state convention. occur on the date selected by the party's state executive committee, provided that it does not occur during Passover or Easter weekend. In 2014, Republican and Democratic county and district conventions occurred the third Saturday after the primary elections, or 11 days after the elections. District conventions, rather than a single-county convention, are held in heavily populated counties (such as Harris, Dallas, and Bexar) that have more than one state senatorial district. Each party's state executive committee may adopt a rule requiring the county chair to be the permanent chair of the county convention and requiring the senatorial district executive committee member or chair of the district executive committee, as applicable, to be the permanent chair of the senatorial district convention. Otherwise, the county chair serves as the temporary chair of the county convention and the senatorial district executive committee member or chair of the district executive committee, as applicable, serves as the chair of the senatorial district convention, and the delegates elect a chairperson to preside over the respective convention. Delegates select a secretary to record the proceedings. The main business of county and district conventions is to elect delegates to the state convention. Delegates may also submit proposed resolutions for consideration by the convention.

Under the rules for each party, county and district conventions may select one delegate to the state convention for every 300 votes cast in the county or district for the party's gubernatorial nominee in the most recent general election. Under Republican Party rules, all delegate candidates are submitted by the county or district convention's committee on nominations for approval by convention participants. Rules of the Democratic Party allow state delegates to be selected by precinct delegations. Additionally, in selecting delegates and alternates at all levels, rules of the Democratic Party require delegations to reasonably reflect the presidential preferences (in presidential years), to include young people and people with disabilities, and to reflect diversity in race, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Delegates attending the state or district convention also consider resolutions. These resolutions then go to the party's state convention for consideration.

State Conventions

In accordance with the Texas Election Code, in June of even-numbered years, each political party must hold a biennial state conventionConvenes every even-numbered year to make rules for a political party, adopt a party platform and resolutions, and select members of the state executive committee; in a presidential election year, it elects delegates to the national convention, names members to serve on the national committee, and elects potential electors to vote if the party's presidential candidate receives a plurality of the popular vote in the general election. to conduct party business. State conventions occur during a two-day period. Each party's state executive committee may adopt a rule requiring the state chair to be the permanent chair of the state convention. Otherwise, the state chair serves as the temporary chair and the delegates select a chairperson to preside over the convention. Delegates select a secretary to record the proceedings. In addition, delegates conduct the following tasks:

• Certify to the secretary of state the names of party members nominated in the March and April primaries for Texas elective offices (or by convention if no primary was held)

• Write the rules that will govern the party

• Draft and adopt a party platform

• Adopt resolutions regarding issues too specific to be included in the party platform

• Select members of the party's state executive committee

In presidential election years, state convention delegates also perform the following three functions:

• Elect delegates to the national presidential nominating convention (the total number for Texas is calculated under national party rules)

• Elect members from Texas to serve on the party's national committee

• Elect a slate of potential presidential electors to cast Texas's electoral votes if the party's ticket wins a plurality of the state's popular presidential vote

Texas casts 38 electoral votes. A state's electoral vote equals the number of its members in the U.S. Congress (2 senators and, for Texas, 36 representatives apportioned according to the state's population based on the 2010 census). However, in accordance with Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution, “no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.”

Both the Texas Democratic Party and Texas Republican Party used Facebook and Twitter to post minute-by-minute happenings at their respective state conventions in 2014. Additionally, delegates to each party's convention used these forms of social media to communicate their experiences as they occurred.

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-1b Selection of National Convention Delegates

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

4-1b Selection of National Convention Delegates

Selection of delegates to a national party convention depends on the delegates' support of particular candidates for the party's presidential nomination. In a presidential preference primaryA primary in which the voters indicate their preference for a person seeking nomination as the party's presidential candidate., rank-and-file party members can vote directly for the presidential candidates of their choice. Primary voting is by precinct. Delegates to the party's national convention are usually chosen according to the results of the primary vote. The respective national conventions nominate the parties' candidates for president and vice president.

In many states, parties select delegates to a national convention in caucusesA meeting at which members of a political party assemble to select delegates and make other policy recommendations at the precinct, county, or state senatorial district and state levels.. Party members assemble in caucuses at the respective precinct, county, and state levels. Here, they choose national convention delegates who either are pledged to support a particular presidential candidate or are uncommitted.

Democratic Selection

In recent years, Texas Democrats have combined the two delegate selection plans into a primary-caucus described as the “Texas Two-Step.” In presidential election years, participants are asked to identify their presidential preferences at each convention. However, individuals may choose not to pledge their support to any candidate. Instead, they may indicate that they are uncommitted. Presidential candidates are awarded delegates to local and state conventions in proportion to the number of their supporters in attendance. National delegates include approximately one-third who are based on primary results and two-thirds based on the number of supporters in attendance at the state convention. These delegates are selected by state senatorial districts on an at-large basis. Additionally, superdelegatesAn unpledged party official or elected official who serves as a delegate to a party's national convention. (unpledged party and elected officials) are selected. Superdelegates are state party leaders and elected officials who are automatically seated at the party's national convention. Unlike other delegates to the national convention, they are not required to pledge their support for a particular candidate, and may support any candidate for the party's presidential nomination. In 2012, Texas sent 288 (out of a total of 5,555) delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Pledged delegates were chosen proportionally based on the number of delegates to county and senate district conventions who signed in (or registered) favoring a particular candidate.

Texas state senator, Wendy Davis, left, shakes hands with Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, after participating in the Rio Grande Valley Gubernatorial Debate in Edinburg, Texas on September 19, 2014. This was the first of two scheduled debates between the two candidates. On November 4, 2014, Abbott won the election.

(left: AP Images/The McAllen Monitor/Gabe Hernandez)

Critical Thinking

• How might a candidate debate persuade voters?

Republican Selection

The Republican Party selects national delegates proportionally from the results of the presidential preference primary. Some Republican delegates are chosen by congressional district caucuses (at least one was chosen from each district in 2012). Others are chosen on an at-large basis by the entire convention. A nominating committee selects all at-large delegates. State convention delegates approve all national delegates. In 2012, Texas sent 155 (out of a total of 2,286) delegates to the Republican National Convention.

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-1c Permanent Party Organization

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

4-1c Permanent Party Organization

Each major political party in the United States consists of thousands of virtually autonomous executive committees at the local, state, and national levels. These committees are given great latitude in their operating structures. For Democrats and Republicans alike, the executive committees across the nation are linked only nominally. At the highest level, each party has a national committee. In Texas, the precinct chairs, together with the county, district, and state executive committees, make up the permanent organization of the state parties. The role of the permanent party organizationIn Texas, the precinct chairs, county and district executive committees, and the state executive committee form the permanent organization of a political party. is to recruit candidates, devise strategies, raise funds, distribute candidate literature and information, register voters, and turn out voters on Election Day.

Precinct Chair

In Texas, the basic party official in both the temporary and the permanent party structures is the precinct chairThe party official responsible for the interests and activities of a political party in a voting district; typical duties include encouraging voter registration, distributing campaign literature, operating phone banks, and getting out the vote on Election Day., who is elected to a two-year term by precinct voters in the party primaries. A party precinct chair's duties and responsibilities include registering and persuading voters within the precinct, distributing candidate literature and information, operating phone banks within the precinct on behalf of the party and its candidates, and getting people to the polls. If both parties are evenly matched in strength at the polls, the precinct chairs become more vital in turning people out to vote. A precinct chair is an unpaid party official who also arranges for the precinct convention (in the Republican Party) and serves on the county executive committee. Many of these positions go unfilled in more populous counties (those that have 100 or more precincts) and in counties where one party dominates the other in numbers of voters. In 2014, for instance, out of approximately 700 precincts in Dallas County, neither Democrats nor Republicans filled chairs in more than 400 precincts. Likewise, Democrats and Republicans each filled chairs in only slightly more than half of the 1,000 precincts in Harris County that year.

