That’s why Governor Greg Abbott just announced a large-scale plan to redraw Texas’s congressional districts. This decision has led to some of the most heated arguments between lawmakers and political analysts. This announcement follows the June 12th letter from the U.S. Written by Harmeet Dhillon, the letter accused four of Texas’ eight districts of being “racially gerrymandered” to protect Democrats. Abbott has used this unusual correspondence as an excuse for the redistricting initiative.
The Texas legislative special session starts on July 21. With Republicans enjoying a majority of over 60 in the House and 26 in the Senate, the governor’s conservative agenda – including the redistricting push – is almost certain to pass without a hitch. Additionally, Texas has 38 seats in the House of Representatives—second largest delegation in the country. As it stands now, Republicans control 25 of those seats, Democrats control 12, and there is a vacancy (the 18th district) due to the death of Democrat Sylvester Turner in March.
Democratic leaders have been vocally opposed to Abbott’s plan. They charge that he’s plotting to use the reallocation to tilt the electoral landscape in Republicans’ favor ahead of the 2026 midterms. Texas lawmakers have every intention of using the opportunity to pad some additional Republican districts. They’ll move out Republican voter districts into territories that historically voted Democratic.
Democratic State Rep. Gina Hinojosa denounced the Republican-drawn redistricting proposal at the time as a “blatant partisan power grab.” Her sentiments echo the concerns of Democratic leaders across the country about the impacts of such an action on election fairness.
“While Texans battle tragic and deadly flooding, Governor Abbott and House Republicans are plotting a mid-decade gerrymander. They should be modernizing emergency response — not rigging maps.” – Hakeem Jeffries, New York congressman and Democratic House leader
Though the Texas redistricting plan isn’t included, the uproar targeting Abbott’s directive — made public Wednesday — underscores what a difference redistricting could make in upcoming elections. John Bisognano, of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, described the redistricting as “an attack on democracy.” He continued to underscore the potentially dire impact this would have on the representation of voters.
Abbott’s administration has been on the defensive about the redrawing of maps. They say it’s key for making up for historical injustices like stemming from racially-motivated district drawing. The governor’s office argues that representation for all Texans should be fair and equitable.
The stakes of Abbott’s redistricting plan are high. This is why many analysts see it as so important. If successful, it could lock in Republican control of the state for the next decade. The consequences of this legislative session have the potential to not only rewrite local political coalitions, but even change the makeup of the national congressional delegation.
As the session draws near, Texas legislators will be in the spotlight. They’ll need to deal with divisive redistricting issue within national context of widespread political discord. The dispute, still being debated today, underscores larger issues of accountability, representation, and the health of American election and governance in the modern era.