Texas Republicans concluded a legislative session on Friday without ratifying new congressional maps, but they were prepared to commence another session to align with President Donald Trump’s priorities for redistricting. This move aims to strengthen their party’s standing ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, as a fierce multistate battle over congressional control intensifies.
After Texas Republicans’ redistricting efforts were stalled by Democrats who didn’t attend a special session, Governor Greg Abbott, an ally of Trump, promptly summoned lawmakers to return, initiating a new session set to begin at noon CDT.
Meanwhile, California Democrats plan to release a proposal for new maps aimed at countering any Republican gains in Texas.
The nation’s two largest states are at the forefront of an ongoing partisan struggle that has reached numerous courts and legislative chambers controlled by both parties, with the future of Capitol Hill and Trump’s agenda at stake during the latter part of his presidency.
Texas Democrats, who left the state almost two weeks ago, have denied their Republican counterparts the quorum needed to conduct business and vote on Trump’s redistricting proposals. However, they have mentioned they will return to Austin for another session once California Democrats unveil their new plan, which they have been drafting in private.
Governor Abbott and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows have criticized Democratic lawmakers for abandoning their duties and hindering a legislative response to severe floods that resulted in over 130 deaths last month.
“The absent House Democrats neglected their responsibility to pass essential legislation that would benefit Texans,” Abbott stated on Friday, without explicitly mentioning the redistricting efforts.
Democrats argue that Republicans are responsible for the flood-response holdup by pairing the matter in special sessions with redistricting at Trump’s urging.
“We are in basically a cold Civil War that we’re starting by capitulating to a person in the White House,” said Rep. Eddie Morales, one of the few Democrats who has remained in Austin during the walkout.
RELATED: California moving forward with partisan redistricting effort to counter Texas’ move
Fight has gone national
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that his state will hold a Nov. 4 special election to seek approval of redrawn districts intended to give Democrats five more U.S. House seats.
“We can’t stand back and watch this democracy disappear district by district all across the country,” Newsom said at what amounted to a campaign kickoff rally for the as-yet unreleased maps. “We are not bystanders in this world. We can shape the future.”
Newsom’s announcement marked the first time any state beyond Texas has officially waded into the mid-decade redistricting fight, though several governors and legislative leaders from both parties have threatened such moves. The Texas plan was stalled when minority Democrats went to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts on Aug. 3 to stop the Legislature from passing any bills.
Trump has urged other Republican-run states to redraw maps, even dispatching Vice President JD Vance to Indiana to press officials there. In Missouri, a document obtained by The Associated Press shows the state Senate received a $46,000 invoice to activate six redistricting software licenses and provide training for up to 10 staff members. Florida legislative leaders have suggested they will consider redistricting in the fall.
Newsom encouraged other Democratic-led states to get involved.
“We need to stand up – not just California. Other blue states need to stand up,” Newsom said.
RELATED: Texas Democrats get boost from Obama for blocking GOP redistricting plan
House control could come down to a few seats in 2026
Republicans hold a 219-212 majority in the House, with four vacancies. New maps are typically drawn once a decade after the census is conducted. Many states, including Texas, give legislators the power to draw maps. California is among states that rely on an independent commission that is supposed to be nonpartisan.
The California map would take effect only if a Republican state moves forward, and it would remain through the 2030 elections. After that, Democrats say they would return mapmaking power to the independent commission approved by voters more than a decade ago.
In Los Angeles, Newsom and others depicted the looming battle as a conflict with all things Trump, tying it explicitly to the fate of American democracy.
“Donald Trump, you have poked the bear, and we will punch back,” said Newsom, a possible 2028 presidential contender.
Some people already have said they would sue to block the effort. Republican former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a longtime opponent of partisan redistricting, signaled that he won’t side with California Democrats even after talking to Newsom. On Friday he posted a photo of himself at the gym wearing a T-shirt that said. “Terminate gerrymandering” with a reference to an obscenity.
“I’m getting ready for the gerrymandering battle,” Schwarzenegger wrote on the social media post.
California Democrats hold 43 of the state’s 52 House seats.
Lawmakers must officially declare the special election, which they plan to do next week after voting on the new maps. Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers- enough to act without any Republican votes.
Copyright © 2025 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
