As Texas Republicans prepare for mid-decade redistricting, cautionary tales loom from the past
Source: Texas Tribune
As Texas Republicans prepare for mid-decade redistricting, cautionary tales loom from the past
Spurred by President Donald Trump’s political team, Texas lawmakers will try to redraw the state’s congressional map to boost Republicans — but some GOP incumbents are uneasy.
By Kayla Guo
July 10, 2025
5 AM Central
As Texas Republicans prepare to redraw the state's congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, cautionary tales loom from past redistricting efforts that saw the state’s rapid demographic change collide with far-reaching partisan gerrymandering.
The move to carve out more GOP seats in Texas was unveiled Wednesday by Gov. Greg Abbott, who included redistricting in a sweeping 18-item agenda for the Legislature's upcoming special session. The announcement ended weeks of speculation over whether Texas Republicans would follow through on demands from President Donald Trump's political advisers, who have been pushing for the rare mid-decade redistricting gambit to improve the GOP's chances of retaining its slim majority in Congress.
Some Republicans, including members of Texas' congressional delegation, oppose the idea over concerns about jeopardizing their own seats if they miscalculate with the new districts.
A recent test case unfolded after the 2010 U.S. Census, when Republicans who controlled the Texas Legislature looked to maximize their party’s seats across the map by drawing reliable GOP voters into nearby Democratic districts and turning them red.
But by 2018, ...
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Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/10/texas-redistricting-congressional-districts-past-mistakes-overreach/