Texas

===Politics===
{{main|Politics of Texas}}
{{further|Political party strength in Texas}}
{{see also|Republican Party of Texas|Texas Democratic Party}}
[[File:LBJ3.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Lyndon B. Johnson]] of Texas, 36th president of the United States]]
[[File:GeorgeWBush.jpg|thumb|upright|[[George W. Bush]] of Texas, 43rd president of the United States]]
The Democratic Party dominated [[Politics of Texas|Texas politics]] from the turn of the 20th century, imposing racial segregation and white supremacy. It held power until after passage in the mid-1960s of national civil rights legislation enforcing constitutional rights of all citizens.<ref>{{cite web|title= Democratic Party|url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/democratic-party|access-date=December 28, 2020|publisher=TSHA |work=Handbook of Texas |first1= Nancy |last1=Young |date=1976 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Dixie's Long Journey From Democratic Stronghold To Republican Redoubt|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/06/25/417154906/dixies-long-journey-from-democratic-stronghold-to-republican-redoubt|access-date=December 28, 2020|newspaper=[[NPR]]|date=June 25, 2015|last1=Elving|first1=Ron}}</ref>

The state's conservative White voters began to support Republican presidential candidates by the mid-20th century. After this period, they supported Republicans for local and state offices as well, and most Whites became Republican Party members.<ref name="SouthWon">{{cite news |last=Risen |first=Clay |date=March 5, 2006 |title=How the South was won |work=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2006/03/05/how_the_south_was_won/ |access-date=April 29, 2008}}</ref> The party also attracted some minorities, but many have continued to vote for Democratic candidates. The shift to the Republican Party is much-attributed to the fact the Democratic Party became increasingly [[Liberalism in the United States|liberal]] during the 20th century, and thus increasingly out-of-touch with the average Texas voter.<ref name="HistoryTXvoters">{{cite web |title=History of Texas Voters |url=http://www.newschannel10.com/story/33661247/history-of-texas-voters |date=November 8, 2016 |website=NewsChannel10 |publisher=[[KFDA-TV]] |access-date=December 16, 2016}}</ref> As Texas was always a [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] state, voters switched to the Republicans, which now more closely reflected their beliefs.<ref name="HistoryTXvoters" /><ref name="PBSredstate">{{cite web |title=How Texas Became a "Red" State |website=Frontline |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/architect/texas/realignment.html |date=April 12, 2005 |publisher=[[PBS]] |access-date=December 16, 2016}}</ref> Commentators have also attributed the shift to Republican political consultant [[Karl Rove]], who managed numerous political campaigns in Texas in the 1980s and 1990s.<ref name="PBSredstate" /> Other stated reasons included court-ordered redistricting and the demographic shift in relation to the [[Sun Belt]] that favored the Republican Party and conservatism.<ref name="HoT npt02" />

The [[2003 Texas redistricting]] of Congressional districts led by Republican [[Tom DeLay]], was called by ''The New York Times'' "an extreme case of partisan [[gerrymandering]]".<ref name="NYTGerry">{{cite news |title=The Texas Gerrymander |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 1, 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/01/opinion/01wed2.html}}</ref> A group of Democratic legislators, the "Texas Eleven", fled the state in a [[quorum]]-busting effort to prevent the legislature from acting, but was unsuccessful.<ref name="Tex11">{{cite news |last=Ridder |first=Knight |title=11 Texas Senate Democrats Take Cue from House, Bolt to Avoid Redistricting |work=Houston Chronicle |date=July 29, 2003 |url=https://www.allbusiness.com/government/elections-politics-politics-political-parties/10366221-1.html |access-date=January 7, 2009}}{{dead link|date=January 2011}}</ref> The state had already redistricted following the 2000 census. Despite these efforts, the legislature passed a map heavily in favor of Republicans, based on 2000 data and ignoring the estimated nearly one million new residents in the state since then. Career attorneys and analysts at the Department of Justice objected to the plan as diluting the votes of African American and Hispanic voters, but political appointees overrode them and approved it.<ref name="NYTGerry" /> Legal challenges to the redistricting reached the national [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] in the case ''[[League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry]]'' (2006), but the court ruled in favor of the state (and Republicans).<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/28/washington/28cnd-scotus.html |title=Justices Back Most G.O.P. Changes to Texas Districts |work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 28, 2006}}</ref>

