Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday the state Legislature will focus on redistricting during a special session later this year, as Republicans look to defend their narrow House majority in 2026.
The move could potentially reshape the state’s congressional map — which already heavily favors Republicans.
President Donald Trump’s allies have encouraged Texas Republicans to redraw the state’s maps to create more House districts that favor Republicans ahead of next year’s midterms.
POLITICO previously reported that members of the Texas delegation to Congress were wary about a potential redraw. “This is a political play fraught with tons of land mines that the Texas Leg[islature] and governor would never do but for requests from outside,” one Texas GOP lawmaker, granted anonymity to discuss the dynamics, told POLITICO last month.
A bid to make some blue or blue-leaning seats more GOP-leaning would necessitate moving Republican-leaning voters out of safer red districts. In wave years, those now less-red seats could become vulnerable to a Democratic pickup — which is sometimes known as a “dummymander,” a play on gerrymandering.
Texas is currently facing a lawsuit over the congressional maps the state drew in 2021 after claims that the maps underrepresented nonwhite Texas voters. The Department of Justice originally filed the lawsuit during the Biden administration but withdrew from the challenge after Trump returned to office.