County and District Executive Committees

A county executive committeeComposed of a party's precinct chairs and the elected county chair, the county executive committee conducts primaries and makes arrangements for holding county conventions. comprises all the precinct chairs and the county chair, who are elected by county party members in the primaries. The county chair heads the party's countywide organization. County executive committees conduct primaries and arrange for county conventions. At the local level, the county chairElected by county party members in the primaries, this key party official heads the county executive committee. is the key party official and serves as the party's chief strategist within that county. Duties of the county chair include recruiting local candidates for office, raising funds, establishing and staffing the party's campaign headquarters within the county, and serving as the local spokesperson for the party. The Texas Election Code also provides for a district executive committeeComposed of county chairs within a district that elects a state senator, U.S. or state representative, or district judge, this body fills a vacancy created by the death, resignation, or disqualification of a nominated candidate., which is composed of the county chairs from each county in a given district (senatorial, representative, or judicial). District executive committees rarely meet except to nominate candidates to fill a district vacancy, when one occurs.

State Executive Committee

For each major political party, the highest permanent party organization in the state is the state executive committeeComposed of a chair, vice chair, and two members from each senatorial district, this body is part of a party's permanent organization.. As mandated by state law, an executive committee is composed of one man and one woman from each of the 31 state senatorial districts, plus a chair and a vice chair, one of whom must be a woman and the other a man. For both the Democratic and Republican parties, a state executive committee with 64 members is elected at the party's state convention. On that occasion, delegates from each of the 31 senatorial districts choose two members from their district and place these names before the convention for its approval. At the same time, convention delegates choose the chair and vice chair at large. The party's state chair serves as its key strategist and chief spokesperson. The role of vice chair has traditionally been more honorary in nature. In addition to the 64 statutory members of the party's state executive committee, party rules may allow “add-on” members. An add-on member may represent recognized statewide auxiliary organizations that have voting power within the party, such as women's groups (e.g., Texas Democratic Women, Texas Federation of Republican Women), racial groups (Texas Coalition of Black Democrats, Hispanic Caucus, Republican National Hispanic Assembly), House and Senate caucus chairs, youth groups (Texas Young Democrats, Texas College Republicans), and county chairs associations (e.g., Texas Democratic County Chairs Association and the Texas Republican County Chairmen's Association).

The party's state chair works with the party's state executive committee to recruit candidates for statewide and district offices, plan statewide strategies, and raise funds for the party at the state level. The importance of the state party chair's role as chief fundraiser was emphasized in the 2010 ouster of the incumbent chair of the Republican Party of Texas. Steve Munisteri, a retired Houston attorney, argued that then-chair Cathie Adams lacked both administrative skills and fundraising abilities in his successful attempt to unseat her. Noting that the state party's debts exceeded its assets by more than $300,000 and that the party continued to lose money every month, Munisteri vowed that he would not take a break “until the debt [was] 100 percent retired.” Under Munisteri's leadership, the Republican Party retired its debt by November of that year. Munisteri was reelected state party chair in 2012 and again in 2014 at the Republican state convention in Forth Worth in June of that year.

Learning Check 4.1

1. What is the difference between a party's permanent organization and its temporary organization?

2. True or False: A political party's state chair is chosen by the temporary organization.

At its 2012 state convention, the Democratic Party chose the first Latino chair of a major political party in Texas when it selected Rio Grande Valley native and former court of appeals judge Gilberto Hinojosa as its state chair. Hinojosa was reelected state party chair in 2014 at the Democratic state convention in June of that year. The state executive committee of each party must also canvass (or count) statewide primary returns and certify the nomination of party candidates. It also conducts the state convention, promotes party unity and strength, maintains relations with the party's national committee, and raises some campaign money for party candidates (though most campaign funds are raised by the candidates themselves).

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-2 Political Ideology

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

4-2 Political Ideology

LO 4.2

Compare and contrast the different political ideologies found in the Lone Star State.

Today's politics in the Lone Star State reflect Texas's political history. Traditions that have been determined by centuries of political experience and culture influence current attitudes toward parties, candidates, and issues. Nevertheless, Texans' changing demands and expectations have forced revisions in party platforms and have affected the campaigns of candidates for public office. Political parties cannot remain static and survive, nor can politicians win elections unless they are in step with the opinions of a large percentage of voters.

Since the 1930s, the terms liberal and conservative have meant more to many Texas voters than have the actual names of political parties. In view of long-standing ideological differences between liberals and conservatives, this terminology must be explained. These ideological labels almost defy definition, however, because meanings change with time and circumstances. Furthermore, each label has varying shades of meaning for different people. In Texas, because of the dominant influences of the individualistic and traditionalistic political cultures and the lesser influence of the moralistic culture, both Democrats and Republicans tend to be more conservative than members of their respective parties nationally. Whereas the Republican Party tends to be dominated by right-wing social conservatives, the Democratic Party is influenced (but not dominated) by left-wing liberals.

The origins of the terms left and right to refer to political affiliation can be traced back to the time of the French Revolution, when monarchists sat to the right side of the president in the French National Assembly and supporters of a republic sat to his left. The assignment of seats in legislative bodies determined by political affiliation or ideology continues in many countries today. Despite the use of right-left terminology throughout the United States, the Texas legislature has not traditionally used partisan or ideological criteria for assigning floor seats on the right and left sides of House and Senate chambers.

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-2a Conservatism

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

4-2a Conservatism

In its purest form, modern conservative doctrine envisions ideal social and economic orders that would be largely untouched by government. According to this philosophy, if all individuals were left alone (the doctrine of laissez-faire) to pursue their self-interests, both social and economic systems would benefit, and the cost of government would be low. ConservativesA person who advocates minimal intervention by government in social and economic matters and who gives a high priority to reducing taxes and curbing public spending., therefore, are generally opposed to government-managed or government-subsidized programs, such as assistance to poor families with dependent children, unemployment insurance, and the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”). Conservatives are further divided between fiscal conservatives and social conservatives. Today's fiscal conservatives give the highest priority to reduced taxing and spending; whereas social conservatives (such as those associated with the Christian Coalition or Christian Citizens) stress the importance of their family values, including opposition to abortion and homosexuality. Social conservatives support school vouchers that would provide government-funded assistance to parents who choose to send their children to private schools, especially church-affiliated schools. In the 2014 Republican run-off for lieutenant governor, state senator Dan Patrick easily defeated incumbent David Dewhurst largely by drawing upon the support of social conservatives. Patrick received endorsements from many social conservative groups including the Texas Conservative Review, the Texas Coalition of Christian Candidates, and several prominent Tea Party affiliated organizations. On his website, Patrick identified two pieces of legislation he was most proud of in passing: placing “In God We Trust” permanently in the Senate chamber and placing “Under God” in the state pledge.