In the [[Texas elections, 2014|2014 Texas elections]], the [[Tea Party movement]] made large gains, with numerous Tea Party favorites being elected into office, including [[Dan Patrick (politician)|Dan Patrick]] as lieutenant governor,<ref name="Fernandez">{{cite news |last=Fernandez |first=Manny |title=Lieutenant Governor Loses Texas Runoff as Tea Party Holds Sway |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/28/us/politics/tea-party-favorite-beats-lieutenant-governor-in-texas.html |date=May 27, 2014 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Koppel |first1=Nathan |title=Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Moves Quickly to Advance Conservative Agenda |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-lt-gov-dan-patrick-moves-quickly-to-advance-conservative-agenda-1421883867 |date=January 21, 2015 | work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref> [[Ken Paxton]] as attorney general,<ref name="Fernandez" /><ref name="Grissom">{{cite news | last1=Grissom | first1=Brandi |title=Tea Party Conservatives Win Top GOP Runoff Contests |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2014/05/28/tea-party-conservatives-win-top-gop-runoff-contest/ |date=May 28, 2014 |work=[[The Texas Tribune]]}}</ref> in addition to numerous other candidates<ref name="Grissom" /> including conservative Republican [[Greg Abbott]] as governor.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fernandez |first=Manny |title=Texas' New Governor Echoes the Plans of Perry |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/21/us/politics/new-texas-governor-greg-abbott-expected-to-continue-on-perrys-path.html |date=January 20, 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

Texas voters lean toward [[fiscal conservatism]], while enjoying the benefits of huge federal investment in the state in military and other facilities achieved by the power of the Solid South in the 20th century. They also tend to have [[social conservatism|socially conservative]] values.<ref name="TPoliticalCulture1">{{cite web|title=Texas Political Culture—Introduction |website=Texas Politics |publisher=University of Texas |url=https://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/10_1_0.html |access-date=May 29, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220092705/http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/10_1_0.html |archive-date=December 20, 2008 }}</ref><ref name="TPoliticalCulture2">{{cite web|title=Texas Political Culture—Low Taxes, Low Services Political Culture |website=Texas Politics |publisher=University of Texas |url=https://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/10_2_1.html |access-date=October 13, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130015106/http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/10_2_1.html |archive-date=January 30, 2009 }}</ref>

Since 1980, most Texas voters have supported Republican presidential candidates. Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and El Paso consistently lean Democratic in both local and statewide elections.<ref name=":6" /> Residents of counties along the [[Rio Grande]] closer to the [[Mexico–United States border]], where there are many Latino residents, generally vote for Democratic Party candidates, while most other rural and suburban areas of Texas have shifted to voting for Republican Party candidates.<ref name="2000electionresults">{{cite web |url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=2000&fips=48&f=1&off=0&elect=0 |title=2000 Presidential General Election Results—Texas |website=US Election Atlas |access-date=July 22, 2008}}</ref><ref name="2004electionresults">{{cite web |url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=2004&fips=48&f=1&off=0&elect=0 |title=2004 Presidential General Election Results—Texas |website=uselectionatlas.org |access-date=July 22, 2007}}</ref>

As of the [[2022 United States elections|midterm elections of 2022]], a large majority of the members of Texas's [[U.S. House of Representatives|U.S. House]] delegation are [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], along with both [[United States Senate|U.S. Senators]]. In the [[118th United States Congress]], of the 38 [[Texas Congressional Districts|Congressional districts in Texas]], 25 are held by Republicans and 13 by Democrats. Texas's Senators are [[John Cornyn]] and [[Ted Cruz]]. Since 1994, Texans have not elected a Democrat to a statewide office. The state's Democratic voters are made up primarily by liberal and [[minority groups]] in Austin, Beaumont, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, and San Antonio as well as minority voters in East and South Texas.<ref>{{cite news|title=Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics|url=https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Mandi Cai |author2=Matthew Watkins |author3=Anna Novak |author4=Darla Cameron|date=November 6, 2020|title=In Texas, Biden's urban wins couldn't offset Trump's millions of votes in rural, red counties|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2020/11/06/texas-trump-biden-counties-rural-suburban-city/|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=The Texas Tribune}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Ramsey|first=Ross|date=November 11, 2016|title=Analysis: The blue dots in Texas' red political sea|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2016/11/11/analysis-blue-dots-texas-red-political-sea/|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=The Texas Tribune}}</ref>
According to a study by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, Texas ranks last in personal freedom among the states, by factors including incarceration rates, cannabis laws, civil asset forfeiture policies, educational freedom, gambling laws, marriage freedom, and travel freedom.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Solomon |first=Dan |date=2023-12-01 |title=Texas Ranks Last in Personal Freedoms, According to the Libertarian CATO Institute |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/texas-personal-freedom-cato/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Texas Monthly |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-10 |title=Why Texas is dead last in 'personal freedom,' according to new study |url=https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/politics/yall-itics/texas-rankings-last-dallas-personal-freedom-cato-institute/287-91807d11-1b84-4886-9482-e53096276558 |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=wfaa.com |language=en-US}}</ref>