Boone County Democrats make more endorsements in April 8 election
Jacque Sample, who is running unopposed for the Columbia Ward 3 council seat, received the nod, along with Rebecca Brewer for the Hallsville school board.
The county Democrats noted Sample has experience in the realm of of politics thanks to past attempts at running for state office for the Missouri House District 44 seat. She is chair of the Columbia Disabilities Commission and a doctor of occupational therapy.
Brewer is an active member of the community, county Democrats said, noting her decades long background in occupational safety and health, who is focused on promoting "a safe, supportive and high quality education for all students, which includes a focus on attracting and retaining the best staff for the district."
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Boone County Democrats make new endorsements in April election
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
13 minutes ago
- CBS News
Texas Democrats slam GOP redistricting plan as "grossly unfair" and "deeply undemocratic"
Top Texas Democrats are sounding the alarm over a GOP plan to redraw Texas' congressional maps, warning in interviews with CBS News it would dramatically dilute minority representation in the Lone Star State and set off a nationwide ripple effect. Republican state lawmakers unveiled a draft congressional map on Wednesday that would turn five U.S. House districts currently held by Democrats into GOP-leaning seats — an idea blessed by President Trump as Republicans angle to hold onto their narrow congressional majority in next year's midterms. One Democratic member of Congress whose district could be impacted called the proposed map "grossly unfair," arguing Black and Latino communities are being "scrambled" and intentionally fractured for political gain. "They've already gerrymandered the map — and now they're trying to make it 30 to 8 in favor of Republicans," the lawmaker told CBS News, referencing the state's congressional delegation. "This is grossly unfair and starts a dangerous domino effect. If Texas lights the fire, it will spread to other states like California and New York. It's going to be a mess across the country." The Democratic representative also argued that Texas Republicans are banking on maintaining the historic margins they saw among Hispanic voters in November's election, but warned that recent polling shows a softening in GOP support among Latino voters — particularly in the wake of backlash over the Trump administration's deportation policies. Those voters "may not be there," the lawmaker said, cautioning the strategy could backfire and jeopardize Republican gains. Another top Democrat who has previously run statewide in Texas echoed the concern, calling the proposal "deeply undemocratic." "We're seeing losses of representation for people of color in Texas," the Democrat said. "Five of the affected districts are Latino-majority seats. They're not just stacking the deck — they're doing it without any expectation of being held accountable. But they will be held accountable." Mr. Trump has publicly encouraged Texas Republicans to reshape the state's congressional districts, predicting to reporters earlier this month a "simple redrawing" could net five extra seats for his party. The GOP currently controls 25 of Texas' 38 House districts, which were last redrawn after the 2020 Census. House Republicans are defending a razor-thin seven-seat majority in next year's congressional elections — a challenging task since the party that controls the White House almost always loses upwards of a dozen seats in the midterms. Texas' Republican Gov. Greg Abbott called the state legislature into a special session, and on Wednesday, lawmakers released an early draft map — though changes could be made. It will need to pass the GOP-controlled state House and Senate. The map would improve the GOP's edge by tilting two Democratic seats in the Rio Grande Valley to the right, making a pair of districts in the Dallas and Houston area redder and merging two Democratic seats near Austin into one. For example, Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar — who already represents a district won by Mr. Trump in 2024 — would lose parts of the San Antonio suburbs under the new map. And the Dallas-area district held by Democratic Rep. Julie Johnson would be redrawn to stretch more than 100 miles from Dallas County to deep-red parts of rural North Texas. Texas Republicans have pledged to ensure the redistricting plans are constitutional. Abbott has argued the maps need to be redrawn due to "constitutional concerns" raised by the Justice Department. CBS News has reached out to the Texas GOP for comment. But Democrats have blasted the map, which Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin called a "blatant gerrymander" and a "likely violation of the Voting Rights Act." Rep. Greg Casar — whose Austin-area district would be merged with that of fellow Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett — called the move "illegal voter suppression of Black and Latino Central Texans." The governors of some Democratic states, including California and New York, have floated launching their own mid-decade redistricting processes, with an eye to creating more blue seats. But those plans could require constitutional amendments since, unlike Texas, those two states have put independent commissions in charge of redistricting. Meanwhile, some experts have suggested Texas' plan to create five extra GOP-leaning districts could make some of those newfound red seats more competitive, by distributing Republican voters across more districts. The state has also undergone significant demographic changes in recent elections. The fast-growing Dallas and Houston suburbs have shifted toward Democrats, but the once reliably blue Rio Grande Valley has become redder with more Hispanic voters supporting Republican Woodall contributed to this report.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Democrats hear some criticism as redistricting talk picks up
