Panhandle Will Lose A Seat In State House

This was not really unexpected, but it is not good for the people in this part of Texas. It looks like the Panhandle (and the area near it) is going to lose a seat in the Texas House of Representatives.

The redistricting map currently proposed will have District 88 of Warren Chisum (R-Pampa) and District 68 of Rick Hardcastle (R-Vernon) merge. I think Chisum (pictured) had expected this since he has recently been talking about maybe running for Railroad Commission or a similar position. If he doesn't run for something else, then he and Hardcastle would have to face off in a Republican primary. I think Hardcastle would probably win that race.

I torn in my feelings about this. While expected, it does mean the Panhandle will have less of a voice in Austin. That's not good since state leaders tend to ignore us most of the time anyway (as we are a long way from Austin and not in a mostly rural part of the state). On the other hand, it takes a district out-of-play that was very safe for Republicans and creates one in a more urban area that Democrats could possibly win. So while this is bad for the Panhandle, it could be a good thing for Texas in general.

It looks like the growth in population here in the Amarillo area (Potter and Randall counties) has saved the other two Panhandle seats -- the District 86 seat of John Smithee (R-Amarillo) and the District 87 seat of Walter Price (R-Amarillo). These districts might increase slightly in size, but the current plan keeps them intact.

It looks like the South Plains area around Lubbock will also lose a Republican legislator. The current redistricting map has combined the District 83 seat of Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) and the District 85 seat of Jim Landtroop (R-Plainview).