Texas Republicans surprised legislators nationwide earlier this month when Governor Greg Abbott introduced a particular legislative session for flood reduction would additionally deal with drafting a brand new electoral map forward of the 2026 midterms. Texas’ redistricting effort resulted in a map that creates 5 new Home seats in districts President Trump gained by double digits in 2024.
In keeping with Politico, the brand new electoral map was revealed on Wednesday, and as anticipated, it completely advantages state Republicans. The brand new map makes districts held by Democratic Reps Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez redder, whereas additionally packing Democratic voters into reliably blue districts. The map forces Democratic Representatives Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett to major in opposition to one another and creates 5 empty seats in districts Trump gained by 10-15 factors final yr. With simply over a yr till the 2026 midterms, each Democrats and Republicans must rush to recruit candidates to marketing campaign for these seats.
Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries met with state Democrats in Austin on Wednesday to debate how to answer the brand new map. Texas Democrats have repeatedly floated strolling out of the particular session to interrupt quorum and stop the map from gaining approval. The particular session is ready to finish on Aug. 19, although Gov. Abbott may name one other particular session to ensure the map is accepted.
Texas’s redistricting effort has spurred a number of different states to evaluate their electoral maps as properly. Ohio Republicans have additionally begun a redistricting effort, particularly focusing on Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes’ seat. Whereas many Democratic leaders have criticized Texas’s redistricting effort as blatant gerrymandering, that hasn’t prevented a number of Democrat-led states from publicly floating the concept of starting a redistricting effort themselves.
New York lately unveiled a invoice permitting the state to interact in a mid-decade redistricting if one other state did it first, although any new map within the state wouldn’t come into play till 2028 on the soonest. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been probably the most bullish on redistricting, pushing for state Democrats to approve drawing up a brand new map to go tit for tat with Texas.
Whereas in Texas, the facility to redistrict lies solely with the state legislature, in lots of Democrat-led states, redistricting energy lies with impartial commissions, thus creating constitutional constraints on their means to shortly draw up new maps.
It’s price noting that whereas the Texas particular session was introduced underneath the pretense of flood reduction, few of the payments submitted throughout the pre-file interval had something to do with the current floods. Add in the truth that we’ve heard extra about this new map than any laws supposed to offer help to these affected by the floods, and it offers the looks that the Texas GOP exploited this devastating tragedy to additional their very own political agenda.
The truth that we’re speaking about widespread redistricting in 2025 is extremely uncommon, on condition that conventional redistricting solely happens as soon as each decade. Presently, the GOP solely holds a razor-thin majority within the Home, with Democrats solely needing to internet three seats for management to flip subsequent yr. Texas’s redistricting effort got here on the behest of President Trump, who desires to keep up the Republican majority by any means vital.
Apparently, one of the simplest ways to do this isn’t by implementing insurance policies which are truly fashionable and helpful for the American public, however by rigging maps for political benefit. It’s efforts like these that make it laborious to place confidence in American democracy. It’s now not about one of the best concepts and insurance policies successful, however who can manipulate methods one of the best.
This obvious race to the underside is horrible for Individuals of all backgrounds. Irrespective of who’s doing the gerrymandering, the top result’s a selected group (typically Black of us, let’s be actual) getting disenfranchised.
SEE ALSO:
Texas Dems Combat Redistricting Effort By Filibusters
Critics Name Texas Governor’s New Congressional Map Gerrymandering