Attempting to distance himself from more extreme conservative Republicans, President George W. Bush used the phrase “compassionate conservatism” to describe his political philosophy. Bush insisted that he was “a conservative who puts a compassionate face on a conservative philosophy.” His ideology is sometimes described as neoconservatismA political ideology that reflects fiscal conservatism but accepts a limited governmental role in solving social problems., in part because it is fiscally conservative while also allowing for a limited governmental role in solving social problems.

In 2009, some conservatives within the Republican Party formed the Tea Party movement. Taking their name from the Boston Tea Party, an event that led to the American Revolution, Tea Party activists have argued that the size and scope of government have grown out of control. Although the Tea Party actually consists of thousands of separate, autonomous groups, the “Tea Party Patriots” is a national umbrella group that has affiliations with approximately 3,400 local groups, according to the organization's estimates. The national website includes discussion forums and information about local organizations. Of the approximately 25 groups listed for Texas, almost all are in suburban areas of the state. Former Governor Perry actively courted the support of Tea Party sympathizers, stating that he did not regard Tea Party activists as extremists and then adding “but if you are, I'm with you.” In the 2012 Republican primary runoff, Ted Cruz defeated David Dewhurst for the U.S. Senate nomination due in large part to his support from members of the Tea Party. In 2014, several candidates in the Republican primary aligned themselves with the Tea Party, with mixed success. U.S. Senator John Cornyn and U.S. Representative Pete Sessions easily defeated their Tea Party–backed opponents in the March primary. However in the May Republican primary run-off, Tea Party–backed candidates Dan Patrick and Ken Paxton just as easily won their party's nomination. In the race for lieutenant governor, state senator Dan Patrick defeated three–term incumbent David Dewhurst 65 percent to 35 percent, and in the race for attorney general, state senator Ken Paxton defeated state representative Dan Branch 64 percent to 36 percent.

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-2b Liberalism

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

4-2b Liberalism

LiberalsA person who advocates government support in social and economic matters and who favors political reforms that extend democracy, achieve a more equitable distribution of wealth, and protect individual freedoms and rights. favor government regulation of the economy to achieve a more equitable distribution of wealth. Only government, liberals insist, is capable of guarding against air, water, and soil pollution by corporations and individuals. Liberals claim that government is obligated to aid the unemployed, alleviate poverty (especially for the benefit of children), and guarantee equal rights for minorities and women. Liberalism seeks a limited role for government involvement with regard to other social issues, especially those related to morality or religion. Liberals are more likely to oppose prayer in public schools, government subsidies for religious institutions, and any church involvement in secular politics. Many Texas Democrats have a neoliberalA political ideology that advocates less government regulation of business but supports more governmental involvement in social matters. ideology. This position incorporates a philosophy of less government regulation of business and the economy while adopting a more liberal view of greater government involvement in social programs.

Learning Check 4.2

1. What is the primary difference between social conservatives and fiscal conservatives?

2. True or False: All Texas Democrats generally have a liberal political ideology.

Both Texas liberals and conservatives are often ideologically inconsistent. A conservative may oppose government subsidies, such as welfare assistance for citizens, but support similar payments to corporations. Liberals may oppose laws that force schools to post the Ten Commandments regardless of students' religious beliefs but favor laws that require employers to provide employee health insurance that includes family planning services, even though some practices might be inconsistent with the employer's religious beliefs. Frequently, individuals who have extreme conservative or liberal ideologies accuse individuals with more moderate views of being ideologically inconsistent.

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-3 An Overview of Texas Political History

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

4-3 An Overview of Texas Political History

LO 4.3

Trace the history of political parties in Texas.

From the time political parties developed in Texas through the 1960s, the Lone Star State was dominated primarily by one political party: the Democratic Party. In the 1970s and 1980s, Texas moved toward a competitive two-party structure. By the 1990s and into the 21st century, however, the state had seemingly become a one-party state with the Republican Party in control. Changing demographics, in particular a rapidly growing Latino population, has given Democrats hope that they will be competitive and regain a majority status.

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-3a 1840s to 1870s: The Origin of the Party System

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

4-3a 1840s to 1870s: The Origin of the Party System

Before Texas's admission into the Union in1845, its political parties had not fully developed. Political factions during the years that Texas was an independent republic tended to coalesce around personalities. The two dominant factions were the pro–(Sam) Houston and the anti-Houston groups. Even after the Lone Star State's admission into the Union, these two factions remained. By the 1850s, the pro-Houston faction began referring to itself as the Jackson Democrats (Unionists), whereas the anti-Houston faction called themselves the Calhoun Democrats (after South Carolina senator John C. Calhoun, a states' rights and proslavery advocate). In the course of the Civil War, after Texas seceded from the Union, politics became firmly aligned with the Democratic Party among Anglo Texans.

During the period of Reconstruction (1865–1873) that followed the Civil War, the Republican Party controlled Texas politics. The Reconstruction acts passed by the U.S. Congress purged all officeholders with a Confederate past. Congress also disenfranchised all southerners who had ever held a state or federal office before secession and who later supported the Confederacy. In Texas, any man who had ever been a mayor, a school trustee, a clerk, or even a public weigher (a position originally created to weigh all cotton, wool, hides, and other staples offered for sale, but today a position whose functions are largely obsolete) was denied the right to vote. Republican governor Edmund J. Davis, a former Union army general, was elected in 1869 during this period of Radical Reconstruction. The Davis administration quickly became unpopular with Texas's Anglo majority. During his tenure in office, Davis took control of voter registration and appointed more than 8,000 public officials. From Texas Supreme Court justices to state police to city officials, Davis placed Republicans (including some African Americans) in office throughout the state. Opposed by former Confederates, Davis's administration was condemned by most Anglo Texans for corruption, graft, and high taxation. After Davis's defeat for reelection in 1873 by a newly enfranchised electorate, Texas voters did not elect another Republican governor for more than 100 years.

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-3b 1870s to 1970s: A One-Party Dominant System

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

4-3b 1870s to 1970s: A One-Party Dominant System

From the end of Reconstruction until the 1970s, Texas and other former Confederate states had a one-party identity in which the Democratic Party was strong and the Republican Party weak. During those years (when a gubernatorial term in Texas was two years), Democratic candidates won 52 consecutive gubernatorial elections, and Democratic presidential nominees carried the state in all but 3 of the 25 presidential elections.

Point/Counterpoint

What Are the Positions of the Two Major Political Parties on Key Issues?

THE ISSUE The two major parties, as identified in their platforms, differ substantially on many social and economic issues. The following excerpts, taken from each party platform as adopted at their respective state conventions in 2014, illustrate several of these different points of view. The complete texts of the parties' platforms are available on their websites.

In the latter part of the 19th century, Democrats faced a greater challenge from the Populist Party than they did from Republicans. The Populist (or People's) Party formed in Texas as an agrarian-based party, winning local elections throughout the state. From 1892 to 1898, its gubernatorial nominees received more votes than did Republicans. Although its ideas remained influential in Texas (for example, protection of common people by government regulation of railroads and banks), the Populist Party became less important after 1898. In large measure, the Populist Party declined because the Democratic Party adopted Populist issues, such as government regulation of railroads. Rural Texans continued to be active in politics, but most farmers and others who had been Populists shifted their support to Democratic candidates.

