The Texas House has passed its gerrymandered election map after weeks of unrest within its chambers.
The new map adds five seats that are winnable by Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The redraw was done at the behest of Donald Trump.
Nationwide, the Republicans have a small lead in the U.S. House and their aim is to hold on, if not improve, their positioning after the 2026 election so that Democrats are unable to obstructs Donald Trump’s plans.
In response to Texas’s new gerrymandered map, the California legislature with support of Governor Gavin Newsom has planned to undertake its own redistricting to add more Democratic seats. Former President Obama has applauded the move.
Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi and the map’s sponsor, made it clear that the Republicans were legally permitted to pursue redistricting in the middle of the decade and to maximize partisan gain.
“Redistricting can be done at any point in time,” he said. “The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward: improve Republican political performance.”
The new maps trims the largely Democratic areas around Texas’s most prominent cities, namely Austin, Dallas, and Houston. The new maps also force Democrats into primaries due to how the maps push a small group of Democrats into seats that are already occupied by Democrats.
Although the SCOTUS ruled in 2019 that states could draw new maps mid-decade for partisan purposes, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act declares that changes cannot cause a detrimental effect toward voters of color.
Texas Democrats have slammed the maps because they pack people of color into certain districts, while spreading them out throughout other districts, thereby affecting the ability to elect choice candidates.
“This bill represents one of the most blatant assaults on fair representation we have seen in Texas,” Rep. Ana Hernandez, D-Houston, said. “Diversity is our greatest strength. It is what makes our neighborhoods vibrant, our workforce dynamic and our communities resilient. HB 4 silences that diversity instead of celebrating it.”
Now that the maps have been approved in the House, the state Senate must approve them before Governor Greg Abbott signs off on them to make them official.
