The magenta mammoth

摘要

It is a sweltering day in Austin, but that has not deterred Emily Clark from spending hours registering students at the University of Texas to vote, dressed in a banana costume. Ms Clark is a volunteer for move Texas, a group that registers and campaigns for young people and minorities in state politics. Democrats have high hopes that groups such as move can help them win statewide elections in what they see as a battleground state. The Economist's number-crunching suggests such thoughts are, as Texans say, too big for their britches. For years Democrats have predicted that Texas was just a few election cycles away from becoming a toss-up state. At an event in Austin on September 28th Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, said that Texas is Democrats' "hope for the future" of the party. Texas is more racially diverse and younger than the country at large. Non-whites lean heavily Democratic and young Americans are the most Democratic generation of all.