In Austin, Texas, Governor Greg Abbott approved a new congressional voting map on Friday, aiming to bolster Republican seats in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections. This decision aligns with President Donald Trump’s objective to maintain a narrow GOP majority in the U.S. House.

The creation of this Texas map during an unusual mid-decade redistricting has sparked intense opposition from Democrats, igniting a battle over gerrymandering for voter influence across various states.

“Texas is now more red in the United States Congress,” Abbott said in a video he posted on X of him signing the legislation.

Prior to Texas’ move, California enacted legislation asking voters to consider new Democratic-leaning districts as a countermeasure against potential Republican advancements in Texas.

Historically, the president’s party tends to lose congressional seats during midterm elections. Nationally, the configuration of current districts places Democrats within three seats of claiming a majority.

In response, Texas Democrats have announced plans to legally contest the new map. Their protest included a two-week delay by exiting Texas on August 3 to gather national support. Upon their return, they faced constant police monitoring to ensure participation in debates.

But the large Republican majority in the Texas Legislature made its ultimate passage all but inevitable.

The head of Texas’ Democratic Party criticized Abbott, saying he and Republicans “effectively surrendered Texas to Washington” with the new map.

Kendall Scudder, the state Democratic Party Chairman, criticized the move, stating, “They boast about being ‘Texas Tough,’ yet they quickly caved to Donald Trump’s demands, prioritizing political motives over Texans’ interests. It’s frankly disappointing.”

Because the Supreme Court has blessed purely partisan gerrymandering, the only way opponents can stop the new Texas map would be by arguing in court that it violates the Voting Rights Act requirement to keep minority communities together so they can select representatives of their choice.

Republican leaders have denied the map is racially discriminatory and contend the new map creates more new majority-minority seats than the previous one. They have also been explicit in their desire to draw a new map for a goal of electing more Republicans.

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This version corrects when Democrats left Texas to Aug. 3 instead of July.