Washington In recent days, an unusual mid-decade redistricting battle in Texas became more heated and spread to other states, driven by President Donald Trump’s efforts to strengthen the U.S. House’s razor-thin GOP majority in the 2026 midterm elections.
Lawsuits surfaced, members of Congress promised bills to stop redistricting wars, and a few blue and red states considered their own redistricting plans as Democratic lawmakers in the Lone Star State left to stop a new congressional map.
A full-scale arms race may be on the horizon, even though Texas is the only state that has formally moved to redraw its U.S. House borders thus far.
Here is a summary of the redistricting dispute as it develops:
At Trump’s request, Texas Republicans created a new congressional map that may provide the GOP with five significant additional congressional seats in 2026.
A president’s party usually loses congressional seats in midterm elections.
With four vacancies, Democrats currently hold 212 members in the House, while the GOP currently holds 219 seats. As he attempts to implement Trump’s expansive agenda and accommodate the president’s requests as well as factions within the GOP conference, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, has faced tremendous obstacles due to that incredibly tight margin.
Despite the fact that congressional districts are normally redrawn every ten years after every U.S. Census, the change is not unusual and is permitted, especially in Texas.
In late July, Texas Republicans revealed a draft of the new congressional map, which aims to redraw and flip Democratic-held districts in key metro regions.
The Texas Tribune reports that in early July, the Department of Justice wrote to Texas officials claiming that four of its districts were in violation of the U.S. Constitution. According to the Tribune, those districts would be destroyed on the proposed map.
According to the Tribune, over fifty Democratic lawmakers from Texas departed the state in an attempt to prevent the legislature from approving the new plan.
Governor Greg Abbott of Texas is furious about this action and even filed a lawsuit to have state Representative Gene Wu, the chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, removed after Wu departed the state.
Additionally, on Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stated that he would seek a court decision that would render the seats open to House Democrats who fail to return by Friday.
GOP in Texas Additionally, U.S. Senator John Cornyn has urged the FBI to do whatever it can to support Texas state law enforcement in their attempts to track down or apprehend fugitive criminals. When a reporter asked Trump on Tuesday if the FBI should become involved, he replied, “Well, they might have to.”
Before the 2026 elections, California Governor Gavin Newsom has been one of the most outspoken Democratic governors to propose redrawing his populous blue state’s own borders in retaliation against Texas Republicans.
Compared to Texas, mid-decade redistricting is more difficult in California and other Democratic states due to state rules.
Newsom has stated that he would push state lawmakers to temporarily abandon California’s nonpartisan commission in order to join the arms race he claims Trump initiated in Texas, despite pro-democracy organizations hailing it as the gold standard of independent redistricting.
Newsom defended his investigation into mid-decade redistricting in the Golden State during a press conference on Monday, calling Trump’s recent and history record anti-democratic.
According to Newsom, these people do not follow the rules. They will alter the rules if they are unable to win the game with the current set. Donald Trump has done just that. This individual attempted to destroy this nation and set democracy on fire on January 6. He is aware that he will lose the midterms.
According to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to travel to Indiana on Thursday in an effort to promote redistricting.
When asked about redistricting plans in the Hoosier State, Indiana GOP Governor Mike Braun stated that no pledges have been made as of yet, according to the Capital Chronicle.
Regarding possible redistricting in Indiana to gain one or two GOP seats in Congress, Indiana Governor Mike Braun was cautious in his remarks on Tuesday. (Image courtesy of Indiana Capital Chronicle/Whitney Downard)
In reaction to Texas, the leaders of many major Democratic states, including California, are thinking about redistricting as well.
In an opinion piece that appeared in the Houston Chronicle on Tuesday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared that she would not stand by and let Republicans destroy democracy.
Hochul remarked, “What Texas is doing is not a smart move; it is political arson, burning our democracy to preserve power.” Fighting fire with fire is the only practical solution.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker joined Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin and other Democratic politicians from Texas who were banished. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Pritzker stated that the state might try to redistrict.
During a Democratic Governors Association meeting in Wisconsin last week, several Democratic governors, including Laura Kelly of ruby-red Kansas, even hinted at the possibility of pursuing mid-decade redistricting if Texas moves forward.
Republican states are thinking about joining the battle as well.
Following pressure from Trump, Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O. Laughlin, a Republican, told a local radio station last week that lawmakers would probably meet in a special session to redraw district lines.
Additionally, Republicans in the state were discussing possible redistricting, according to the Nebraska Examiner. Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican who now occupies the most competitive of Nebraska’s three U.S. House seats but intends to resign, told the publication.
Efforts to reform the redistricting process may suffer if an arms race is started to speed up the cycle for redrawing congressional lines.
Democrats were advised not to react to Texas by Common Cause, a nationwide pro-democracy organization that supports election changes such as nonpartisan redistricting.
Emily Eby French, the policy director for Common Cause Texas, stated during a news conference last week that a redistricting arms race will only lead to fraudulent elections across the United States. Putting a thumb on the scale through redistricting was wrong for Republicans, but it was also bad for Democrats, she argued.
In order to achieve free and fair elections for all, Democrats must assist us in removing the Republican thumb off the Texas scale and every other scale in the United States.
Trump has repeatedly encouraged lawmakers in Texas to strengthen the GOP majority there, and his lobbying seemed to spur Texas Republicans to action.
He claimed on CNBC on Tuesday that Republicans in Texas should have five extra House seats.
On July 31, 2025, Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, is seen outside a coffee shop in Portland, Oregon. (States Newsroom/Jacob Fischler photo)
In Illinois, DNC chair Martin reacted.
He asserted that no party has a claim to any area. We must get out there and win the votes.
Martin, however, suggested that Democrats in blue states should take the opposite tack and reply to Texas Republicans in kind.
Martin said last week in an interview with States Newsroom that Democratic states should abandon their pledge to use nonpartisan redistricting in reaction to Texas.
He stated that the purpose of our presence was not to tie one hand behind our back. We can’t be the sole group following the guidelines.
Bills to prohibit similar activities are being introduced in Congress by at least two GOP House lawmakers from blue states who are considering retaliatory redistricting attempts against Trump.
This week, California Republican Representative Kevin Kiley filed a bill in the House that would outlaw mid-decade redistricting nationwide.
In a statement earlier this week, Kiley claimed that Newsom is attempting to undermine the will of the electorate and do long-term harm to California democracy.
Thankfully, he argued, Congress can utilize its power under the U.S. Constitution’s Elections Clause to defend California voters. Additionally, this will prevent a destructive redistricting battle from erupting nationwide.
Additionally, Republican Representative Mike Lawler of New York stated that he intends to draft legislation that would forbid mid-decade redistricting and partisan gerrymandering.
This is the main reason why Congress is dysfunctional, the New York Republican told CNN on Tuesday. He added that since there are no competitive districts, the majority of lawmakers are preoccupied with primaries rather than participating in a general election.
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