The Death of the Competitive Congressional District

This episode contains strong language.

After winning his House seat in the 2018 midterm elections, Representative Dan Crenshaw, a Republican of Texas, seemed to have found a sweet spot between full-blown Trumpism and the anti-Trump wing of the party.

But after Jan. 6, and ahead of this year’s midterms, more extreme factions of the Republican Party have cast him less as a vision for the future and more as a symbol of what needs snuffing out.

The once-in-a-decade redistricting process gives those factions a structural advantage. On the ground in Texas, we explore the impact of redistricting and speak to Mr. Crenshaw about the state of his party.

Guest: Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• Competitive districts are disappearing in Texas and beyond. Consider the case of a once-rising Republican star, Dan Crenshaw, in the Houston suburbs.

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