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Miles Archer

(18,837 posts)
Thu Feb 22, 2018, 12:08 PM Feb 2018

Democratic early voting in Texas is up by just a bit. And by that I mean THREE HUNDRED PERCENT.

The 2018 Election Started Tuesday With One Jaw-Dropping Stat

Tim Murphy Feb. 21, 2018 2:41 PM

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/02/the-2018-election-started-tuesday-with-one-jaw-dropping-stat/

The 2018 election officially began on Tuesday with the first day of early voting ahead of Texas’ March 6th primaries. Evidently, a lot of people got the message. In Harris County, which includes Houston and is the state’s largest population center, Republican turnout was 25-percent higher than the first day of early-voting in the 2014 primaries. That makes some sense—there’s an expensive state house of representatives race in the county and an open Republican-leaning congressional district. But what’s more surprising is the turnout jump on the Democratic side—a full 300 percent.

The 3,800 in-person votes cast by Democrats Tuesday represents a 300-percent increase as compared to the first day of early voting in 2014. In-person Republican votes were also up about 25 percent.

w/ @GabMoBanks https://t.co/JnDo9EnCAi

— Robert Downen (@RobDownenChron) February 21, 2018


Harris County was one of the few bright spots for Democrats in 2016, and that momentum has carried over into the current cycle. A big reason for that turnout boost: the extremely competitive Democratic primary in the state’s seventh congressional district. The seventh, which extends from Houston to Katy, is an archetype of the kind of seat progressives are targeting with new fervor in 2018—affluent, suburban, highly-educated, and very diverse. And the field reflects the kind of candidates that are running for Democratic nominations in 2018—a cancer researcher worried about budget cuts and coverage gaps; a lawyer who has worked with reproductive rights groups; a freelance writer who launched an online tool to help users pressure members of Congress; and the director of a non-profit that works with refugees.
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Democratic early voting in Texas is up by just a bit. And by that I mean THREE HUNDRED PERCENT. (Original Post) Miles Archer Feb 2018 OP
Turn Texas blue! Wounded Bear Feb 2018 #1
In so many cases... RussBLib Feb 2018 #2
I voted! rownesheck Feb 2018 #3
When we lived in SoCal I always had to take a list Hortensis Feb 2018 #9
Regarding women candidates in Harris County (Houston), Hortensis Feb 2018 #4
I think it's safe to say women will play a LARGE role in making Trump a one-term president Miles Archer Feb 2018 #5
:) If they don't like his, let's just hope they look at their Hortensis Feb 2018 #10
The #BlueWave2018 is not just in Harris County but all over #Texas! Gothmog Feb 2018 #13
Yes, fabulous. I was rather shocked when I learned Hortensis Feb 2018 #15
My weapon of choice is a ballot. nolabear Feb 2018 #6
+1 uponit7771 Feb 2018 #14
+1. Good get 'em. Hortensis Feb 2018 #16
Go TEXAS! NastyRiffraff Feb 2018 #7
Democrats set early voting records at start of Texas primaries Gothmog Feb 2018 #8
Great line from the Houston Chronicle... LanternWaste Feb 2018 #11
Update on Texas turnout Gothmog Feb 2018 #12
THREE HUNDRED PERCENT! oasis Feb 2018 #17

RussBLib

(8,984 posts)
2. In so many cases...
Thu Feb 22, 2018, 12:15 PM
Feb 2018

The GOP margin of victory has been 1-10%. Increase Dem turnout by 300% and Texas becomes royal blue.

rownesheck

(2,343 posts)
3. I voted!
Thu Feb 22, 2018, 12:34 PM
Feb 2018

Went today and cast my votes! There are so many candidates and positions to vote for, i had to make a list. The way i decide who to vote for when I'm not sure, is to look at who endorses them. I always choose who the lgbt community endorses because i want candidates friendly to their cause.

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
9. When we lived in SoCal I always had to take a list
Thu Feb 22, 2018, 01:58 PM
Feb 2018

and consult endorsements for all the judges and minor officials I'd never heard of. Same thse days in Georgia. Lots shorter ballots, but many people aren't covered well or at all in the press and looking them up does little good.

In any case, congrats on being a wave.

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
4. Regarding women candidates in Harris County (Houston),
Thu Feb 22, 2018, 12:58 PM
Feb 2018

and representation in Texas in general,

"What’s also notable is that two of those four leading candidates vying for a spot in the May runoff—Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, the lawyer, and Laura Moser, the writer-turned-activist—are women.

That might not be such a big deal in a lot of places, but it’s highly unusual in Texas. There are just three women in the state’s 36-member congressional delegation, and it’s been that way for a while—other than Republican Rep. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs’ two-month stint in 2006 (she filled out the remainder of ex-Rep. Tom Delay’s term), Texas hasn’t elected a new woman to Congress this millennium. Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson and Sheila Jackson Lee were the second and third Democratic women ever to represent Texas in Congress when they were elected in the early 1990s. There hasn’t been a fourth. ... That will almost certainly change this year. ...

The surge of women candidates reflects the nature of the Trump-inspired Resistance itself—the logical evolution of a movement that progressed from women’s marches and private Facebook groups to Indivisible chapters and candidate trainings held by groups like EMILY’s List and its Texas counterpart, Annie’s List. Democrats have had waves before; but if they catch another one this fall, it will look a lot different than years past."

Miles Archer

(18,837 posts)
5. I think it's safe to say women will play a LARGE role in making Trump a one-term president
Thu Feb 22, 2018, 01:04 PM
Feb 2018

Too much is too much, you know? His life's been a matter of public record for decades, but the details have become overwhelming.

It's not just his attitude toward women, it's the way his agenda affects women directly.

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
10. :) If they don't like his, let's just hope they look at their
Thu Feb 22, 2018, 02:01 PM
Feb 2018

congressmen's and senators'. The latter are doing their best to make Trump the fall guy for what they're doing of course.

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
15. Yes, fabulous. I was rather shocked when I learned
Thu Feb 22, 2018, 02:52 PM
Feb 2018

that Texas has no zoning laws, that chemical plants and residences can be built among each other. I was wondering if Texans are basically proud of that freedom? Perhaps more women in government might conceivably some day affect that, or not?

NastyRiffraff

(12,448 posts)
7. Go TEXAS!
Thu Feb 22, 2018, 01:11 PM
Feb 2018

You can do it. When Democrats show up to vote, we win. Remember, Texas wasn't always red. It can be blue again!

 

LanternWaste

(37,748 posts)
11. Great line from the Houston Chronicle...
Thu Feb 22, 2018, 02:04 PM
Feb 2018

Great line from the Houston Chronicle...

"Tuesday night's win was the 37th Republican-held legislative seat that Democrats have snared since Trump was sworn in."

I'm enjoying simply reading that over and over again this morning.

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