Outside groups are raising concerns that Democrats risk violating the Voting Rights Act with redistricting plans, creating a new problem for the party as it seeks to answer GOP efforts to redistrict its way to more power. Democrats say they have to take action to draw new House districts in states they control in response to power plays by a Trump-driven GOP in Texas and other states. But the tit-for-tat has left groups leaving the door open to litigation. They also are making a moral case, arguing Democrats are thwarting the democratic process. 'This is dead wrong from a democracy perspective, I think it's very problematic for Democrats from a political strategic perspective,' explained Dan Vicuna, director of voting and fair representation at Common Cause. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is the only Democratic governor so far to signal he's considering several ways to counter the GOP's efforts in Texas. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Newsom said any move by California 'is predicated on Texas moving forward' with its own redistricting plan, which some have seen as a way for the Lone Star State to make it more likely to hold on to five House seats. Several other Democratic governors, including Govs. Kathy Hochul of New York, Phil Murphy of New Jersey and JB Pritzker of Illinois have left the door open to possibly changing their maps. The GOP may also not be done. The White House is reportedly pushing Missouri to consider redrawing its map. Civil rights and voting groups are worried actions by both parties could undermine or weaken the political power of historically marginalized minority communities. The issue is a thorny one for Democrats, who have positioned themselves as the prodemocracy party and championed racial justice initiatives. At the same time, Democratic states just like Republican states have been sued by civil rights groups over Voting Rights Act violations. Both Democrats and Republicans have also been found guilty of creating gerrymandered maps. 'We have sued both Democrats and Republicans on these issues,' said Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. 'So yes, we are concerned that when leaders of either party seek to take maximum advantage, partisan advantage of redistricting, they often neglect, if not ignore, the imperatives of the Voting Rights Act with respect to reliably Democratic voting groups.' Some groups are also frustrated given efforts by blue states to move beyond gerrymandering. 'Independent commissions like the gold standard in California were created specifically to avoid what's being considered here, which is voting maps drawn for the sole purpose of protecting incumbent politicians and political party interests to the exclusion of community needs and community feedback,' Vicuna said. California Common Cause was intimately involved in the creation of California's independent commission. It could be difficult for some Democratic-held states to answer Texas. Several would likely need to change their state constitution and work around their respective redistricting commissions. Should the Lone Star State craft new House lines, John Bisognano, president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee and its affiliates, in a statement said they would be met 'with a wall of resistance and a wave of legal challenges.' His statement did not address Democratic-led states mulling their own midcycle redistricting. Democrats argue that if Republicans are headed down that road, nothing should be off the table for them as well. 'Republicans should be careful what they ask for,' Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), chair of the House Democrats' campaign arm, told The Hill in a statement. 'And if they go down this path? Absolutely folks are going to respond across the country. We're not going to be sitting back with one hand tied behind our back while Republicans try to undermine the voices of the American people.' Democrats are also leaning into the issue of democracy, saying the longevity of the country is at stake if the party does not respond. Newsom painted the situation in grim terms, saying on Friday, 'I believe that the people of the state of California understand what's at stake. If we don't put a stake into the heart of this administration, there may not be an election in 2028.' 'We can sit back and act as if we have some moral superiority and watch this 249, almost 250-year experiment be washed away,' Newsom said. 'We are not going to allow that to happen. We have agency, we can shape the future.' Civil rights and voting-focused groups, however, are concerned about the ramifications midcycle redistricting could have moving forward, including the possibility of what was once considered a decennial process after each U.S. census turning into a cyclical issue. 'One of the concerns that we have is, even if blue states have power and have a majority in their legislature to redraw maps, our concern is that this could set a bad precedent, because those states could, at the same time, flip in the future,' said Jose Barrera Novoa, vice president of the far west for the League of United Latin American Citizens. 'And the same thing is going to happen where … other parties are going to look to redraw the map midcycle or even quarterly. Who knows?' he asked. 'It's all hypothetical, yet it's still very possible.' Not only could a potential redistricting tit-for-tat raise questions over whether this could be repeated in the future, experts also worry about the financial toll it could take on their resources and voters themselves. 'These are judges managing these cases, hearing these cases. Many of these people are paid out by state funds, and federal cases, of course, are also paid by voters directly,' explained Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters, noting cases that use taxpayer funds. 'Do we really want to spend this time doing this highly unusual activity when we're all going to have to pay for it?' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Texas GOP's redistricting plan alarms Democrats
