Pete Sessioins, Jason Villalba, and Rick Perry
Texas Republican House Member Jason Villalba (HD114 – Dallas) was recently appointed to the Texas House Redistricting Committee by Republican Speaker Joe Straus. But he wasn’t put there to represent Texas Latinos. In fact, Villalba only won his House seat because he ran in a district carefully gerrymandered to diminish the voting strength of North Texas Latinos.
In early hearings, while often badgering citizen witnesses and challenging them as though they are opposing attorneys in a court room, Villalba has tried to present himself as a voice and a representative of Latino voters.
Now, Jason Villalba is Latino. And House District 114 does include Latino voters. But the Republicans who drew the district designed it to keep the Latino voting population as low as possible
Jason Villalba is not the Latino candidate of choice nor did Latino voters make up any significant percentage of his vote share in 2012
Nominal Latino vote in GOP Primary
In fact, Latinos made up a lower percentage of the GOP Primary vote in Villalba’s District 114 than in the districts of his Dallas Anglo Republican colleagues Ken Sheets (HD107 – Dallas) or Cindy Burkett (HD113 – Dallas).
2012 GOP Primary Turnout
| District | Member | % of Ballots Cast by Latinos |
|---|---|---|
| HD107 | Sheets | 5.1% |
| HD113 | Burkett | 5.5% |
| HD114 | Villalba | 3.3% |
Source : Dallas County Elections/Democratic VAN
Not much Latino support in the General Election either
Given that Mitt Romney received 1,800 more votes in House District 114 than Jason Villalba, it is unlikely that Villalba received any more Latino support proportionally within the district in the General Election than Romney did. Polling has shown that Mitt Romney received no more than 25 percent support from Latino voters.
2012 General Election – Texas House District 114
| Candidate | # Votes Received |
|---|---|
| Mitt Romney | 35,795 |
| Jason Villalba | 33,970 |
| Difference | 1,825 |
Source: Texas Secretary of State
