Essay Sample on Republican Party in Texas: 1990-2015

Introduction

Texas is the strongest Republican State in the United States. With a population of more than 28 million people, the state's population, as well as its sustained election of Republican leaders in the Congress over the years, places it as a strong and strategy state for the party. The party's strong control of the state where it sweeps almost all the statewide seats in each election is a manifestation of its stronghold in Texas. Since 1990, many changes have occurred in the status of the Republican Party in Texas.

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The transition of Texas from a democratic to a Republican state was a gradual process that began in the 1950s with the election of the first Republican Senator in 1960 (Texasgop). Prior, the state was predominantly Democratic and the Republican Party, and between 1900 and 1960, the latter had not held a statewide seat. Despite the election of a Republican senator, it was until 1978 when a governor and a senator were republican. Further, it would take until 1998, when all the statewide position would be republican (Texasgop). Currently, the state remains predominantly Republican, although between 1990 and 2015, there have been instances when Democrats gained a significant number of seats to threaten the dominance. With each leader elected on the Republican Party, there have been differing ideologies that have guided the state's policies, as well as the direction and status of the party. For instance, starting from 1990, despite the lack of strong opposition from Democrats on the GOP, there have been many factions within the Republican Party, which have threatened its strength and ability to have a unified perspective on major ideological issues.

In the election of 1990, the Republican Party won the senatorial seat with Phil Graham taking the leading vote (Texasgop). On the other hand, despite the Democrat Party winning the gubernatorial seat, the small margin of win represents the growing popularity of the Republican Party in the State. The Republican Party secured additional statewide positions such as the Agriculture Commissioner, the post of State Treasury, and a post at the Texas Supreme Court (Texasgop). In 1993, Bailey Hutchison became the first woman from Texas to be elected to the U.S. Senate (Texasgop). Such progress was an indication that the Republican Party was gain a strong footing in the State that for almost a century had been predominantly, democrat.

In the subsequent election of 1994, George W. Bush was elected as the governor, dethroning the incumbent, Democrat Ann Richards (Miller and Perry 7). The fete ensured that, for the second time since reconstruction, the state had a Republican governor. Additionally, the Republican Party gained an additional seat in the Senate, which was a major victory for the party (Miller and Perry 7). Furthermore, the party retained its posts of Agriculture Commissioner as well as that of the Senate. The party gained additional seats including that of the Texas Railroad Commission, as well as an increase of their representation at the Texas House by three seats (Texasgop). In 1996, the mid-term election saw the party gain three additional seats at the Texas Senate. For the first time since Reconstruction, the Republican was in control of the GOP. Such changes were important in revealing the gradual evolution of the party from limited influence to being in control.

However, the major control of the state by the Republican Party would come in 1998, when the party won all statewide seats, including those traditionally democratic (Miller and Perry 7). For the first time, a Republican, through Governor George W. Bush, won back-to-back 4-year term reelection. Indeed, he achieved a major feat by winning in 240 out of 254 counties, and further, winning the Hispanic counties of El Paso, Hidalgo, and Cameron, which were traditionally and strongly, democratic (Texasgop). Furthermore, all the senators were also Republican. Other major milestones achieved during the time was the election of the first ever Republican Lieutenant Governor, first-ever Republican Attorney General, first-ever Republican Comptroller, first-ever Republican Land Commissioner, first female Agriculture Commissioner, and the first ever Railroad Commissioner of Hispanic Republican to win a statewide seat.

In the subsequent years from 2000, the party has maintained a strong hold over the Texas house winning a majority ever-since. The election of George W. Bush to the white house as the president marked a major milestone for the Republican Party in Texas, and since then, its major influence in the national Republican politics (Miller and Perry 7). In 2002, for the first time in 130 years, the Republican Party had the majority in the Texas House of Representatives, as well as electing the first ever-republican Speaker since reconstruction (Texasgop). The continued popularity of the Republican Party showed its attractiveness in relation to its ideologies and policies that pushed democratic to the backstage. As of 2018, the party continues to hold the largest influence across the state, making Texas the single largest Republican state in the United States, a major achievement for a party that was less influential in the past.

The gradual and drastic change of the Lone Star State from Democrat to Republican can be linked to the changes in ideology that have influenced the policy decisions and choices for each party over the years. For a long time, the Democrat Party was conservative, and this was attractive to the voters of the then conservative state (Day and Jones 99). However, in the years starting from the 1970s, Democrats grew increasingly liberal, while the Republicans change to being more conservative. This gradual change of ideology has been the defining feature of the transition that has led to a shift in loyalty in the state from blue to red. For instance, in the 1960s, the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat, heightens the changes of the party from conservatism to liberalism (Kuziemko and Washington 4). As a Southern State, Texas was highly conservative and this change in the national ideology was not widely accepted, and thus set the stage for many Texans, especially whites, to find a new vehicle that they could easily identify with. With the growing perception that the Democrats were becoming more liberal, the Republican Party took this opportunity to campaign on the platform of withholding the values that Texas have held so high for long. For instance, regarding issues like gun ownership, and so on, it has become evident that Texans feel more comfortable with the Republicans that the Democrats.

Other factors that have enabled the gradual change in the politics of Texas are the policies on tax. For instance, in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, the leadership of Democrats was characterized by continued increases in taxes, in what is referred to as "tax and spend liberals" or the status of increases taxes and expenditure at the expense of taxpayers (Williamson 18). Such a situation clashed with a conservative society that had moved to the state for lower taxes and fewer regulations (Day and Jones 99). At the same time, the Republican Party was becoming more conservative and increased its attacks on the Democrats by labeling them as "tax and spend liberals" and this gradually worked to reflect the Democrats as not in touch with the needs of the population. The last two decades of the Democrat's rule were characterized by strong economic challenges in the state, which pushed the state to be more willing for change. In this case, the concerns for increased taxes and increased expenditure made it impossible for the Democrats to continue with their dominance, and thus their eventual push out of the leadership, and the turn of the state into a Republican on.

Conclusion

The drastic change of Texas from a Blue to a Red State represents one of the biggest changes ever experienced in any state in the United States. From Democrats dominance in all statewide positions in the 1960s, as of now, the Republicans hold all the statewide seats. Such change can be linked to a major shift of the Democrats from conservatism to liberalism, which was started by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Furthermore, Republicans took advantage of the perceived liberal views of the Democrats to champion on withholding and protecting the rights of Texas, including tax reforms, and protections of gun rights and so on. Consequently, while the change was drastic, it was inevitable that Texas would become a Republican State.

Works Cited

Day, Frederick A., and Alice L. Jones. "A Portrait of Modern Texas Politics: The Regional Geography of the 1990 Governor's Race." Social Science Journal, vol. 31, no. 2, Apr. 1994, p. 99. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=9407072066&site=ehost-live.

Kuziemko, Ilyana, and Ebonya Washington. "Why did the Democrats lose the south? Bringing new data to an old debate." American Economic Review, vol. 108, no. 10, 2018, pp. 1-74.

Miller, Jan, and Jerry Perry. Development of Political Parties in Texas. State Bar of Texas, 2014.

Texasgop. "Overview and History." Republican Party of Texas. https://www.texasgop.org/overview-and-history. Accessed 30 November 2018

Williamson, Kevin D. "The Republican Civil War in Texas." National Review, vol. 69, no. 15, Aug. 2017, pp. 17-19.