A Purple Brazos County?

In Bryan-College Station, and in much of the Brazos Valley, the general assumption is that conservative politics are the status quo.

The political representation of Brazos County has been predominately Republican for more than a decade. Steve Ogden has been the Texas Senate District 5 senator since 1997 and Republican Fred Brown has been the Texas House District 14 representative since 1999. However, Democrat Chet Edwards has represented the Texas 17th Congressional district since 2005, and before that represented the Texas 11th Congressional district since 1991 until it was renumbered. Democrat Robert Cook has been the Texas House District 17 representative since 1996; however, the seat will be vacant for the upcoming general election.

The Brazos Valley is home to two of the most conservative universities in the nation; the Princeton Review ranked Texas A&M University (the home of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library) and Baylor University as the 16th and 12th most conservative colleges in the nation. In 2004 Texas A&M was named by the Princeton Review as the most conservative college in the nation. Just north of the Brazos Valley in the Dallas/Fort Worth area is the University of Dallas which was ranked as the 9th most conservative college in the nation, and in the Dallas are two other prominent conservative colleges of Southern Methodist University (the future home of the George W. Bush Presidential Library) and Texas Christian University.

During the 2006 elections the District 14 (Brazos County, with the exception of northern Bryan), voted exclusively Republican with the exception of Edwards. In many cases Republican candidates won with 80% of the vote. In the District 17 (which includes northern Bryan and Bastrop, Burleson, Colorado, Fayette, and Lee counties), the results were very similar however with smaller margins and three other Democratic candidates getting a majority of votes. Voter turnout has been historically mostly Republican, and the Eagle has endorsed predominately Republican candidates.

There is a shift of political winds nationally, as Democratic voter turnout up is at all time high levels and Republican approval ratings at low levels. In this year’s primary election 13,800 Democrats voted compared to 13,200 Republicans that voted. In 2006, 1,300 Democrats voted in the primary compared to 8,300 Republicans, and in 2004 2,000 Democrats voted in the primary compared to 8,700 Republicans.

Also, there is a question of whether or not Brazos County Republicans will support Senator John McCain. Only 48% voted for McCain in the primary, while former Governor Mike Huckabee received 41% of the vote. Ron Paul only received 5% of the vote in the primary, however there was a strong amount of support for Paul and if he runs as an independent for President he may receive a significant amount of votes in Brazos County.

Brazos County has a significant population of “values voters.” There is a significant amount of Christian churches and organizations in Brazos County, and College Station is the home of the Coalition for Life, a Pro-Life activist organization. This is a major reason behind the support of Huckabee. It has been well publicized that McCain has had his difference with the Christian community, specifically his criticism of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell as "agents of intolerance" and his opposition to a federal amendment to ban gay marriage. However, with the War in Iraq and the economy as the prominent issues social issues are far from the forefront.

The Republican Party as a whole is on the defensive in Texas. As noted today in the Burnt Orange Report, there have been indications from the Republican Party in Texas that a shift in Texas politics is happening and the Republican Party is noticing.

From the Dallas Morning News:
"One of my jobs as Dallas County chair is to go down there and explain to them that they had better be on guard," said Dallas County Chairman Jonathan Neerman. "It can happen to you."

From the San Antonio Express:
“We're the underdogs, and anybody who tells you we're not hasn't been out and about,” Williams said.

There is a combination of factors that are attributing to a possible change in American politics that are having an affect across the nation. There is a large upswing of Democrat voter turnout, and there a possible dip in Republican voter turnout. Due to the demographics of Brazos County it is unlikely that the county would ever become a completely blue county. However, with the rise of enthusiasm among Democrats and the decline of the Republican Party, Brazos County may turn a shade of purple this year.

Special Note: Congressman Chet Edwards represents the Texas 17th Congressional district, which includes Crawford, Texas which is home to President Bush. This means that Bush is technically represented in Congress by a Democrat.

Get Involved:
Brazos County Democrats

Texas Democratic Women (TDW) of the Brazos Valley

Texas Aggie Democrats

Blogs Around the State: The Absence Of A True Political Majority—Something To Take Advantage Of