Blue dots in a sea of ​​red: How some Texas Democrats survived a GOP attack

Texas still has a few blue dots scattered across the political map — often a sitting state representative who managed to survive the state's red wave in the election. And those Democrats in those districts had a number of things in their favor that made a difference at the polls.

Most Texas voters returned their current state representative – both Democrats and Republicans – for another term.

Incumbents have an advantage when they run for re-election. Janet Johnson, an associate professor of communication studies at the University of Texas at Dallas, said the candidates have name recognition.

“You see them out there,” Johnson said. “You see them at events. You see them working with the electorate.”

It's not unusual to run into Rep. Mihaela Plesa at an event in her district, Texas House District 70. She's one of the Democrats who survived the red wave.

On the anniversary of the mass shooting at the Allen Outlet Mall in May, she spoke at a memorial for the dead. House District 70 includes parts of Allen.

She also participated in a candidate forum with the public education group Raise Your Hand Texas in Plano in October. Several Plano ISD trustees were also present.

Plesa also knocked on the doors of many people in her district when she ran for office – something you see far more often with a local candidate than with someone running for federal office.

She said that way she could connect with voters who lean Republican.

“I don't know if Collin, Ted or Trump will ever come knocking on your door, but I'm here now to call for the vote and explain why I think I'm the best person for the job,” Plesa said . .

Thomas Gray, a political science professor at UT Dallas, said people are more likely to have a personal experience with their local or national representative.

It could be a front-door conversation during a re-election campaign. Maybe they called their representative's office to ask about a road that needed repairs. Or maybe they saw or heard their representative on their favorite local news program.

Whatever the interaction, Gray says it makes a difference in the polls.

“All those little things add up to enough to give a sitting president a few extra percentage points of the vote,” he said.

Gray also said the way the district is drawn plays a role. He said Texas House district lines are designed to favor a particular party. This way, the parties can concentrate most of their resources on the few competitive seats – such as the Plesa district. She won by 850 votes when she was first elected.

This year she won by about 3,200 votes.

State Rep. Chris Turner of Texas House District 101 holds one of four safely Democratic seats in Tarrant County. The remaining seven seats in the county's House of Representatives are Republican.

Turner said Tarrant County's representation should be more evenly distributed. President Joe Biden won the county in 2020. And Democratic Senate candidate Collin Allred won a narrow majority there, despite newly elected President Donald Trump winning the county's vote.

Turner said Tarrant County favors Republicans.

“They have divided the minority communities into four districts to artificially maintain their lead in the House of Representatives,” he said.

Gerrymandering and incumbent advantage all contributed to the election results. Gray said they are not unusual, even though many Democrats would have thought otherwise.

“Not much has actually changed, but the fact that it hasn't changed feels like a victory for the Republican Party because of these assumptions,” he said.

The Texas legislative session begins in January. And Plesa and Turner will face an increasingly divided Republican majority.

But enough voters in their districts have decided that their current Democratic representatives are more than ready for the challenge.

Do you have a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.

Caroline Love is one Report for America corps member for KERA News.

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