The Changing Demographics of Texas

Voter turnout in Texas is ranked amoung the lowest in the states. However, there are several reasons for this. Over the years political scientist have dicovered that education, income, and age have a lot to do with overall voter turnout. People who are better educated, have higher incomes, and are older are more likely to care about politics and actually vote.

The Texas population consists of people with a variety of different cultural and racial background. The Texas population seems to be very young with an approximate 27.3 percent of the population being under the age of 18, and about 11.5 percent being over the age of 65 (U.S. Census Bureau, “Texas.”). Factors that increase the Texas population include higher birthrates, lower death rates, as well as immigration from other countries and states. The population is changing from a primarily white population as recorded during the 1990s to a projected primarily Latino population by 2050. However, Latinos were not a considered a separate ethnic group until the 1990s but were counted to the white population which consisted of European whites and the Latinos. The African- American population decreased from over 20 percent during the 1850s to below 20 percent population as of 2015. Asian- Americans are considered the smallest population in Texas at 4.5 percent (The Asian Population,” 2010 Census Briefs). Due to the changing economy and

11.13). When it comes to addressing the performance issues facing Texas schools, issues facing the poor, the reality of a water shortage, and problems relating to transportation, there is great reluctance among Texas Republicans when it comes to expanding the government’s role in improvements, as well as in raising the necessary funds through taxation. The Texas Politics Project (2017) explains that when it comes to the current state of Texas schools, supporters of a more fiscally conservative approach feel that such an approach “at least achieves average results with below-average spending” (p. 11.9). The current conservatism that defines the overall political approach in Texas may not be adequate in the long term. As we are seeing, changing demographics are substantially impacting the state of Texas and will likely lead to necessary changes throughout the state.

It is widely believed that the strongest state level Republican Party is found in the state of Texas. The Republican Party of Texas has control of the senate, the state house of representatives and the state’s education board . Without a doubt, Texas is the strongest Republican state in the nation. Republicans now have majorities in 107 Texas counties that contain nearly two-thirds of the state’s population. Texas own George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States. Things haven’t always been so great for Texas Republicans. For over one hundred years, the Republican Party was not a viable force in Texas politics. We were the second party in a one-party state. During that time, the GOP failed to win a single

Texas has a reputation throughout history of differing views from the federal government in laws and politics pertaining to social, fiscal, and educational issues. On the whole, Texas operates as a largely conservative state. Because of this, policy-making is often right wing. With the institution of a Democratic, liberal president, the State’s dissent from the Federal government has only increased over certain issues. One hot topic of the 2012 Presidential election was immigration. With the major increase in immigration, it is no surprise that the issue was so emphasized. Between 2000 and 2011 there was a 30 percent

Texas is currently dominated by the Republican culture with a popular belief in conservatism that has lasted for many years. Democratic and Liberal groups are also present in the Texas but play as the minorities. Although demographics through the years show that a change in the dominant party could very well be eminent, Texas remains a red state for the time being. Currently the population is estimated at 24.5 million and is dominantly Anglo with minorities including African American, and Hispanic. In the coming years though, it is estimated to change where as the Hispanic population will surpass become the new majority.

I believe that voter participation in Texas is among the lowest in the nation because many people think and feel that it is hassle. Elections in Texas are not easily accessible and the dates of voting fall on odd days and years. Therefore, no one wants to make an effort to go and vote when most working-class citizens have set schedules and daily routines that aren’t necessarily as flexible as others who might. Also, voting only takes place in certain places. And those places are specific schools, buildings, etc.…

Several conflicts, including the Civil War, forced many Mexicans out of Texas due to xenophobic attitudes towards them (Collier et al. 14). Despite these troubles, years of cultural assimilation and population growth has led to Hispanics composing 38.6% of the state’s population as of 2014, according to the data presented by Collier et al., making Texas a majority-minority state (28). This term can be applied because Hispanics, being an ethnic minority, make up a large part of population of the state, and have a large influence on politics and culture due to how ingrained they have become in the history of Texas (Collier et al. 27). Overall, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo denotes a turning point in the history of Texas because it represents the point at which the core aspects of the state were defined, allowing for Texas to develop through the years into a modern, multicultural, and diverse state (Collier et al.

Texas is one of the strongest and Republican states among the fifty American states. However, Texas was politically dominated by the Democratic Party for more than a hundred years until the late 1960s, when the Republican party began to gain an increasing political strength. “In a reversal of alignments, since the late 1960s, the Republican Party has grown more prominent within the state based on an influx of primarily white voters (the majority in the state) from the Democratic Party. By the mid-1990s, it became the state 's dominant political party” (Politics of Texas). But this situation may not last so long because Texas is going through demographic shifts. The Hispanic or Latino population as well as minorities has been growing in the

Both political parties have quite a bit to gain and/or lose depending on how they discuss immigration issues. As of now Republicans have done a great job in receiving minority votes, which makes me think Texas will remain a red state. According to gppreview.com, the map below shows majority of Texas’s cities being Republican, while only a few are Democratic.

The University of Texas at Dallas is one of the most diverse campuses in Texas. Because of this, we limited our geographic and demographic segmentation research and focused on an in-depth breakdown of our psychographic and behavioral basis. Geographically, our research consisted of students who buy textbooks and only attend UT Dallas. Because of 22% of the student undergraduate population is comprised of international students there is a direct impact of the differentiation of culture regarding spending. According to the strategic planning and analysis profile of the university, 78% of all students are full time and demographically the most represented by our research has been Juniors (38.71%) and Freshman (22.58%).

According to the text, Anglos in Texas are less half the state’s overall population, but offer a percentage rate of 78% of the state’s judges. Hispanics range from only 11 percent in the state’s two highest courts and 17% of its lowest courts. African Americans have even less representation accounting for 4 percent. Women’s numbers vary from court, but overall, they make up one-third of the states judges.

This Ballotpedia article provides standard information for redistricting such as the requirements, considerations and intents as well as the consequences of the manipulation of redistricting and the court cases, subsequent trials that have followed. Of the background information present in this article, there is present the requirements that are in place to guide legislatures in redistricting, the list of criteria in the districts includes contiguity, compactness and maintaining communities. Though in truth, based off of the statistics, charts and information presented in this article, though nonpartisan, makes me believe that Texas has the most difficult time making sure the district lines do “not dilute the voting power” of minorities, whether

Currently happening, Texas is experiencing a demographic shift with the growing population of Hispanics. This is causing a ruckus about Texas possibly becoming a purple or blue state which, in my opinion, could very well happen if the voter turnout increases. According to Window on State Government, Hispanics are the fastest-growing population group in Texas. The Hispanic population in Texas has grown by 10.9 percent

The results of the survey actually reflect some interesting trends in political beliefs. The population that was surveyed was from a group of Texans, who are widely considered to be social conservatives. However, the survey results reflect a greater interest in fiscal and international issues than with social issues. Not only were they split about their feelings about President Obama, they also had not supported a constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriage, making illegal immigration a felony offense, were pro-life but not overwhelmingly so, and supported increased taxes on the super-wealthy. Moreover, the results reflected little confidence in Perry as the governor of Texas and even less confidence that he would be able to win the Republican presidential nomination.