(The Center Square) – A redistricting showdown is in full swing in Texas and California with House Republicans and Democrats scrambling to secure their party’s majority during the second half of Trump 2.0.
Changes to the congressional map are usually reserved for end-of-decade Census years, but lawmakers in battleground states are using redistricting as a political tool to win a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives next year, when all House seats are up. With a near 50/50 split between Democrats and Republicans in Congress’ lower chamber, every seat will count in the midterm elections. Republicans currently hold a slight, 219-212, advantage with four seats open.
Texas and California will be in the hot seat in 2026. With 38 and 52 seats in the House, respectively, their congressional delegations have staggering influence over whether President Donald Trump’s policies are signed into law. As a result, the Republican-to-Democrat ratio will hugely affect how much Trump is able to accomplish during the last two years of his presidency.
Texas Republicans are aiming to shift the Lone Star State’s congressional map to turn several historically blue House seats red. Their proposed map was unveiled in the state legislature last week, and a state House committee advanced the proposed new map on Saturday.
Rather than solely focusing on campaigning efforts in Democrat-controlled districts, Texas Republicans are seeking to alter the pool of voters in these districts to make a Republican victory more likely. In the proposed new congressional map, the GOP is looking to secure up to five additional seats in the U.S. House.
Texas has seen massive population increases since 2021, and voter patterns last year show majority Hispanic districts leaned Republican, The Center Square reported.
Texas Democrats are calling the Republican-led state legislature’s proposed map “outrageously gerrymandered” and warned that Republicans’ redistricting efforts may spread to other states.
“If Trump is allowed to rip the Voting Rights Act to shreds here in Central Texas, his ploy will spread like wildfire across the country,” said U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, who represents Texas’s 35th district. “Everyone who cares about our democracy must mobilize against this illegal map.”
The new congressional map means Republicans could move from controlling 25 to 30 of Texas’ 38 House seats. The map may change before it’s officially approved by the state legislature and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is clapping back at Republican efforts in Texas by vowing to redraw his own state’s congressional map in favor of Democrats. Newsom said he will “fight fire with fire” when announcing plans to call a special election in early November to jumpstart the redistricting process.
California has the most congressional seats in the country, and Democrats control 43 of the 52 districts. This leaves nine Republican seats for Newsom to target when redrawing California’s congressional map.
Redistricting efforts will be trickier in California because of the state’s independent redistricting commission established nearly two decades ago. California law requires a special election to be called in which voters will be asked to put a new congressional map in place until 2030. Newsom signaled this election will take place Nov. 4.
A new congressional map is also on the table in Ohio ahead of its current map’s expiration date in 2026. Republicans are looking to use their control of Ohio’s state legislature to shore up more red seats when redrawing district lines.
