And in 55 percent of that time span, the district's state senator was an Abilene product. In the '90s, though, nary a Taylor County resident has even filed for the Texas Senate. Taylor County Democratic Chairman David Dillman says it's highly unlikely a local Democrat will win a state committee slot in either district. No local person plans to run to his knowledge. One obvious major factor is that Taylor County was split between two state senate districts beginning with the 1994 election, the result of redistricting ping-pong bouncing back and forth between legislators and the courts.
Sheer mathematics tell.
With its voting strength split, Taylor County enjoys roughly half the leverage in each of the 24th and 30th senate districts as it used to wield as a whole county within the 24th. In the old days, the county could usually count on grabbing one of the two state executive committee posts in each party. Statler, Taylor County Republican Chairman Paul Washburn, and immediate past GOP County Chairman Larry Gill, all look forward to seeing the county unified within one senate district after redistricting in the year 2001. Taylor County can best be served by being in one Senate district. State Sen. Tom Haywood of Wichita Falls, who ousted incumbent Democrat Steve Carriker of Roby in the 1994 with the help of Taylor County voters added to District 30, leans toward keeping two senators serving the county.