Republicans gain a stronger hold on Texas with Election Day victories

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Tuesday's election turned Texas Democrats' political landscape from bleak to barren.
A new redistricting map pushed through by Republicans helped the GOP gain a 21-11 advantage over Democrats in the state's congressional delegation, up from the current 16-16 split and the first GOP majority since Reconstruction.
The new map forced five Democratic incumbents into tough re-election battles, and only U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards survived.
The Republican gains solidified the dominance of the party, which had already held all statewide elected offices and both chambers of the Legislature in President Bush's home state. Bush won Texas with 61 percent of the vote, better than the 59 percent he garnered in 2000 when he was governor.
"How Republican is the state of Texas? How many calories are there in a Krispy Kreme doughnut? The number is big," said Chuck McDonald, a political analyst and consultant who once worked for former Democratic Gov. Ann Richards.
A ray of hope
Democrats -- once the dominant party in Texas -- may not be truly competitive in state elections again until 2010, McDonald predicted. Party faithful are clinging to what they see as the few bright spots.
They seized on the possibility that an ongoing vote count in Houston may result in the defeat of Talmadge Heflin, the Republican appropriations chairman in the Texas House of Representatives. A defeat of the powerful Heflin by Democratic businessman Hubert Vo would be a trophy for Democrats and allow them to gain a seat in the House.
Vote counting in the Heflin-Vo race lasted into the weekend because some mail-in ballots had yet to be tallied. The count was to resume today.