Keeping Up With Texas Redistricting Battle

Texas is locked in a high-stakes redistricting battle after Republican Governor Greg Abbott and state leaders initiated a rare mid-decade redistricting in order to create five new GOP-friendly congressional seats. The proposed map focuses on metro and South Texas areas like Austin, Dallas, and Houston. The push is to dilute minority voting strength, and would raise the number of majority-white districts to 24 of 38, potentially boosting Republican-held U.S. House seats from 25 to 30.

In recent news, democrats responded, with over 50 of their state House members fleeing Texas. Many went to Illinois and New York in order to deny quorum and stall the special session that began on July 21. In response to them doing that…, the Republican-controlled House issued civil arrest warrants, demanded daily fines of $500, and issued threats of office removal. Governor Abbott has further escalated things by filing a lawsuit with the Republican-led Texas Supreme Court to remove House Democratic leader, accusing him of abandoning his post; House Democratic Leader opposes what he deems a racially biased map.

This is growing nationally. States such as California, New York, Illinois, Maryland, and Wisconsin, which are led by democrats, are considering retaliatory redistricting efforts. All acts from both parties are definitely raising the stakes for the 2026 midterms.

Keeping Up With Texas Redistricting Battle  was originally published on thebeatdfw.com