In the early 20th century, the Democratic Party strengthened its control over state politics. Having adopted Populist issues, Democratic candidates faced no opposition from Populist candidates. During the next five decades, two factions emerged within the Democratic Party: conservatives and liberals. Fighting between these two factions was often as fierce as between two separate political parties. By the late 1940s and early 1950s, Republican presidential candidates began enjoying greater support from the Texas electorate. With the backing of conservative Democratic governor Alan Shivers, Republican presidential nominee Dwight D. Eisenhower successfully carried Texas in 1952 and 1956. Evidence of the growing strength of the Texas GOP (Grand Old Party, a nickname that the Republican Party adopted in the 1870s) was sharply revealed in 1961, with the election to the U.S. Senate of Texas Republican John Tower, a political science professor at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls. Originally elected to fill the vacancy created when Lyndon Johnson left the Senate to become vice president of the United States, Tower was the first Republican to win statewide office in Texas since 1869; he won successive elections until his retirement in 1984.

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-3c 1970s to 1990s: An Emerging Two-Party System

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

4-3c 1970s to 1990s: An Emerging Two-Party System

By the late 1970s the winner in a Democratic primary was no longer assured of victory in the general election contest in November. When Bill Clements was elected governor of the Lone Star State in 1978, he became the first Republican to hold that office since Reconstruction. In the 1980s, GOP voters elected growing numbers of candidates to the U.S. Congress, the Texas legislature, and county courthouse offices. Moreover, GOP elected officials began to dominate local politics in suburban areas around the state (Table 4.1).

Table 4.1

Number of Selected Republican Officeholders, 1974–2014

The Republican Party continued to make substantial gains throughout the 1990s. The Republican victory of U.S. senatorial candidate Kay Bailey Hutchison in 1993 signalled a series of “firsts” for the Texas GOP: the first woman to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate, and the first representation of Texas by two Republican U.S. senators since Reconstruction.

The election of 1994 was a preview of future elections. This election was the last one in which any Democrat won a statewide office. Republican George W. Bush defeated Ann Richards, and Rick Perry was reelected agriculture commissioner. Democrats won only four executive offices: lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller of public accounts, and commissioner of the general land office. All other positions, including those on the Texas Supreme Court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and the Texas Railroad Commission, were won by Republicans. For the first time, Republicans also gained control of the 15-member State Board of Education. Active support by members of the Christian Coalition resulted in Republican victories in three of the six contested races for seats on this board.

In 1996, for the first time since the primary system was established, Republican primaries were conducted in all 254 Texas counties. More of the Lone Star State's voters participated in the Republican primary than in the Democratic primary. In the November general election, Republicans won contests for all statewide offices and gained a Texas Senate majority. Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole carried the state over President Bill Clinton. By 1996, Clinton was certain that he could be elected without Texas's electoral votes, so his campaign effort focused on closely contested states where he was more likely to win. This decision demonstrated the acceptance by national Democratic candidates that Texas was a Republican state and that its electoral votes were not needed for a Democratic presidential victory.

The 1998 elections gave Republicans control of all statewide offices but one. Texas Supreme Court Justice Raul Gonzalez was the lone Democrat in statewide office when he announced his retirement in December 1998. The GOP sweep was complete when Governor George W. Bush appointed a Republican to replace Gonzalez. In 1998, Bush was so popular that he received endorsements from more than 100 elected Democratic officials and almost 70 percent of the vote in the gubernatorial election. Republicans retained control of the Texas Senate and increased their representation in the state House of Representatives, although they did not gain control of the latter chamber.

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-3d 2000 to 2014: Republican Dominance

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

4-3d 2000 to 2014: Republican Dominance

After their party's statewide success in 1998, Texas Republicans focused attention on the 2000 national elections. Governor Bush's candidacy for the presidency was enhanced by his ability to maintain the backing of social conservatives within his party while gaining support from minority voters, women, and some Democrats. National Republican leaders seeking an electable candidate found Bush's 1998 gubernatorial victory and his inclusive strategy appealing. Although Bush did not announce that he would seek the Republican presidential nomination until after the Texas legislature completed its 1999 regular session, Republican leaders streamed to Austin during the session. More than one-fourth of Texas Democrats told pollsters they would vote for Bush for president.

In the closest presidential election of modern times, Governor Bush defeated Democratic nominee Al Gore by four electoral votes (271 to 267) in 2000. After controversial recounts and protracted court battles over Florida's 25 electoral votes, George W. Bush was ultimately declared the victor in mid-December 2000 after a 5–4 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. Bush's election made lieutenant governor Rick Perry governor. For the third straight election, all statewide Republican candidates won; Democrats did not even have candidates in most statewide contests or in many local races. In fact, in 2000, the Libertarian Party and Green Party, minor parties with limited support among voters, each had more candidates for statewide office than did the Democratic Party. Of the nine statewide offices up for election in that year, the Democratic Party fielded candidates in only three contests. By contrast, the Libertarian Party ran candidates in seven of the nine races, and the Green Party had candidates in five.

Students in Action

“I only hope that the Republican Party is up to the challenge and will make a serious investment in reaching out to Latinos, specifically young Latinos, who are ready to hear something new and positive about our future.”

— Fernando Trevino, Jr.

About Fernando Trevino

Fernando Trevino Jr. attended the Mays School of Business at Texas A&M University. He was born in Del Rio, Texas, and later moved to Brownsville. Fernando's interest in politics and public service began very early in life, but was not fully realized until the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. Before this time, he considered himself a “liberal” Democrat. However, it was at this point that he realized the correlations between Latino beliefs and the principles of conservatism and the Republican Party.

What Is It About the Republican Party That Attracted Him to It?

Fernando's parents raised him very conservatively, teaching him never to abandon faith and to be fiscally responsible. He was also always taught that we must cherish and respect our differences. These are traits that he feels make up the essence of the Republican Party: faith, fiscal responsibility, and the power of the individual.

What Is He Doing Now to Share His Beliefs and Encourage Action?

Fernando began his involvement as a congressional intern at the district office of U.S. Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz (D-Corpus Christi). After leaving the office, Fernando cofounded a Republican club at his high school as well as a political blog: Write for the Right. He then went on to co-organize a Tea Party protest in Brownsville. Fernando has been on talk radio shows in the Rio Grande Valley and on “Canto Talk” on Blog Talk Radio. In 2011, Governor Rick Perry appointed Fernando to a one-year term as a student regent of the Texas A&M University System. When Fernando's term expired, he was appointed to the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation's Board of Directors and later became Communications Coordinator at the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. In 2014, he served as Deputy Executive Director at Hispanic Republicans of Texas, a political action committee.

© Andresr/Shutterstock.com

In 2002, Democrats selected what was dubbed the “dream team” for the three highest statewide offices: Laredo businessman Tony Sanchez, a Latino, for governor; former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk, an African American, for U.S. senator; and former state comptroller John Sharp, an Anglo, for lieutenant governor. The expectation was that the multiracial Democratic ticket would encourage higher levels of voter participation by members of historical minority groups. Texas Democrats ran with a full slate of candidates for other statewide offices. On election night, however, the dream quickly turned into a nightmare as the GOP swept all statewide races. The 2002 election increased Republican control over the Texas Senate from a one-seat majority to a seven-seat majority (19 to 12). For the first time since Reconstruction, the GOP gained control of the Texas House of Representatives, winning 88 of 150 seats. The stage was set to elect a Republican speaker of the Texas House in the 78th regular legislative session in January 2003.

