Texas Set To Pass New Congressional Map Amid Mid-Decade Redistricting Push

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Texas Democrats returned to the state House this week, where a controversial plan to redraw congressional maps is expected to pass as soon as tomorrow. More than 50 state Democrats had fled Texas for two weeks to deny the GOP-controlled legislature a quorum.

  • State Rep. Nicole Collier, a Democrat from Fort Worth, said she was locked inside the House chamber overnight Monday after refusing to comply with a new Republican rule requiring Democratic members to be escorted by state police. She was later allowed to return to her office.

    • Republicans argue that mandatory Department of Public Safety escorts are necessary to prevent further quorum breaks, but Collier called the rule an infringement on her rights and dignity.

It comes as Texas has now triggered a national push in blue and red states to redraw congressional maps mid-decade — breaking from the usual once-a-decade redistricting that follows the release of U.S. census data.

HOW WE GOT HERE
President Trump pushed Texas to redraw the congressional maps in order to gain five more Republican seats. In response, California’s governor is moving to add five Democratic seats through a special election this fall.

  • Other Republican-controlled states — including Ohio, Florida, Indiana, and Missouri — are exploring redistricting options, while New York, Illinois, and Maryland are doing the same on the Democratic side. Though formal plans have not been announced.

The fight comes ahead of the 2026 midterms, with Republicans holding a slim 219-212 House majority (plus four vacancies) and working to keep control. Democrats want to flip the House.

THE BREAKDOWN
States’ U.S. House makeup doesn’t always match the percentage of votes cast for president, which could be a sign of gerrymandered congressional districts — the practice of manipulating district lines to favor one political party over another.

Mo News compared the party breakdown in the U.S. House for states considering redistricting with how those states voted in the 2024 presidential race.

CA: 43 D - 9 R (83% Dem House Seat Control)

If new maps are passed, state courts could intervene to stop partisan gerrymandering. That happened in New York in 2022.

THE BIGGER PICTURE
There are some clear losers to gerrymandered maps: fair representation, competitive elections, and American democracy.

  • According to Time, extreme gerrymandering that's being proposed could effectively decide control of nearly 200 of the 435 House seats nationwide.

    • Bottom line: That will mean fewer competitive seats and could reduce representatives’ willingness to work across the aisle — all while Congress has increasingly struggled to pass legislation in recent years.

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