The influx of Californians has become one of the top issues in Texas ahead of Tuesday’s election in the United States. In McKinney, a city that has drawn many newcomers from the West Coast in recent years, some of the new residents still say they support Democrats, who govern the states they left, often because of conditions there. That worries longtime residents of the city and the state, which have been a Republican stronghold for decades.
The issue of Democratic voters arriving in the Republican Lone Star State was raised in a Fox News Digital report from McKinney. One of the people the network spoke with was Oren, who moved to Texas about a year ago because of the lower cost of living. He sees no contradiction in voting, in his new home, for the party in power that pushed him out of his previous one. Oren says Texas should invest in expanding public services, including transportation. He would also like to see “health care for transgender children” provided.
Daniel, who works at a local restaurant and came to McKinney several years ago to start a business here, spoke along similar lines to Fox News reporters. Daniel summed up the issue briefly: Americans have the free right to move between states and the same freedom to vote for whomever they want. Asked about Texans’ concerns that people arriving from other states will bring about political change, he said that “everything changes.”
Residents who have lived in McKinney for decades see the situation quite differently. Terry, a longtime resident of the city, acknowledged that she is pleased with the economic growth and the arrival of new residents, but she worries it is a “double-edged sword.” “I love watching the growth, and there’s really a lot of it, but if they bring Democratic politics here with them, we could ruin all of it,” she said.
Clint, who came from neighboring Oklahoma, took a similar position. He pointed to a contradiction he sees between moving for lower taxes and supporting politicians who favor higher public spending, which then has to be paid for with tax increases.
The author of the Fox News Digital report, David Marcus, noted that similar concerns about domestic migration are also emerging in Arizona, Montana and West Virginia. In his view, people from traditionally “blue” states moving to Republican regions could significantly affect local politics in the long run. At the same time, he noted that population growth increases a state’s chances of gaining new electoral votes and greater representation in Congress.
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