Because of redistricting efforts orchestrated by then-majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Tom DeLay, the Texas congressional delegation has been majority Republican since 2004. In addition to gaining a majority of Texas congressional seats in the 2004 general election (21 of 32 positions), Republicans won all statewide elections, maintained control of the Texas Senate and the Texas House, and picked up approximately 200 more county- and district-level offices. Benefiting many of the Republican candidates was the fact that at the top of the ballot, President Bush carried the state with more than 61 percent of the popular vote, compared with Senator John Kerry's 38 percent. Inevitably, Republican candidates down the ballot were assisted by the president's coattails.

In 2006, Democrats fielded candidates in only 9 of 15 statewide races; all of them lost. However, Democrats won all countywide races in Dallas County (a Republican stronghold throughout the 1980s and 1990s) and narrowed the margin of Republican control in Harris County. In the gubernatorial election, Republican incumbent Rick Perry defeated Democratic challenger Chris Bell by 1,716,792 votes to 1,310,337 votes. Due in part to the strength of independent candidates Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Richard S. “Kinky” Friedman, Perry became the first gubernatorial candidate of a political party to be elected with less than 40 percent of the vote (39.02 percent). In 1861, following Texas's secession from the Union, F. R. Lubbock was elected governor with 38.05 percent of the vote. Both Perry and Lubbock were able to win because Texas general elections are won by plurality (the highest percent) rather than majority (more than 50 percent).

In the presidential election of 2008, Barack Obama became the second Democratic presidential candidate in history to be elected without winning Texas. Republican nominee John McCain carried the state with almost 1 million more popular votes than Obama (4,479,328 to 3,528,633). Although Obama did not win the state, Democrats could point to gains in several areas. The 2008 election marked the first presidential election in more than a quarter of a century in which the Democratic nominee carried at least four of the state's five most populous counties. One reason Obama fared so well in these counties was the support he received from Latino and African American voters. Democratic candidates also won a majority of countywide offices in Harris County for the first time in more than 20 years. In addition, for the third straight general election cycle, Democrats gained seats in the Texas House of Representatives. In the 2010 Republican primary, incumbent Rick Perry's victory over U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Tea Party activist Debra Medina set up a general election showdown with popular three-term Houston mayor and former Texas Democratic Party chair Bill White. Many believed White to be the most viable Democratic gubernatorial nominee since Ann Richards in 1990. In the general election, however, White lost to Perry, receiving 42 percent of the vote to Perry's 55 percent. Following his reelection to an unprecedented third term, Perry embarked on a national tour promoting his book, Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington, further confirming the belief that he intended to seek higher office.

In 2010, Republican candidates were once again elected to all statewide offices and gained three additional seats in the Texas delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives, with 23 Republicans and 9 Democrats elected. The Republican Party continued to maintain its majority in the Texas Senate (19 Republicans to 12 Democrats) and extended its majority in the Texas House of Representatives, winning 99 seats (to the Democrats' 51 seats). The Republican Party increased its membership in the Texas House of Representatives to 101 when two Democratic state representatives switched to the Republican Party after the November election. With more than two-thirds of the membership in the Texas House of Representatives, Republicans enjoyed a “supermajority” for the first time since Reconstruction. Supermajority status allowed Republican representatives to regularly suspend the rules of the Texas House of Representatives and push their legislative agenda though the 2011 session with limited opposition from Democratic representatives.

In the presidential election of 2012, Barack Obama was reelected president without carrying the Lone Star State. Republican nominee Mitt Romney won Texas by 57 percent to Obama's 41 percent and received over 1.2 million votes more than the president (4,569,843 to 3,308,124). Although President Obama received fewer votes in 2012 than he had in 2008, he again carried four of the state's five most populous counties (Harris, Dallas, Bexar, and Travis) (see Figure 4.2). As a result of Obama's success with Latino voters in the state, the national Democratic Party began to organize in the state in an effort called “Turn Texas Blue.” Several fomer presidential campaign staff members relocated to Texas to develop a voter registration and voter turnout drive using methods refined by the Obama campaign during the 2012 presidential election. Even though most observers believe Democrats will not be competitive in Texas until 2024 at the earliest, by May 2014, Battleground Texas, the organizing group for this effort, claimed 16,000 volunteers. (See the Selected Reading for this chapter for more information on this effort.) Following the 2012 general election, the Republican Party remained firmly in control of all three branches of state government. Although the GOP lost “supermajority” status in the Texas House of Representatives, providing Democrats with more input on proposed legislation, Republicans still held 95 (out of 150) seats in the House, 19 (out of 31) seats in the Senate, and all statewide offices.

Figure 4.2

Texas Counties Obama Won (in blue) and Romney Won (in red) in 2012 Presidential Election

© 2016 Cengage Learning®

Source: www.politico.com

Critical Thinking

• How does Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's success in four of largest (or urban) counties in 2012 reflect the changing demographic nature of the state? What implications might this have for the two major parties?

In July 2013, Governor Rick Perry announced that he would not seek reelection in 2014. With Perry not running, 2014 marked the first gubernatorial election in 24 years in which an incumbent was not on the general election ballot. In December of that year, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Larry Meyers, a longtime Republican, switched parties and filed as a Democrat in the special election for Texas Supreme Court, Place 6, against Republican Justice Jeff Brown, who was appointed in 2013. Because Meyers was not required to resign from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to run for the Texas Supreme Court, his switch gave Democrats their first incumbent statewide officeholder since 1998. His term on the Court of Criminal Appeals does not expire until January 2017.

Texas GOP primary candidates for lieutenant governor—Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, State Sen. Dan Patrick, Agricultural Commissioner Todd Staples, and incumbent Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst—are shown during a debate at the KERA Channel 13 studios in downtown Dallas in February 2014.

(AP Images/LM Otero).

Critical Thinking

• What has been the impact of strong one-party (Republican) dominance on Texas primary elections?

Learning Check 4.3

1. True or False: In 2012, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama received the majority of popular votes in Texas.

2. What has been the impact of Latino and African American support in urban counties?

In 2014, more than 1.33 million voters participated in the Republican primary compared to more than 540,000 voters in the Democratic primary. This marked the third consecutive primary in which more people voted in the Republican primary than in the Democratic primary. In the race for governor, Attorney General Greg Abbott easily defeated three other candidates to win the Republican primary, receiving more than 91 percent of the vote. State Senator Wendy Davis won the Democratic primary with more than 79 percent of the vote.

More than 4.7 million voters cast their ballots in the 2014 general election. This represented a turnout of approximately 35 percent of the 14 million registered voters at that time. Following the election, the Republican Party retained control of all three branches of government. Republican nominee Greg Abbott defeated Democratic nominee Wendy Davis by more than 950,000 votes (2,790,227 to 1,832,254). Abbott won 59 percent of the vote compared to Davis's 39 percent (the remaining 2 percent was split among the Libertarian Party, Green Party, and write-in candidates). Republicans held on to all 27 statewide offices, with no candidate receiving less than 58 percent of the vote. In legislative races, the Republican Party extended its margin of control in the Texas Senate, by picking up a seat previously held by a Democrat and held 20 (out of 31) seats in the Texas Senate. Although it was unable to regain the “supermajority” status that it had held in the Texas House of Representatives four years earlier, the Republican Party won 98 (out of 150) seats.

