By Scott Harvey
Austin – After a marathon debate that dragged into the wee morning hours, the GOP-led Texas House has approved a redistricting plan that would all but guarantee a continued Republican majority - albeit a smaller one than the party has now.
The map, approved on a 92-52 vote Thursday, would pit several Republicans against each other, including local state representatives Dan Flynn and Erwin Cain, should the two run again in 2012.
Some Republicans wanted to make the map a much bolder grab for conservative seats. The effort fizzled.
The House map faces another procedural hurdle before it can move to the Senate.
Flynn and Cain, who represent the citizens of Districts 2 and 3, had drawn up their own maps that equaled less district pairings, but they did not come up for vote.