Doggett pushed into Hispanic majority district

NY Times:

Representative Lloyd Doggett, the nine-term, liberal Austin congressman, foiled Republicans’ efforts to redistrict him out of office in 2003 and intends to do it again in 2012, living “in a Winnebago, if that’s what it takes,” to vie for a newly-drawn district that encompasses San Antonio’s most Democratic and Hispanic neighborhoods and spreads up to southern Travis County.

The Republican-controlled Texas Legislature drew him a bad map again this year, and getting through March’s Democratic primary could be a doozy. At a minimum, Mr. Doggett will face State Representative Joaquin Castro, a 36-year-old Hispanic who is a rising star in his party and has politics in his DNA — his identical twin brother, Julián, is San Antonio’s mayor. They grew up in one of the San Antonio neighborhoods central to the new district.

“If you’re going by the numbers, I would say Castro is the heavy favorite,” said Harold Cook, a Democratic political consultant based in Austin. “But if there’s any Anglo candidate, any Austin candidate, who can win this race, it’s Doggett.”

While Mr. Castro is not the only prominent Latino Democrat to eye the seat — in the last month, several of his colleagues in the San Antonio delegation have attested to considering it — the consensus appears to have gelled around him.

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Doggett says the redistricting map is unconstitutional, but Hispanics have been pushing for a new district and this also gives Republicans a chance to get rid of Doggett at the same time. Doggett is old enough to retire if he does not win this election.