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-4 Electoral Trends

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

4-4 Electoral Trends

LO 4.4

Identify electoral trends in Texas, including the roles of dealigned voters, minor parties, and independent candidates.

During the past 40 years, competition between Texas's Democratic and Republican parties has brought more women, Latinos, and African Americans into the state's political system. As a result, party politics has become more competitive and more nationalized. Compared with the politics of earlier years, Texas politics today is more partisan (party centered). However, both the Democratic and the Republican parties experience internal feuding (factionalism) among competing groups.

Some political scientists interpret recent polling and election results as evidence of a dealignmentOccurs when citizens have no allegiance to a political party and become independent voters. of Texas voters. These scholars explain that the large percentage of Texans who claim to be independent voters have no allegiance to a political party. According to a 2014 University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll, 10 percent of Texas residents identified themselves as independents. Nonetheless, many self-identified independent voters tend to vote for Republican candidates. Other political scientists assert that the rising tide of Republican electoral victories throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century demonstrates that many Texans who were previously Democrats have switched their political affiliation and loyalty to the Republican Party in a realignmentOccurs when members of one party shift their affiliation to another party. of voters.

Republican candidates carried Texas in 12 of the 16 presidential elections between 1952 and 2012, including the last nine elections in that period. Republican candidates also won seven of nine gubernatorial elections between 1978 and 2014. As the GOP's dominance of statewide elections increased, so did intraparty competition, just as occurred for the Democrats before them. Texas GOP strongholds are in West Texas; the Panhandle–South Plains; some small towns and rural areas in East Texas; and the suburbs of Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. With the exception of Democratic El Paso, West Texas Republicanism is predominant from the Permian Basin (Midland–Odessa) through the Davis Mountains and the German Hill Country. This West Texas region, like the Panhandle–South Plains area to the north, is populated primarily by conservative farmers and ranchers, as well as people connected with the oil and gas industry in Midland–Odessa and other parts of the Permian Basin.

Although the Democratic Party has been unsuccessful in statewide election contests in recent years, it still controls many county offices. Democratic voting strength is concentrated in El Paso, South Texas, the Golden Triangle (Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange), portions of the diverse Central Texas region, and the lower-income neighborhoods of larger cities. Straight-ticket votingVoting for all the candidates of one party. for all Democratic candidates on the general election ballot has declined, however, as fewer Texans (especially those in rural East Texas) choose to remain “yellow-dog Democrats.” This term has been applied to people whose party loyalty is said to be so strong that they would vote for a yellow dog if it were a Democratic candidate for public office. Republican expansion has diminished the intensity of factional politics within the Democratic Party. Nevertheless, Democrats are divided by many interests and issues, and factionalism within Republican ranks has increased greatly with the rise of the Tea Party movement.

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-4a Third Parties

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

4-4a Third Parties

Americans commonly apply the term third partyA party other than the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. Sometimes called a “minor party” because of limited membership and voter support. (or minor party) to any political party other than the Democratic or Republican party. Throughout the United States, third parties have never enjoyed the same success as the two principal parties. A major party's success is measured by its ability to win elections. By this measure, minor parties are unsuccessful. Instead, third parties' successes can be better measured by their ability to make the public aware of their issues, persuade the major parties to adopt those issues, or force the major parties to bring those issues into a coalition. When judged by these measures, third parties in Texas have enjoyed modest success. Lacking the financial resources of the two major parties to purchase expensive airtime on a television or radio station, third parties and third party candidates have often relied on social media (e.g., Facebook or Twitter) to share their messages.

During the 1890s, the Populist Party successfully promoted agricultural issues and displaced the Republicans as the “second” party in Texas. In the 1970s, La Raza Unida elected a few candidates to local offices in South Texas (principally Crystal City, Zavala County, and school board offices) and forced the Democratic Party to begin to address Latino concerns. In the 1990s, Ross Perot's Reform Party had organizations in many areas of the state. During the past 30 years, the Libertarian Party (a party that advocates minimizing government involvement at all levels while maximizing individual freedom and rights) has nominated candidates for national, state, and local offices throughout Texas. In 1988, the Libertarian Party nominated former Texas congressman and longtime advocate of limited government Ron Paul for president. When Paul ran for president in 2008 and 2012, he maintained his advocacy of limited government. In those two presidential campaigns, however, he did so as a candidate for the Republican nomination. As of mid-2014, four Libertarians held local elective offices in the Lone Star State.

2014 Libertarian gubernatorial nominee, Kathie Glass, campaigning in Midland, Texas.

AP Images/Reporter-Telegram/James Durbin

Critical Thinking

• In what ways has the Texas Libertarian Party been successful? In what ways has it been unsuccessful?

Other parties have nominated candidates and increased public awareness of their issues: the Greenback Party (late 19th century), the Prohibition Party (late 19th and early 20th centuries), the Socialist and Socialist Labor parties (early 20th century), the Progressive Party (early to mid-20th century), and the Green Party (late 20th century to early 21st century). The Green Party has advocated environmental protection and government reform policies. In 2000, Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader received 2.2 percent of the popular vote in Texas. Two years later, the Green Party fielded candidates for U.S. senator, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, land commissioner, agriculture commissioner, railroad commissioner, and several statewide judgeships and congressional seats. However, Green candidates (like Libertarians) won no elections and rarely received more than 3 percent of the vote. In 2010, with a gubernatorial nominee for the first time in eight years, a Green Party candidate was on the general election ballot in Texas. That gubernatorial candidate, however, received less than 0.4 percent of the vote. In 2014, the Green Party nominated Brandon Parmer as their gubernatorial candidate and the Libertarians chose Kathie Glass as their nominee.

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-4b Independents

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

4-4b Independents

The term independentA candidate who runs in a general election without party endorsement or selection. applies to candidates who have no party affiliation. Their success is less likely because they usually lack a ready-made campaign organization and fundraising abilities. In addition, they have difficulty in gaining ballot access. For instance, the Texas Election Code requires independent candidates to file by gathering signatures on a petition. The number of signatures required for a statewide office is “one percent of the total vote received by all candidates for governor in the most recent gubernatorial general election.” Based on this criterion, to qualify for statewide ballot access in 2014, an independent candidate was required to gather 49,798 signatures from registered voters who had not voted in either the Democratic or Republican primary elections or the primary runoff elections and who had not signed another candidate's petition for that office that year.

How Do We Compare … Which Party Controls the Statehouses in 2015?

Source: http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/elections/statevote-2012-election-night-results-map.aspx.

Learning Check 4.4

1. Who was the last independent candidate to be elected governor of Texas?

2. True or False: Third parties' success comes more often in the form of their ability to make the public aware of the issues than in the number of their candidates elected to office.

In 1859, Sam Houston was elected governor of Texas as an independent candidate. No one has succeeded in winning the governorship without affiliation with one of the two major political parties since that election. In 2006, songwriter, author, and humorist Richard S. “Kinky” Friedman and former state comptroller Carol Keeton Strayhorn ran for governor as independents. Despite Friedman's celebrity and Strayhorn's previous electoral success on a statewide basis as a Republican, their election experience was the same as that of most independent candidates: they lost. In the general election, Strayhorn received slightly more than 18 percent of the vote, and Friedman garnered a little more than 14 percent. Strayhorn retired from seeking elective office. In 2010 and 2014, Friedman filed as a candidate in the Democratic primary but was unsuccessful in both years.

