Texas approves new congressional map favoring Republicans
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Texas lawmakers pass a mid-decade redistricting plan giving Republicans up to five new congressional seats. Democrats vow legal challenges as the fight spreads nationwide.
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Texas state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, right, questions Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, during debate over a bill before a vote on a redrawn US congressional map during a special session in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas, Friday, August 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Texas Senate has given final approval to a controversial congressional map that significantly strengthens Republican prospects ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The plan, driven by US President Donald Trump’s calls to secure the GOP’s fragile House majority, could hand Republicans as many as five additional seats.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is expected to quickly sign the measure into law. Democrats, however, have pledged swift legal action, arguing the maps dilute the voting power of minority communities and violate the Voting Rights Act.
This unusual mid-decade redistricting began in July 2025 when the US Department of Justice warned that four majority-minority districts in Houston and Fort Worth were racially gerrymandered. Abbott seized on the letter to call a special session, citing “constitutional concerns.”
Critics noted the contradiction, as Texas officials had previously insisted race played no role in drawing boundaries during the 2021 mapmaking process. Observers argue that the sudden shift provided political cover for Trump’s demand to redraw the districts in Republicans’ favor.
Partisan showdown in the legislature
The Texas House approved the maps on August 20 in an 88–52 party-line vote, following a two-week Democratic walkout aimed at delaying the process. Two days later, the Senate followed suit after Democrats attempted to block the measure.
Senator Carol Alvarado led the final resistance, announcing plans for a filibuster to stall the vote. “Republicans think they can walk all over us. Today I’m going to kick back,” she declared on social media. But Republican leaders quickly shut down the move with a procedural motion, clearing the way for passage.
Republicans think they can walk all over us. Today I'm going to kick back.
— Carol Alvarado (@CarolforTexas) August 22, 2025
I’ve submitted my intention to filibuster the new congressional maps.
Going to be a long night.#FairMaps #StandWithCarol pic.twitter.com/O5MbxaSeA1
Republicans defended the plan as legal and necessary. Senator Phil King, who sponsored the measure, said he had “two goals in mind: that all maps would be legal and would be better for Republican candidates in Texas.”
The redrawn map dismantles several Democratic-leaning districts in Austin, Houston, and Dallas–Fort Worth, while reshaping others in South Texas to favor Republicans. Among those targeted are Democratic Representatives Al Green, Marc Veasey, Julie Johnson, Greg Casar, and Lloyd Doggett.
Legal battles on the horizon
Civil rights organizations have already announced plans to challenge the new districts in federal court, with a three-judge panel expected to hear arguments as early as September. Lawsuits are expected to center on claims that the maps intentionally weaken the voting power of Black and Latino communities.
The stakes are high. Republicans currently control 25 of Texas’s 38 congressional seats, but the new plan would boost that number to 30. With the GOP holding a razor-thin 219–212 majority in the House, even small shifts could determine control of Congress in 2026.
The Texas move has sparked retaliatory efforts across the country, ushering in what experts describe as an unprecedented “redistricting arms race.”
Republican-led states, including Indiana, Missouri, and Ohio are exploring similar mid-decade efforts, aiming to flip Democratic districts into GOP control. At the same time, Democratic strongholds are preparing countermeasures.
California has already passed legislation redrawing its map to flip five Republican-held seats, with voters set to weigh in during a November special election. New York, Illinois, and Maryland are also examining possible responses, though legal and constitutional hurdles may slow their efforts.
Broader implications
The redistricting battle underscores how gerrymandering has shifted from a once-a-decade process tied to the census into a continual partisan weapon. The Supreme Court’s 2019 decision limiting federal oversight of partisan gerrymandering has left enforcement largely to state courts, further fueling aggressive redistricting strategies.
Legal experts warn that the outcome of upcoming challenges, including a Supreme Court case from Louisiana scheduled for October, could further erode protections under the Voting Rights Act.
