Roll Call: Between the Lines—Doggett’s Darned District Dilemma in Texas

"I think this map is so far from reality and in so muchviolation of the law, it's premature to say," Doggett said in a phone interview."It's the only district in the area that has enough of my district, enoughDemocrats at this point, but again, I haven't made any finaldecision."

Instead, Doggett and his fellow Democrats are planningto take the map to court. Texas' new Congressional lines must be cleared by theJustice Department for appropriate minority voting power, and the Congressmanwas quick to declare that the proposed map is in clear violation of the VotingRights Act.

"It's an outrageous map. It is a map that means that youwill have Members of Congress who are less accessible, less accountable,"Doggett said. "Once those forums are resolved, I hope we will have better mapsthan we do today."

In the meantime, state lawmakers will consider theproposed map as part of a special legislative session that began Tuesdaymorning. There might be additional tweaks to the map, but it's highly unlikelythe Legislature would do anything to accommodateDoggett.

After all, this isn't the first time Doggett has faced aredistricting-related challenge. When then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's (R)aides redrew the lines in 2003, Doggett's district was stretched all the waydown to the Mexican border. Doggett noted that DeLay aide Jim Ellis wrote in anAugust 2003 memo: "We must stress that a map that returns Frost, Edwards andDoggett is unacceptable and not worth all of the time invested into thisproject." He was referring to then-Reps. Martin Frost and Chet Edwards, Democrats whowere defeated in the last decade.

"Well, I'm the last one there, and there's no doubt theywould like to finish the work," Doggett said.

And if the proposed map stands, Doggett is left with twoless-than-appealing options as future districts.

On the surface, the newly drawn 35th district would beideal territory for Doggett, given that it's a safe Democratic seat: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)received only 38 percent of the vote there. But not only is that district mostlycomposed of new territory for Doggett, there's also a 63 percent Hispanicpopulation, making it a ripe opportunity for a local Hispanic politician tobegin his or her Congressional career.

The most often-mentioned name to run in the new 35thdistrict is state Rep. Mike Villarreal (D), the vice chairman of the state Houseredistricting committee who told Roll Call he's taking a "serious look" at therunning. However, Villarreal stopped short of saying he would be willing to runagainst Doggett in a primary.

If Villarreal passes on a House run, one of the biggestnames in Texas Hispanic politics is one of the Castro brothers: San AntonioMayor Julian Castro or his twin brother, state Rep. Joaquin Castro, are in aposition to run.

"Bye, bye, Lloyd Doggett. He has twovery bad options," said Chris Perkins, a GOP consultant based in Texas who drew theCongressional map under DeLay in 2003.