Selected Reading

What Must Happen for Texas to Turn Blue

Forrest Wilder

As of 2014, no Democratic presidential nominee had carried Texas since 1976 and no Democratic candidate had been elected to a statewide office since 1998. However, with changing demographic patterns and the creation of Battleground Texas, Democrats remained hopeful that their party would return to power in the Lone Star State. This article, which appeared in the May 23, 2013, issue of the Texas Observer, explores what must happen for Texas to turn blue. The article is available at http://www.texasobserver.org/what-must-happen-for-texas-to-turn-blue/.

You hear the question often: Is Texas becoming a blue state? Since President Obama won reelection in November with an emerging Democratic coalition of African-Americans, Latinos, women and young voters, political pundits have been talking incessantly about the potential of Texas going Democratic. MSNBC has made it an obsession.

The creation of Battleground Texas—a group formed by former Obama campaign staffers to make the Lone Star State competitive—has only fueled national media speculation that Texas is going blue. On the ground, however, Texas remains as Republican as it gets. The GOP boasts comfortable majorities in both chambers of the Legislature and controls every statewide office; in fact, Democrats haven't won a statewide race in Texas since 1994, a 19-year losing streak that spans 101 defeats.

What has Democrats hoping they can reverse that trend is the state's shifting demographics. Namely, the state's Latino population is booming. Latinos tend to vote Democratic. Therefore, the theory goes, given enough time, Democrats could start winning statewide office again. (Some say 2014, others 2016, 2018, 2020. Some say it will never happen.) The flaw in the theory, as many Democratic strategists and progressive organizers will acknowledge, is that you should never assume any group of voters will stick with you indefinitely. Another problem is that Texas Latinos go to the polls at a very low rate, compared to Anglo and African-American voters, and compared to Latino voters in other states. If Democrats don't increase the voter turnout rate among Latinos, they might be waiting a long time for the demographics changes to deliver them the state.

Then there's the Republican Party, which isn't going to sit idly by and let the state go Democratic. The state GOP and independent group Hispanic Republicans of Texas have been working for several years to attract more Latino candidates and voters to the party. So what must happen for Democrats to break the GOP's hold on Texas? Increasing Latino turnout is a must, especially in the Houston area. But there's more to it. As polling commissioned by the Democratic group Back to Basics PAC in Harris County during the 2012 election shows, Democrats have no lock on the Latino vote. In fact future control of Texas may hinge on which Latino voters show up at the polls.

For Texas to ever become competitive for them, Democrats will need to lock down Harris County. Home to 4.2 million Texans, almost 70 percent of whom are non-white, Houston is the present and future face of Texas. Former state demographer Steve Murdock has estimated that by 2040, Harris County will have 516,000 fewer Anglos than in 2000 while the number of Latinos will surge by 2.5 million. As Houston goes, so goes Texas. Given that Anglos are already a minority of Harris County's population, you would think the Houston area would be ripe for Democratic success. Yet the county has proved an elusive prize. In recent elections, Harris County has been evenly divided.

Harris County Electorate Split Evenly Along Partisan Lines

In 2008, Barack Obama won the county by a little more than 19,000 votes. In 2012, he did slightly worse, beating Mitt Romney by just 971 votes. Latinos, despite representing 40 percent of the population of the county, constitute only 15 percent or so of the electorate. Partly that's due to how young the Latino community is and the presence of many non-citizens. But it's also due to an abysmal turnout rate that's hampering Democratic efforts to turn Houston—and by extension, Texas—blue.

So if you're looking for signs that Democrats are making any progress in Texas, you need to look at Houston. More specifically, you need to see if Democrats are harnessing the booming Latino population there. But hidden in the 2012 election data were trends that should have Democrats worried. In Harris County at least, Republicans showed surprising strength among some Latinos. The Latino community is hardly monolithic. In fact, the Back to Basics post-election survey of Harris County identified “two Hispanic worlds”—one that votes often and splits its vote between Republicans and Democrats, and another that overwhelmingly favors Democrats but tends not to vote.

The survey found that Latinos who are less likely to vote—and who tend to be working class and less educated—overwhelmingly favored Obama in 2012. Eighty-four percent of these “low-propensity” voters said they favored Obama versus just 15 percent for Romney, according to the polling obtained by the Observer. The obvious conclusion is that getting these voters to the polls can do wonders for Democrats, said Jeff Rotkoff, who heads the PAC.

Two Hispanic Worlds: Low Propensity Targets vs. All Others

But the remainder of the Latino community in Houston was almost evenly split between Obama and Romney. Perhaps more troubling for Democrats thinking of running for governor or other statewide office is that the survey of Latino voters found significant defections to tea partier Ted Cruz. While Obama carried Harris County Latinos 59–40 overall, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Paul Sadler, took only 53 percent to Cruz's 46 percent share. Not only did Sadler run behind Obama among Harris County Latinos, but among “high propensity” Latinos—those most likely to vote—Cruz bested Sadler 53–44 percent. That's worth repeating: Among Latinos most likely to vote, Ted Cruz won a majority in Harris County.

Two Hispanic Worlds in Harris County: Base Motivation Targets vs. Non-Targets

On the other hand, popular Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia outperformed Obama among Latinos significantly, beating his Republican opponent 65 percent to 32 percent. The lesson is that Latinos are a diverse bunch and that many—the ones who tend to vote at higher rates—are willing to vote for the right Republican. In short, the 2012 election returns in Harris County add a wrinkle to the conventional wisdom that increased Latino turnout will aid Democrats. If the polling is correct, Democrats will take over Harris County and Texas only if they can turn out the “low propensity” voters most likely to support Democrats. Otherwise, Republicans have shown they can win over enough “high propensity” Latinos to make a Democrat winning statewide in Texas difficult.

Some Texas progressives say they're already making significant gains in Harris County due to efforts organizing and mobilizing in minority communities with traditionally low voter-turnout rates. In four out of five heavily Latino legislative districts targeted by Texas Organizing Project, a group trying to mobilize and engage Latinos, as well as more partisan Democratic outfits, turnout increased in largely Latino districts—by 1.6 percent in Senate District 6 (Sen. Sylvia Garcia ) to 10 percent in House District 143, represented by Democratic Rep. Ana Hernandez Luna. Texas Organizing Project (TOP) specifically targeted minority communities with the highest concentrations of “low-propensity” voters, from Pasadena to Katy to the East End and the north side of Houston. The group's goal was to talk to voters five times by knocking on doors three times and calling twice. Texans for America's Future, a super PAC supporting Obama, also targeted low-propensity voters in Harris County, said Rotkoff, the group's founder. The PAC's post-election survey points to the coalition the Democrats need to build: an amalgam of women, working class folks and minorities.

Keys to the Democratic Coalition

Many Texas Democrats insist that they've got the message, and are serious about civic engagement and turnout. “The reality is you don't win new voters and get them into the process by ignoring them 18 months every two years,” says Matt Glazer, executive director of the progressive group Progress Texas. “The proof of concept is happening and now people are working in an unprecedented way.” He points to the 2012 results in Houston as the first fruits of their labor. “The beast has been stirred a little bit.”

Selected Reading Learning Check

1. True or False: One of the reasons that President Obama carried Harris County in 2012 was because Latinos comprised a majority of the population and of the electorate.

