Texas GOP seeks to gain up to five House seats with redistricting plan; Democrats cry foul

Texas Republicans released a draft congressional district map Wednesday that could net them as many as five more seats in the U.S. House, as the party seeks to shore up its numbers ahead of what it fears will be tough 2026 elections.

The new map would shift current Democratic-held seats in the state’s major metropolitan areas more toward Republicans, giving them chances to improve on their current 25-12 split in the state’s delegation to the House.

Democrats labeled the effort a “power grab” meant to benefit President Trump and prepared to flee the state to try to block the Legislature from approving updated maps. That would set up a clash with state Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican who has said they should be arrested if they “run away and hide like cowards.”

If Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, signs off on changes, dominoes could start to tumble in Democratic-majority states. Democrats have said they could revisit their lines to try to squeeze more congressional seats out of their maps.

Mr. Abbott said he expects that to happen.

“This is a national-based issue. Don’t think Texas is the only state that’s doing this,” the governor told the “Texas Trio,” a political affairs program. “Texas is the first in line because our primaries are earlier.”

The Texas Legislature is now meeting in a special session, and Mr. Abbott has put redistricting on the agenda.

State Rep. Todd Hunter unveiled the map Wednesday, the first to be submitted. It is seen as an opening salvo in what is expected to be fierce negotiations.

The map consolidates people who generally have voted Democratic into a handful of districts and then spreads around Republican voters in other areas, shifting the voting potential.

It could create primary battles between several pairs of Democrats, who could lose large parts of their constituencies to bordering districts.

The Texas Tribune reported that Mr. Trump would have carried 30 of the 38 districts under the proposed lines. Last year, he carried 27 of the districts, and Republicans won House races in 25 of them.

Republicans are targeting the seats of Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, whose districts border some that Mr. Trump carried in 2024. They also aim to boot Rep. Julie Johnson from her Dallas area district and push pairs of Democrats to run against each other.

Rep. Sylvia Garcia, a Texas Democrat who would stand to have her district packed with more Democratic voters, said the map is an attempt to cheat voters eager to express their displeasure with Mr. Trump’s tenure.

“This is about every voter in Texas who expects fair representation. It’s about protecting the American principle that people choose their elected leaders, not the other way around,” she said.

States usually redistrict after each decennial census but can do so anytime.

Indeed, Democrats did the same thing in New York in 2024, netting three seats in last year’s elections.

New York Democrats are threatening another round of redistricting if Texas moves forward with Republicans’ plans.

Each party strikes when it can and loudly objects when it is the victim.

Eric H. Holder Jr., U.S. attorney general under President Obama and now head of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, cheered last year when New York redrew its map to aid Democrats, but he lashed out at Republicans on Wednesday and called the Texas redrawing “anti-democracy.”

“Just as we have throughout our inception, we stand strong against this unjust attempt to thwart the will of the people,” he said.

Democrats accused Mr. Trump of pushing Republican-led states to consider redistricting.

As evidence, they pointed to a recent letter from the Justice Department to Texas saying at least four of the state’s congressional districts may be illegal “coalition districts,” drawn specifically to maximize minority voting power.

Mr. Abbott said that letter prompted him to pursue redistricting.

“We are no longer compelled to have coalition districts, and as a result, we can draw maps to not have coalition districts, and through that process, maximizing the ability of Texans to be able to vote for their candidate of choice,” the governor told “Texas Trio.”