STATE OF TEXAS 1. How many members of the U.S. House of Representatives currently represent the state you are studying? 2. How many members of the U.S. House representing the state are Democrats? How many are Republicans? 3. Who is the current governor of the state? Is he/she a Democrat or Republican? 4. Who are the state’s current U.S. senators? Are they Democrats or Republicans? 5. Who carried the state in the 2000 presidential election—Bush or Gore? How close was the popular vote in the state? Was it a close race in the state or not? 6. Who carried the state in the 2004 presidential election—Bush or Kerry? How close was the popular vote in the state? Was it a close race in the state or not? 7. Who carried the state in the 2008 presidential election—McCain or Obama? How close was the popular vote in the state? Was it a close race in the state or not? 8. Who carried the state in the 2012 presidential election—Romney or Obama? How close was the popular vote in the state? Was it a close race in the state or not? 9. How many electoral votes does the state have? What formula determines the number of electoral votes in a state? 10.What are blue states? 11.What are red states? 12.What are swing states? 13.Would you describe the state you are studying as a blue state, red state, or swing state? Write a paragraph explaining the reasoning behind your answer. Use the research you did to answer the questions above to help you with this question and the following questions. 14.What is a battleground state? 15.Would you expect the state to be a battleground state in the 2016 presidential election? Write a paragraph explaining the reasoning behind your answer. 16. Suppose you are a Democratic Party strategist planning for the 2016 election. Do you expect that your party will make a major campaign push in this state or not? (Assume your party does not have the financial resources to make a major campaign push in every state.) Write a paragraph explaining the reasoning behind your answer. Your answer should include a discussion of the state’s electoral votes and the level of competitiveness between the two parties in the state. Answer questions by number , treating the assignment as a series of short answer questions. Do not write a single, unified essay . .