Every little thing actually is greater in Texas — together with redistricting drama.
In keeping with state lawmakers and neighborhood leaders, the present GOP-led effort to redraw Texas’ congressional voting maps—5 years forward of schedule—threatens to silence the voices and votes of thousands and thousands of Black and Hispanic Texans.
The stakes are excessive. This unprecedented political transfer, reportedly ordered by President Donald Trump, may set a nationwide precedent for mid-cycle redistricting, probably defending the Republicans’ U.S. Home management after the 2026 midterms. Many political scientists imagine the Republicans are at risk of dropping the Home because of the nationwide unpopularity of a number of Trump insurance policies.
How did we get right here?
Redistricting—redrawing state congressional maps—has traditionally adopted the U.S. Census, mandated as soon as a decade since 1790. In 235 years, solely as soon as (in 1920) did redistricting not observe a census. However in 2025, Texas is about to buck that pattern.
The 2020 Census revealed that 95% of Texas’ inhabitants development got here from communities of colour, notably Hispanic/Latino and Black Texans. The state’s inhabitants grew by practically 4 million between 2010 and 2020. The Hispanic/Latino inhabitants grew by practically 2 million, the Black inhabitants grew by over 550,000 and the white inhabitants elevated by solely 187,000.
These demographic shifts earned Texas two new seats within the U.S. Home of Representatives. However as a substitute of reflecting the variety behind that development, the GOP-controlled legislature drew two majority-white districts, reinforcing Republican political energy.
On the July 26 Redistricting Listening to on the College of Houston, State Rep. Jon E. Rosenthal questioned the logic.
“After we added the 2 new districts that had been required as a result of we had so many new folks right here, how did they handle to attract these each to be majority white districts?” he requested.
Democrats, a minority within the state legislature, couldn’t cease the 2021 redistricting plan. In a dramatic try to dam the method, Home Democrats fled Austin to interrupt quorum—however after 37 days, they returned. Governor Greg Abbott signed the brand new maps into legislation on October 15, 2021.
Lawsuits adopted, together with Gutierrez v. Abbott and LULAC v. Abbott, alleging violations of the Voting Rights Act and the 14th Modification. Nonetheless, the 2021 map stood. Republicans defended their plan as “race-neutral.”
Why redistrict now?
This yr, the U.S. Division of Justice accused Texas Republicans of making illegal, racially motivated maps. However as a substitute of specializing in the missed alternative to create Hispanic/Latino districts, the DOJ pointed to 4 Democratic-leaning districts, all held by folks of colour:
District 9 – U.S. Rep. Al Inexperienced (Houston)
District 29 – U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (Houston)
District 33 – U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey (Fort Value)
District 18 – Vacant since U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner died March 5
A brand new District 18 consultant can be elected Nov. 4, an election that won’t be impacted by the present redistricting efforts.
“When you may have 4 districts, all of them represented by minority folks, and also you make them your targets, what’s it about? Racism,” stated Rep. Al Inexperienced. “That is about racism. We’ve to name it what it’s.”
On the Houston listening to on July 26, State Rep. Cody Thane Vasut, chair of the redistricting committee, claimed ignorance about why the difficulty was added to the Particular Session agenda—apart from that Governor Abbott put it there.
Trump has been much less delicate. Chatting with reporters, he stated he desires 5 further Home seats for Republicans from Texas alone.
“Only a easy redrawing, we decide up 5 seats,” Trump stated. “Texas could be the largest one.”
State Rep. Lauren Ashley Simmons (Dist. 146) criticized the transfer.
“Donald Trump has given an order to our governor… ‘Hey, I want 5 Republican seats out of Texas,’” Simmons stated. “What they’re attempting to do is rig our districts. That’s going to return on the expense of Black and Brown communities.”
U.S. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett criticized makes an attempt to border this concern as mere partisanship at a rally earlier than the July 26 listening to at UH.
“Some don’t need to discuss race. They are saying we’re partaking in identification politics and all this different bullshit,” stated Crockett. “However let me let you know one thing, that’s what the legislation is. Texas is a majority-minority state. They’re attempting to dilute the voices of the bulk on this state.”
On the identical rally, former presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke warned that the redistricting push wasn’t nearly flipping seats. It’s about controlling future elections.
“They’re attempting to steal the 2026 election proper now, in the summertime of 2025,” stated O’Rourke. “With out these 5 seats, there is no such thing as a approach [Trump] can maintain onto the bulk within the Home.”
O’Rourke believes the results lengthen past Texas.
“If we fail to carry these seats… then the consolidation of authoritarian energy on this nation can be practically unstoppable,” he stated, predicting a future the place political opponents are focused and civil liberties additional eroded.
Native, nationwide implications
In an interview with FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Value, Governor Abbott downplayed the controversy however confirmed Texas is setting the tempo.
“This can be a national-based concern. Don’t assume that Texas is the one state that’s doing this,” Abbott stated. “Texas is the primary in line as a result of our primaries are earlier.”
Many imagine different Republican-led states could observe swimsuit, utilizing “mid-cycle” redistricting to consolidate energy no matter inhabitants adjustments.
Ought to the GOP acquire 5 new congressional seats in Texas, it may tip the stability of the U.S. Home, undermining Democratic illustration and muting the affect of voters of colour.
For Dr. James Dixon, president of the NAACP Houston Department, the difficulty is private and pressing.
“You could vote as a result of SNAP is being lower, Medicaid, Medicare,” stated Dixon. “Your grandmother, your grandfather, your mother and father will endure should you don’t get up and vote… We’ve acquired to make it a precedence.”
Recourse and resistance
State Sen. Molly Cook dinner and State Rep. Jolanda Jones proposed a number of methods to push again:
Breaking quorum once more
Submitting new lawsuits
Demanding statewide hearings that embrace precise redistricting draft maps
Activists and lawmakers additionally urge voter schooling, mass turnout, and neighborhood organizing to fight disenfranchisement.
“Name your elected officers. Discuss to your neighbors. And vote like your life relies on it—as a result of for a lot of, it does,” stated one native organizer after the Houston listening to.
Texas has all the time been a political bellwether, and this yr it’s on the frontlines of a struggle over illustration, energy and race. Whether or not the redistricting push succeeds could not solely decide the stability of energy in Congress—it might additionally form the way forward for American democracy.
DN: Get a deeper dive into actions neighborhood members can take.
