So apologies for the delay, work has been really hectic this week, but I finally managed to finish the write-up. Major credit goes to
@wolfram for the work on developing Texas' political scene.
Here's the latest election in the
Lone Star Republic, plus a redone version of the 2014 election. The previous post and information about Texas can be found
here.
Davis leads Reform back into government
AUSTIN, F.D. – Wendy Davis is set to become the next Prime Minister of Texas, and the second woman to hold the job, after securing a formal coalition agreement between
Reform and the
Constitutional Union in the wake of Tuesday's election. In a bitter and hard fought campaign the incumbent
Christian Democrats narrowly retained their place as the largest party in the house, but the vote splitting with CU and the poor showing by their coalition partners, the right-wing
National Renewal, have allowed Reform to form a coalition government supported by the
Liga Chicano. Although combined the CDP and NRP hold more seats in the house (160) they have been unable to secure the support of another party and any administration would likely lose a vote of confidence.
The announcement of results in Austin, Matagorda, Sabine, Sonora and Nueces were delayed due to issues with electronic vote counting, forcing a manual count to take place. As the constitution requires the president to appoint a prime minister who can command the confidence of the house, President Martinez has confirmed that she will appoint Wendy Davis to the position, and she is expected to be sworn in on December 5 as the 26th Prime Minister. Incumbent CDP leader, and outgoing PM, Scott Turner accepted the results at a press conference late last night but confirmed that he would remain on as party leader. This has led to outcry from the liberal wing of the party, already angered at the right-wing direction of the Turner Administration, and Byron Cook has announced that he will challenge Turner for the party leadership when the legislature convenes in December. Long time National Renewal leader Trent Franks has confirmed that he will step down as his party's leader after a replacement is selected.
The
2014 Texan legislative election was held on October 28, 2014 to elect, under the first past the post system, the 335 members of the House of Representatives. The election was held concurrently with the presidential election.
The governing centre-right
Christian Democrats, which advocates Christian democratic and social conservative policies, led by incumbent Prime Minister David Dewhurst were able to secure their fourth consecutive majority, despite losing 13 seats and only receiving 40% of the popular vote. The CDP did receive a boost amongst Hispanic voters, attributed to Susana Martínez's candidature for President. The broadly centrist and centre-left socially liberal
Reform under new leader Wendy Davis made minor gains in this election, largely in suburban areas amongst moderate voters, although they saw a slight weakening in their support amongst Texas' Hispanic community over controversial comments by senior party figures about immigration from Latin America.
The right-wing conservative nationalist party,
National Renewal, managed to gain a seat despite a decline in their vote share when they took Reform Party presidential candidate Chris Bell's district.
Liga Chicano, the broadly left-wing Hispanic party led by Sonora Governor Manuel Acosta Gutiérrez, secured two extra seats at the expense of Reform, whilst the left-wing green politics
Ecology Party managed to gain the Hermosillo-Tiburón district, narrowly beating out the CDP incumbent. The
Native Alliance, a broad tent movement for the Texan First Nations which only runs in the state of Navajo, secured all four of the state districts for the eleventh consecutive election.
With the CDP securing another majority, David Dewhurst was formally voted in by the newly assembled House of Representatives on December 2, 2014 and sworn in (for the fourth time) as the 24th Prime Minister of the Republic of Texas by President Rick Perry at the Presidential Palace that afternoon.
The
2017 Texan legislative election was held on October 31, 2017 to elect, under the first past the post system, the 335 members of the House of Representatives.
Going into the election, the
Christian Democrats had been beset by infighting and a breakdown of party unity. Seventeen right-wing members of the caucus had defected to
National Renewal in August, after a leadership challenge by Dan Patrick failed to unseat incumbent Prime Minister David Dewhurst. President Martínez would become involved, and courted controversy by proroguing Congress for two weeks, later extended to three as a result of the effects of Hurricane Maria. Upon the reconvening of Congress on 1 September, Dewhurst faced a second challenge from Scott Turner and, seeing the writing on the wall, resigned after fourteen years leading the party. Turner was subsequently elected unopposed, and sworn in as the 25th Prime Minister, and the first Afro-Texan to hold the office. Without a working majority, the CDP were forced to form a coalition government with the NRP, taking the party on a hard-right direction on social and business issues.
Across the aisle, the
Reform Party under experienced leader Wendy Davis portrayed themselves as the party of stability, comparing themselves favourably to the disarray in the CDP ranks. This divide was exacerbated when Will Hurd and Meghan McCain, both centre-leaning members of the CDP defected to the form the
Constitutional Union, a moderate, pro-business, progressive conservative party, and Sam Johnson resigned the party whip to join the
Libertarian Party, becoming their sole congressman. The backpedalling by the CDP on issues such as legal protection of LGBT employees, a hike in the business tax, and a controversial effort to privatise the Texas Health Agency. After opposition parties united with rogue CDP members to defeat the latter measure, the CDP-NRP coalition went into the election battered and bruised.
The final result saw the CDP remaining as the largest party in the House, cut to 120 seats from 162 before the election, but only narrowly ahead of Reform. National Renewal saw a complete reversal in the gains they had made over the previous three months, although many CDP defectors retained their seats, over a dozen marginal districts flipped to Reform or Constitution, and leader Trent Franks announced on Friday November 3 that he would call a leadership election in the new year. The Constitutional Union outperformed most pundits' expectations, winning in an additional 33 districts, and in a shock result candidate Sarah Davis unseated David Dewhurst in his home district of Houston-Allen's Landing. The
Libertarians held their sole seat, whilst
Ecology Party leader Brandon Parmer finally entered the house by defeating the CDP candidate in Galveston Coast. The
Native Alliance retained their four districts for a twelfth consecutive election.
Liga Chicano surprisingly lost four seats, including one district in Sonora previously though to be a solid LC seat, mostly to Reform and Constitution, a fact attributed to a perceived lack of direction in Congress.
With no party able to secure a majority, two coalitions emerged in the days following the election; the CDP-NRP and Reform-Constitution. Although the former had more seats, the later could call on the support of the Liga and Ecology in the House, whereas no other party was willing to support the CDP after the toxic Turner Administration. The Reform-Constitution coalition, led by Prime Minister Wendy Davis and Deputy Prime Minister Will Hurd, have identified further action on LGBT rights, including a vote on same-sex marriage, tax cuts for businesses and an improved approach to immigration from Latin America as the key issues for their administration.