Meet the Next Texans, a Population Boom That Will Change Our Politics

After a quarter century of being painted a big, bold Republican red on the American electoral map, Texas is nudging toward a different hue this spring: Purple.Politics is often measured in the short-term: this election cycle, dollars raised and spent, the margin of victory. And there is no doubt that Republicans still enjoy a tactical edge. They control every statewide office. But the long view shows a whole different picture. And it's not just the increasing Hispanic nature of the population, which tends to vote Democratic. A new generation has arrived.Meet the Next Texans. They have come from every point on the map, but many came from far more liberal states. They are overwhelmingly young, they seem to populate the densely packed urban centers and near suburbs, and they are already friendlier to Democrats than Republicans. The Next Texans are a new political wind blowing across Texas -- and against the conservative Republican monopoly on power.Their story begins around the turn of this century, when the first of them arrived in time for the first big boom in technology. The Lone Star State had just been through a terrible shaking out: a collapse in oil prices in the late 1980s, followed by a collapse of the savings and loan system in the 1990s and a collapse in real estate, as result.  Continue reading...

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