AUSTIN, Texas — As Texas Republicans move forward with a highly unusual plan to redraw congressional lines in the middle of the decade, the state's Democrats see it as an effort to shut them out of federal power. Earlier this month, Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) called it a 'five alarm fire.' Democrats point to precedent: a questionably legal mid-decade redistricting more than 20 years ago helped turn Texas solid red and polarized its politics. Now, with Democrats in control of most of Texas's major cities and gaining in its suburbs, the GOP — pushed on by Trump — is racing to lock in control of its congressional delegation by destroying four or five Democratic districts. Their model is the 2003 redistricting, when Republicans flipped Texas's congressional delegation from a Democratic majority to 2-to-1 Republican. That year marked a watershed in both state and national politics. Before 2003, Texas was blue, trending purple. Afterward, it became a red-state bulwark, home to a solid conservative majority pulling the country rightward. That year, said Matt Angle, head of the Lone Star Project and former chief of staff to Rep. Martin Frost, a Dallas-area Democratic leader who lost his seat, was 'when the page turned for total Republican control.'Through 2002, Texas resembled today's North Carolina or Kentucky: Republican in presidential races, contested statewide, and locally Democratic — a legacy of the New Deal coalition, especially in rural areas, where trusted Democrats kept winning even as voters backed Republican presidents. There was a sense that 'the Democrat Party was leaving what a lot of Texans kind of stood for,' said Glenn Hegar, former state comptroller, who won election to the state House in 2002 — the year Republicans won their first House majority since Reconstruction. But even as they voted for Republicans for president and — increasingly — state office, voters still backed familiar local Democrats. Hegar recalled people saying, ''He's a good guy, he just happens to be in the wrong party.'' That local loyalty helped Texas resist the South's broader rightward drift — until Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen left to join former President Clinton's Cabinet, Angle said. Bentsen had made sure Democratic incumbents had the resources to hold on. His departure, Angle said, 'was the first really big crack' in the party infrastructure — 'because there was no one to take his place.' He was succeeded by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R), then Sen. Ted Cruz (R). Yet Democrats held local ground for years. In 1990, last-minute returns from rural East Texas — now bright red — helped elect Ann Richards, Texas's last Democratic governor. And while George W. Bush beat Richards handily in 1994, he governed with an entirely Democratic-controlled state Legislature until 1997 — when Republicans took the Senate — and left office with the state House still in Democratic hands. In 2001, that split Legislature drew the usual once-in-a-decade maps, which an insurgent group of Republicans sought to overturn to create a permanent majority. In 2002, Republicans won the Texas House — thanks in part to money then–U.S. House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) funneled to state leaders such as Tom Craddick, who became the first GOP state House Speaker in more than a century. Those financial maneuverings would lead to DeLay's political downfall, his indictment for money laundering and a prison sentence — ultimately overturned on appeal. Craddick, on the state level, used that money to punish Republicans who didn't back his Speaker bid. 'If you're for them, they're going to leave you alone,' Hegar recalled. 'If you're for somebody else, then they're probably going to pick somebody who wants to vote for him out of the primary.' Hegar pledged support and avoided a challenge. That election, he said, marked a 'tidal wave. People just shifted. And then right after that. Boom, boom, boom, the locals go, 'Yeah, I'm done. I'm running as a Republican, because if I don't, I'm probably going to get beat.'' In 2003, with full legislative control, Craddick and DeLay pushed mid-decade redistricting. As Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R) told The New Yorker in 2006, DeLay was 'a fighter and a competitor, and he saw an opportunity to help the Republicans stay in power in Washington.' The goal: break the link between long-trusted Democratic incumbents and their voters, particularly targeting white Democrats like Dallas-Fort Worth's Frost, who had tried to step into Bentsen's role. 'Frost did not realize the lengths to which Tom Delay would go to win that political fight,' said Angle, his former chief of staff. 'And I don't think Tom DeLay realized how hard and ferociously Martin Frost and others would fight to stop him.' That fight included the now-famous 2003 flight of more than 50 House Democrats to Ardmore, Okla., to deny Republicans a quorum. But in the end, DeLay and Craddick won, replacing bipartisan 2000-era maps with aggressive gerrymanders. They 'cracked' coalition districts along racial lines, diluting suburban Democrats and packing minorities into safe Democratic urban seats. That method was 'racially discriminatory — but that gave [Republicans] the advantage in the elections,' allowing them to destroy the districts of leaders such as Frost, said state representative and former House Minority Leader Chris Turner (D). The result: Texas became a partisan centrifuge home to far-right Republicans like Rep. Chip Roy and progressive Democrats like Casar and Rep. Jasmine Crockett. 'The Democratic districts got more Democratic, and Republican districts got more Republican,' said GOP strategist Brendan Steinhauser, as moderate Blue Dog Democrats disappeared from the delegation. The 2003 gains gave Republicans long-term power — including the ability to redraw maps each decade to blunt Democratic urban and suburban growth. In 2013, Republicans got a further boost, when the Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder gutted the provisions of the Voting Rights Act, which had required formerly segregated states such as Texas to get federal clearance before new maps were issued — something the Obama administration had been less disposed to give than the Bush administration. Heading into the special session this July, Democrats thought their slow progress in cities and suburbs had left them with a narrow but plausible plan: win enough statewide offices by 2030 to help draw fairer maps and roll back two decades of structural GOP advantage. If Republicans succeed in 2025, that strategy collapses — at least for congressional representation. Helping the GOP tighten its grip, Steinhauser said, will likely accelerate a process where 'independent-minded people and centrists don't have a place because there are so few competitive districts.' With fewer swing seats, he added, 'There is no incentive as a candidate or consultant or campaign manager to appeal to the center in the general election. You just get your party to turn out.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
