Politics
Much like the Oklahoma Panhandle, the region is very politically and socially conservative. It was one of the first regions of the state to break away from its Democratic roots, though Democrats continued to do well at the local level well into the 1980s. However, Republicans now dominate every level of government, holding nearly every elected post above the county level.
In the 2008 Presidential Election, John McCain received 78.82% of the vote, as compared with Barack Obama's 20.48% share of the vote. Other candidates received 0.70% of the total vote. However, most (62.2%) of Barack Obama's votes came from Potter and Randall Counties, near Amarillo, the only large city in the region, with the rest of the panhandle being even more strongly conservative. In Ochiltree County, John McCain received 91.97% of the vote.
Nearly all of the Panhandle is in Texas's 13th congressional district, represented by Republican Mac Thornberry. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+29, it is tied for the most Republican district in the nation. The counties of Castro, Deaf Smith, and Parmer are in the Texas's 19th congressional district, represented by Republican Randy Neugebauer.
Read more about this topic: Texas Panhandle
Famous quotes containing the word politics:
“We are naïve and moralistic women. We are human beings. Who find politics a blight upon the human condition. And do not know how one copes with it except through politics.”
—Kate Millett (b. 1934)
“I think the Senate ought to realize that I have to have about me those in whom I have confidence; and unless they find a real blemish on a man, I do not think they ought to make partisan politics out of appointments to the Cabinet.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)
“The word “revolution” itself has become not only a dead relic of Leftism, but a key to the deadendedness of male politics: the “revolution” of a wheel which returns in the end to the same place; the “revolving door” of a politics which has “liberated” women only to use them, and only within the limits of male tolerance.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)