2. What strategies have groups such as Texas Organizing Project (TOP) and Texans for America's Future used to gain support for Democratic candidates?

Source: Reprinted with permission from Texas Observer.

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-5 Chapter Review

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

4-5 Chapter Review

4-5a Conclusion

Historically, Texas politics has been characterized by prolonged periods of one-party domination—first the Democrats and later the Republicans. With changing demographic patterns, however, the nature of partisan politics in Texas and the struggle for control of public office by political parties continue to evolve. Shifts in voting alignments will change how both parties develop campaign strategies and target groups of voters.

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-5b Chapter Summary

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

Chapter Review

4-5b Chapter Summary

• LO 4.1 
Describe the structure of political parties in Texas, distinguishing between the temporary party structure and the permanent party structure.

• Political parties are organized as stratarchies, in which power is diffused among and within levels of the party organization. The temporary party organization consists of primaries and conventions. Through primaries, members of the major political parties participate in elections to select candidates for public office and local party officers. Primary election voting may involve a second, or runoff, primary. Conventions elect state-level and senate-district party officers and are scheduled at precinct, county/state senatorial district, and state levels. At the state level, conventions also write party rules, adopt party platforms, and (in presidential election years) select delegates to national conventions and presidential electors.

• LO 4.2 
Compare and contrast the different political ideologies found in the Lone Star State.

• Texas voters and political parties represent various political ideologies, including conservatism and liberalism. Conservatives generally oppose government-managed or government-subsidized programs. However, they are further divided between fiscal conservatives and social conservatives. Fiscal conservatives tend to give the highest priority to reduced taxing and spending. Some fiscal conservatives consider themselves neoconservatives, accepting a limited governmental role in solving social problems. Social conservatives support greater government intervention into social issues (e.g., laws against abortion, laws against same-sex marriage) to support their family values. Liberals generally favor government regulation of the economy to achieve a more equitable distribution of wealth. In Texas, many Democrats have a neoliberal ideology, which incorporates a philosophy of less government regulation of business and the economy while adopting a more liberal view of greater government involvement in social programs.

• LO 4.3 
Trace the history of political parties in Texas.

• Before Texas's admission into the Union in 1845, its political parties had not fully developed and political factions tended to form around personalities. During the Civil War, as Texas seceded from the Union, politics became firmly aligned with the Democratic Party. However, during the period of Reconstruction (1865–1873) after the Civil War, the Republican Party controlled Texas politics. From the end of Reconstruction until the 1970s, Texas was dominated primarily by one political party: the Democratic Party. In the 1970s and 1980s, Texas moved toward a competitive two-party structure. By the 1990s and into the 21st century, the Lone Star State had seemingly become a one-party state with the Republican Party in control. An increase in the Latino population resulted in efforts in 2014 by the Democratic Party to register and turn out more Latino voters who they believed would vote Democratic.

• LO 4.4 
Identify electoral trends in Texas, including the roles of dealigned voters, minor parties, and independent candidates.

• Beginning in the late 1970s, competition between Texas's Democratic and Republican parties has brought more women, Latinos, and African Americans into the state's political system. As a result, party politics has become increasingly competitive and nationalized. Compared with the politics of earlier years, Texas politics today is more partisan (party centered). However, both the Democratic and the Republican parties experience internal feuding (factionalism) among competing groups. Some political scientists interpret recent polling and election results as evidence of a dealignment of Texas voters, in that they have little or no allegiance to a political party and have become increasingly independent. However, other political scientists assert that the success of the Republican Party throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century demonstrates that many Texans who were previously Democrats have switched their political affiliation and loyalty to the Republican Party in a realignment of voters. Minor (or third) parties and independents have never enjoyed the same success as the two principal parties. Their victories are generally limited to their ability to make the public aware of their issues or persuade the major parties to adopt those issues.

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Chapter 4: Political Parties: 4-5c Key Terms

Book Title: Practicing Texas Politics

Printed By: Ali Hussain G Almutlaq ([email protected])

© 2015 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

Chapter Review

4-5c Key Terms

• political partyAn organization influenced by political ideology whose primary interest is to gain control of government by winning elections.

• stratarchyA political system in which power is diffused among and within levels of party organization.

• temporary party organizationPrimaries and conventions that function briefly to nominate candidates, pass resolutions, adopt a party platform, and select delegates to party conventions at higher levels.

• platformA document that sets forth a political party's position on issues such as income tax, school vouchers, or public utility regulation.

• precinct conventionIf a political party decides to conduct a precinct convention, this serves as the lowest level of temporary political party organization. Delegates convene in even-numbered years on a date and at a time and place prescribed by the party's state executive committee to adopt resolutions and to select delegates to a county (or district) convention.

• county conventionA party meeting of delegates held in even-numbered years on a date and at a time and place prescribed by the party's state executive committee to adopt resolutions and to select delegates and alternates to the party's state convention.

• district conventionHeld in even-numbered years on a date and at a time and place prescribed by the party's state executive committee in counties that have more than one state senatorial district. Participants select delegates and alternates to the party's state convention.

• state conventionConvenes every even-numbered year to make rules for a political party, adopt a party platform and resolutions, and select members of the state executive committee; in a presidential election year, it elects delegates to the national convention, names members to serve on the national committee, and elects potential electors to vote if the party's presidential candidate receives a plurality of the popular vote in the general election.

• presidential preference primaryA primary in which the voters indicate their preference for a person seeking nomination as the party's presidential candidate.

• caucusA meeting at which members of a political party assemble to select delegates and make other policy recommendations at the precinct, county, or state senatorial district and state levels.

• superdelegateAn unpledged party official or elected official who serves as a delegate to a party's national convention.

• permanent party organizationIn Texas, the precinct chairs, county and district executive committees, and the state executive committee form the permanent organization of a political party.

• precinct chairThe party official responsible for the interests and activities of a political party in a voting district; typical duties include encouraging voter registration, distributing campaign literature, operating phone banks, and getting out the vote on Election Day.

• county executive committeeComposed of a party's precinct chairs and the elected county chair, the county executive committee conducts primaries and makes arrangements for holding county conventions.

• county chairElected by county party members in the primaries, this key party official heads the county executive committee.

• district executive committeeComposed of county chairs within a district that elects a state senator, U.S. or state representative, or district judge, this body fills a vacancy created by the death, resignation, or disqualification of a nominated candidate.

• state executive committeeComposed of a chair, vice chair, and two members from each senatorial district, this body is part of a party's permanent organization.

• conservativeA person who advocates minimal intervention by government in social and economic matters and who gives a high priority to reducing taxes and curbing public spending.

• neoconservatismA political ideology that reflects fiscal conservatism but accepts a limited governmental role in solving social problems.

• liberalA person who advocates government support in social and economic matters and who favors political reforms that extend democracy, achieve a more equitable distribution of wealth, and protect individual freedoms and rights.

• neoliberalA political ideology that advocates less government regulation of business but supports more governmental involvement in social matters.

• dealignmentOccurs when citizens have no allegiance to a political party and become independent voters.

• realignmentOccurs when members of one party shift their affiliation to another party.

• straight-ticket votingVoting for all the candidates of one party.

• third partyA party other than the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. Sometimes called a “minor party” because of limited membership and voter support.

• independentA candidate who runs in a general election without party endorsement or selection.