Burnt Orange Report

40/40: Get to Know Senate District 19

By Phillip Martin

If you've ever driven to El Paso from Austin or San Antonio, chances are you spent a great deal of time driving through Senate District 19. Home to some of my favorite places in the state -- including Big Bend and Garner State Park -- SD 19 is one of the larger districts in the State of Texas. It occupies the southern and western portions of Bexar County (San Antonio), the southeastern tip of El Paso County, and the entirety of 21 other counties in the southwest areas of the state. Click here to view a map.

Over 2/3 of the district is Hispanic, yet SD 19 is considered a swing district that leans Democratic. Voters in SD 19 voted 53-47 Bush-Kerry, but have supported Democratic candidates in many House and Congressional races. While researching the district, one longtime politico familiar with the district said that approximately 2/3 of the Hispanics may be considered "religiously conservative," though party affiliation is not necessarily important to voters. Also, "religiously conservative" -- as another politico pointed out -- is a bit misleading of a term.

I could write thousands of words about how to understand the way the experience of growing up in an Hispanic culture affects your outlook on life -- social, religious, political, and otherwise. The long and short of it is that the same voters that hold "religiously conservative" views about gay marriage and abortion also tend to be very pro-education, and believe government can and should work for them as an agent of economic opportunity. The percentage of supporters for Prop 2 exceeded 80% in 14 counties in SD 19; yet, of the 13 State Representatives in SD 19, 10 of them are Democrats. I'd imagine that this district could very well have the largest percentage of pro-life, straight-ticket Democrat voters in the state. In that regards, they aren't "religious conservatives" in the way we normally think of the term.

How, then, does a Democrat represent the views of such a wide-reaching, swing district? Check back with the 40/40 tomorrow to read interviews with Senator Frank Madla and Representative Carlos Uresti, and see how they plan to work for Senate District 19.