For this assignment you will pretend to be a candidate for one of the 150 seats in the Texas House of
Representatives. The assignment consists of 3 parts:
Part I: Paper (85% of your grade) – 4 complete pages (maximum 5)
Part II: Speech (10% of your grade) – 1 complete page
Part III: Yard sign (5% of your grade) -1 full page
The first part of the assignment will consist of a paper answering the following questions:
1. Go to the Texas Democratic Party’s and the Texas Republican Party’s websites and read about their
platforms. Briefly explain their political platform: what issues each political party supports and opposes.
Then, decide what political party you want to represent in your campaign and explain why.
Note: For this assignment you can only run as a member of one of the two major political parties in our
country, the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. If you have a different preference, that will be fine
but please e-mail me and let me know which one and why.
Go to http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/redist/redist.html Click on “Current Districts” and then select “State House”.
Go to Maps and click on Statewide Maps. Navigate the map of the 150 congressional districts in Texas.
Based on the political affiliation you chose and taking into consideration the information regarding the
different economic regions in Texas explained in chapter 1 of your textbook, pick the district that you would
like to represent. Fully explain why you decided to pick that particular district.
Tip: It will be easier to build your campaign if you pick a district whose incumbent is of the opposite political
party.
Important: Pay attention and do not confuse the U.S. House of Representatives and the Texas House of
Representatives! They are NOT the same.
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2. After you decide your political affiliation and the district you want to represent, find information regarding
the demographics of the district such as geography, population, ethnic breakdown, age breakdown,
average income per capita, main industries, main concerns, etc. and summarize your findings.
3. Based on your findings in item #2, plan your strategy. Decide what your core platform will be. Explain in
detail the 5 most important issues you will concentrate on during your campaign AND HOW are you going
to accomplish your goal.
4. Evaluate your opponent: Who is the incumbent you will campaign against? What weaknesses does your
opponent have that could hurt him/her win re-election? What are his/her strengths? Summarize your
findings.
5. Identify 3 interest groups in Texas that you would be interested in earning their endorsement to give
strength to your campaign. Which ones would they be and why?
Note: They must be real and specific interest groups in Texas; answers like ‘Hispanics’ or ‘women’, will not
be accepted.
6. Do some research and give an estimate on how much money you need to raise to campaign for this
office. Explain 5 specific strategies you will use to achieve this goal. Note: you must be specific on how and
where you would do this.
7. Do some research and find the list of permanent committees in the Texas House of Representatives.
Read about what they do and select 3 you would like to join if you are elected. Fully explain why.
Part II: Speech
For the second part of this assignment (in a separate sheet) you will write a campaign speech. This will be
the speech you will deliver to the people everywhere you go so make it a good one!
Part III: Yard Sign
For the third part of the assignment (in a separate sheet) you will design a yard sign. Come up with a
campaign slogan or catchy phrase and include it in your sign. Make sure your name and what you are
running for is clearly placed on it. Be creative!Paper Requirements
• Part #1 must be 4 complete pages (maximum 5). The amount of information you provide to answer each
question must be well balanced.
• Part #2 must be 1complete page
• Part #3 must be 1 complete page.
• Include a Reference page (this does not count as a page).
• Everything must be put together in one document. You will only be allowed to upload one document.
• All assignments must be submitted in Microsoft Word or PDF. No .pages or zip files or any other format
will be accepted.
• Use APA format, double-spaced, 1x1x1x1 margins; Arial or Time New Roman font size 12; good
grammar, good spelling, good word choice, good paragraph length, no contractions.
• You must have a minimum of 3 reliable sources; do not use Wikipedia. Plagiarism will not be tolerated.
• Your paper must be well organized, complete, well balanced and well written.
• Submit your assignment via D2L. Assignments emailed directly to me will not be accepted.
I want you to make a good grade in this assignment. Here is a list of common mistakes that you should
avoid:
1. Confusing the Texas House of Representatives with the U.S. House of Representatives and as a result,
choosing the wrong district to build your campaign.
2. Writing too much in questions #1 and #2 and not so much in the rest of the questions. All the information
must be well balanced.
3. Not giving proper credit to your sources in the body of your paper (“in-text citations”) and not having a
References page. If you need help with citation, contact the librarians at the college. They will be happy to
assist you. You can find many resources online too.
4. Not using reliable sources. If in doubt, contact the librarians at the college.
5. Not paying attention to grammar, spelling, and word choice. Do not use contractions. Pay attention to the
length of each of your paragraphs.
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6. Writing your essay in a question/answer format. It should be an essay format.
7. Not meeting the number of pages required (for instance, part I should be 4 complete pages, not 3 ½ or 3
¼).
8. Not submitting your assignment on time.