Texas House of Representatives approves new Republican electoral map after failed a Democratic boycott
The proposal pointedly redraws districts in historically Democratic areas, in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and South Texas.
Gov. Greg Abbott, who pushed the bill, in a file image
The Texas House of Representatives, controlled overwhelmingly by Republicans, approved a new electoral map Wednesday that could give the GOP as many as five additional seats in the federal House of Representatives. The move comes after a two-week boycott by the state's Democrats, who walked off the floor and fled Texas in an attempt to stop the initiative. However, after weeks of breaking a quorum, the lawmakers who defected finally returned to Austin without having succeeded in stopping the vote.
The bill, which passed 88-52 in a vote that followed strictly party lines, was introduced by Republican lawmaker Todd Hunter of Corpus Christi.
The proposal redraws districts in historically Democratic areas such as Austin, Dallas, Houston, and South Texas. In doing so, Republicans strengthened their chances of expanding their control in the House without jeopardizing the 25 districts they already hold comfortably in the state.
Improving Republican political performance.
“Redistricting can be done at any point in time,” he said. “The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward: improve Republican political performance.”
Democrats, meanwhile, continue to denounce the proposal as an electorally discriminatory attempt pushed by President Donald Trump to ensure a Republican majority in Congress in the 2026 midterm elections.
Representative Chris Turner was the Democratic standard-bearer for criticizing the bill. “In a democracy, people choose their representatives. This bill flips that on its head and lets politicians in Washington, DC, choose their voters.”
However, Republicans have argued that Democrats themselves have engaged in such practices in the past in other states. This partisan redistricting is known as gerrymandering and has become a common practice in the United States. Indeed, in response to Republican efforts in Texas, California Democrats, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, launched their redistricting process to gain five additional seats heading into the 2026 midterms.
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During the special session, Republicans also rejected all 12 amendments filed by Democrats, including proposals that sought to delay implementation of the map until a federal court determines that it does not infringe on minority voting rights.
The plan now advances directly to the state Senate, which already approved a similar version days earlier, and Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign it into law in the coming days, cementing one of the most hotly debated issues in the state's recent history.
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