Democratic or Republican?

For all Assessments, the following general requirements hold:

(1) Assignments should be 2-3 double-spaced pages, with reasonable (12 pt.) font and reasonable (1 inch) margins.

(2) Citations to the material and in-text citations are required(MLA style).

Why not you?  Why not now? 

For this project, you will hypothetically be running for office.  Choose whether you would like to run for the Texas House of Representatives OR the Texas State Senate.  We will be doing the project in chunks, as we cover the material in class, so tasks may be assigned out of sequence.

Preparing to run: 

1. Know your district.       Go to:  http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx,      and discover the district number, and who represents you in the Texas      house or state senate. Which political party is your state house/state      senate representative affiliated with? (if you choose to run as a House or      Senate representative, check the district that you want to run for.)
2. Go to your current      representative’s page, and look at the district analysis documents. 
   1. What does your district look       like (in terms of population, age, education, employment, election       results)?
   2. What issues arise based on the       district’s demographics (this will help you think about your platform)
   3. Is your district       gerrymandered? http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Info.aspx?rpts=maps

Your Platform, and Party Politics: (you have to take both surveys!) 

1. Know yourself.  Take these      surveys to identify your political leanings: 
   1. http://www.people-press.org/quiz/political-party-quiz/ (Political       party quiz)
   2. http://www.people-press.org/quiz/political-typology/        (Ideology quiz)
   3. Submit screenshots of       your results (both surveys). Explain your results.  What do they say       about you?
2. Given your results, and your      previous district analysis research, what is your platform?  Choose      at least 3 issue stands to develop.
3. Compare your issue stands with      the official party platforms of your party: 
   1. Texas Democratic Party       platform:http://www.txdemocrats.org/our-party/texas-democratic-party-platform/ 
   2. Texas Republican Party       platform: https://www.texasgop.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/PERM-PLATFORM.pdf
   3. Where do your ideas align with       the party?
   4. Where do your ideas diverge       from the party?