For now, it's being waged quietly below the surface as party operatives, consultants, computer wonks and legislative analysts pore over emerging census data and preliminary maps charting population changes.
But in the coming months, the battle over congressional and legislative reapportionment will explode into full view as Republicans and Democrats plunge into a power struggle played out at least once every decade -- transforming population changes into control of the statehouse and Texas' delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
With its population expected to grow to more than 25 million, the Lone Star State appears on track to pick up at least three, and possibly four, new seats in the House of Representatives, the largest gain of any state.
And because much of that growth has been centered in North Texas, Tarrant County could be in line for an additional legislative seat, expanding its delegation in the state House from 10 to 11.
Redistricting will easily overshadow much of the work of the 2011 Legislature, complicating a session that will also be struggling with an $11 billion-plus budget shortfall, new healthcare mandates from Washington and a host of other contentious issues.
Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/03/28/2071804/stage-set-for-another-texas-battle.html#ixzz0kSDjDzmY
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