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All about District 12 of Texas
All about District 12 of Texas
Kay's territory is located in the northern part of Texas and includes the western side of Tarrant County and the majority of Parker County. Factoring in the 2020 Census, Kay represents 824, 946 people in her district. The district contains 31 cities, with Fort Worth being the largest city in the territory, with a population of nearly 1 million (though other districts also claim the city). Weatherford, located in Parker County, is the second largest city in the district, with a population of 30,631. The territory itself is large, encompassing 1,441 square miles, which computes to about 557 people per square mile.
Most of the cities located in the district have a population of 10,00o, except a few suburbs of Fort Worth, which indicates that the style of campaigning and representation Kay must conduct in this district has to cater to small-town living. This differs from the larger city behavior patterns, as there is less diversity of thought and a stronger likelihood of a crowd mentality occurring in smaller towns. Kay also has to cater to the gossip and "small-town politics" in these towns. This could initially seem like a tiresome task for Granger, but as a strategic woman, she can utilize her population distribution to sell herself as a true member of her district, who is actively engaged and informed on her constituents' daily struggles.
The racial composition of Granger's district is unsurprising given its geographic location. The makeup is as follows:
Caucasian: 60.9%
African American: 8.5%
Hispanic: 20.2%
Asian: 3.5%
Other (ambiguous): 6.9%
There is about an even 50/50 split between males/females, with just slightly more women in the district (49% male, 51% female). The median age in the district is 36, with 62% of the population between the ages of 18-64.
Religious Adherence:
Due to the lack of research in this domain, there is no available data on the religious affiliations of District 12, however, there are statistics on religious affiliation by county. Southern Baptist is the largest religious majority in Parket County, which is part of the district. In Tarrant County, the largest majority is not affiliated with a religion. This difference in the religious majority is clarified when Fort Worth and the suburbs are accounted for in Tarrant County.
Granger represents an exceptional constituency in terms of wealth, as the median household income is $78,999. This median is 10% higher than the Texas average which currently sits at $72, 284, and only slightly higher than the national average ($74,755). However, these statistics do not necessarily include the undocumented residents living in the district who could be experiencing a drastically opposing experience. Despite having an elevated household income, the district has a 12% poverty rate for children who reside there. This is concerning given that Granger is a vocal advocate for providing better access to resources to children, and she also faced a difficult period in her life raising her three kids and taking care of her ailing mother as a single parent.
Chart from Data USA on District 12 Industries
The F-22 Raptor, one of Lockheed's stealth aircrafts
District 12's economy has a very uniform sense of industry (see chart for breakdown); aside from the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, there is not an industry or corporation that overwhelmingly drives the wealth of the region. The airport itself brings in $37 billion annually and handles 60% of the cargo that enters the state. Aerospace, retail business, and agriculture are major industries that support the district.
However, there is one company that has international notoriety that resides in the district: Lockheed Martin Corporation. The manufacturer of various fighter jets, the defense contractor hosts their aeronautics division at the Air Force Plant 4 in Fort Worth. Due to the location of the company and the Air Force base, Granger conducts frequent activities and discussions with the company and the military branch and often advocates for both at the state and national levels.
Since 1998, Granger has won every election by a significant margin. Whether this is due to her constituents' approval of her productivity in Congress, or if there are more Republicans residing in the state, Granger has never had to worry about her position in Congress throughout her 27 years in office. There is not a specific breakdown of the district's voting population and their party affiliation, but one can delineate the general views of the district from their voting patterns. Since Granger has been in office, Republicans have consistently outvoted their Democratic counterparts in the state by almost double. This can mean two things: either there are more Republicans in the district, or more vocal Republicans than vocal Democrats. Since the district in question resides in Texas, it is safe to assume the previous scenario is correct.
Additionally, during the Presidential Election of 2020, District 12 had 60% of its voting population vote for Trump, and 37% vote for Biden.
Environment:
Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released new regulations on gas and oil operations, which has stirred up a commotion in the district. Many oil companies within Fort Worth possess small wells in rural North Texas and are experiencing economic strife due to the cost of hiring new staff and integrating new equipment to meet the government's methane emissions limit. People within the oil industry have discussed in House committee hearings how the new regulations will tank their companies and also hurt the economy. There is a sense of distrust amongst people in the oil industry and the larger government, as the EPA seems to be neglectful of how the oil industry operates (starting with a large operation that eventually dwindles to nothing). Environmental advocacy groups like Liveable Arlington are in support of the EPA's new regulations. With nearing 1 million people in Tarrant County living less than half a mile away from a natural gas drilling site, the advocacy group is extremely cautious of the pollutants that the site produces and the harmful side effects that are observed in the nearby population.
Another issue occurring in Northern Texas is the extreme loss of water. During the scorching hot summers, North Texas cities experience losses of up to 40 billion gallons of water due to leaks and main breaks of the old infrastructure. Every year, cities must release a water loss audit to the state. Fort Worth lost 5.8 million dollars worth of water in 2021. While the price to update the infrastructure is costly, the issue is only going to get worse as climate change continues to increase the global temperature.
Immigration:
Currently, Governor Greg Abbott and the Biden Administration are in a heated dispute over jurisdiction at the Texas-Mexico border. The governor of Texas is attempting to instill a law that makes crossing the border a Class B misdemeanor which would result in up to 6 months of jailtime. Several attorneys that represent the U.S. DOJ are suing the state arguing that this law would infringe upon the federal government's sole power to enforce immigration laws. Although District 12 is not near the border, this issue has become a matter of national importance and the district's location in the state requires Granger to have an input into the issue. Being a very homogenous, Republican district, most constituents are siding with Governor Abbot on the issue, stating that the Biden Administration has had too lax of a border policy.
However, there is mixed opinion on Senate Bill 4, which authorizes a judge or magistrate to order a migrant to return to Mexico, regardless of their nationality. This raises questions about the integrity of the state legislature, as there is a large minority of the state who are Hispanic and many who do not claim Mexico as home. Sending them to Mexico would be the same as sending them to another foreign country. Additionally, immigrants contribute $119 billion to Texas's economy, which would be detrimental to squander through deportation.