For Texas Democrats, the hits just keep on coming.
After routing Republicans in every statewide race and overturning a generation of conservative, one-party rule, the Democrats have also taken control of the Texas House of Representatives. The last time they held the majority in either legislative chamber was 2003.
Republicans will keep their majority in the Texas Senate. But the lieutenant governor, who, as the president of that chamber, is arguably the single most powerful force in lawmaking, will also be a Democrat: Vikki Goodwin. So is the governor-elect, Gina Hinojosa.
For the first time in about 25 years, Texas Democrats will have a real chance to govern. “Democrats have to deliver,” Gene Wu, the chairman of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, said from his home in Houston on Wednesday morning. “No excuses, no whining, no crying.”
Mr. Wu was wasting no time. He planned to drive to the state capital, Austin, on Wednesday to prepare for the next legislative session in January.
The Texas Legislature meets only once every two years, making the pressure especially high on Democrats to deliver real policymaking wins — and quickly. They’ve promised to focus their attention on pocketbook issues like taxes and education funding.
For a dozen years, Republicans forced Texas further to the right. Conservative legislators outlawed abortion, banned diversity offices in colleges, legalized the open carrying of firearms on their campuses, and stripped rights from the state’s gay community. They targeted big cities, all run by Democrats, by restricting local control.
Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick led those efforts. Both men lost their re-election bids.
Mr. Wu said his party’s wins were a rebuke to big government policies that he said have come to define the modern Republican Party.
“We’re going to let cities decide if they want to have rainbow sidewalks again,” Mr. Wu said, referencing recent Republican-enforced bans on such displays.
Senfronia Thompson, a Houston Democrat first elected before women could easily have credit cards, is the early favorite for House speaker. She would be the first Black Texan and the first woman in the role.
Tom Oliverson, the chairman of the House Republican Caucus, said the future for his party looked brighter than the present.
“When you kind of hit the bottom,” he said, “you can only go up from there, right?”
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