AUSTIN, Texas – On Saturday, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas vowed to promptly approve a newly drawn congressional voting map that favors Republicans. This map is strategically crafted to help the GOP retain its narrow majority in Congress.
“One Big Beautiful Map has passed the Senate and is on its way to my desk, where it will be swiftly signed into law,” Abbott said in a statement.
Just hours prior, Texas legislators agreed on the final designs, fueling an already heated debate across states where governors from both parties are committing to redrawing maps to benefit their candidates in the 2026 midterm elections.
In a parallel move, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom in California has sanctioned a special election in November. The aim is for voters to decide on a reconfigured congressional map aimed at securing five additional House seats for Democrats in the coming year.
At the same time, former President Donald Trump has advocated for Republican-led states like Indiana and Missouri to revise their maps to boost GOP chances, while Ohio Republicans are set to adjust their maps for a more partisan advantage.
In Texas, the map includes five new districts that would favor Republicans.
Democrats vow to challenge it in court
The actions of Trump and the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature led state Democrats to stage a two-week walkout, sparking a series of redistricting initiatives nationwide.
Democrats had planned a final challenge to delay the Senate vote by extending it into the early morning hours, but Republicans thwarted this attempt by citing a breach of rules.
“What we have seen in this redistricting process has been maneuvers and mechanisms to shut down people’s voices,” said state Sen. Carol Alvarado, leader of the Senate Democratic caucus, on social media after the new map was finalized by the GOP-controlled Senate.
Democrats had already delayed the bill’s passage during hours of debate, pressing Republican Sen. Phil King, the measure’s sponsor, on the proposal’s legality, with many alleging that the redrawn districts violate the Voting Rights Act by diluting voters’ influence based on race.
King vehemently denied that accusation, saying, “I had two goals in mind: That all maps would be legal and would be better for Republican congressional candidates in Texas.”
“There is extreme risk the Republican majority will be lost” in the House if the map does not pass, King said.
Battle for the House waged via redistricting
On a national level, the partisan makeup of existing districts puts Democrats within three seats of a majority. The incumbent president’s party usually loses seats in the midterms.
The Texas redraw is already reshaping the 2026 race, with Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the dean of the state’s congressional delegation, announcing Thursday that he will not seek reelection to his Austin-based seat if the new map takes effect. Under the proposed map, Doggett’s district would overlap with that of another Democratic incumbent, Rep. Greg Casar.
Redistricting typically occurs once a decade, immediately after a census. While some states have their own limitations, there is no national impediment to a state trying to redraw districts in the middle of the decade.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2019 ruled that the Constitution does not prohibit partisan gerrymandering to increase a party’s clout, only gerrymandering that’s explicitly done by race.
‘Fight fire with fire’
More Democratic-run states have commission systems like California’s or other redistricting limits than Republican ones do, leaving the GOP with a freer hand to swiftly redraw maps. New York, for example, cannot draw new maps until 2028, and even then only with voter approval.
Republicans and some Democrats championed a 2008 ballot measure that established California’s nonpartisan redistricting commission, along with a 2010 one that extended its role to drawing congressional maps.
Both sides have shown concern over what the redistricting war could lead to.
California Assemblyman James Gallagher, the Republican minority leader, said Trump was “wrong” to push for new Republican seats elsewhere. But he warned that Newsom’s approach, which the governor has dubbed “fight fire with fire,” is dangerous.
“You move forward fighting fire with fire, and what happens?” Gallagher asked. “You burn it all down.”
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Cappelletti reported from Washington and Golden from Seattle. Associated Press writer Kimberlee Kruesi contributed to this report from Providence, Rhode Island.
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