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With control of the narrowly divided U.S. House hanging in the balance in the 2026 midterm elections, Republicans in Texas at the urging of President Donald Trump unveiled their opening proposal Wednesday to redraw district boundaries that would give them five more safely red seats.
The GOP-led state legislature, which has convened in a special session to draft the plans and address this summer's deadly flooding in the state, released the preliminary maps after days of contentious hearings. In response, Texas Democrats spoke with national leaders about leaving the state to try to block Republicans from acting on the maps. And Democrats elsewhere threatened to retaliate against Republicans by adding Democratic seats in their states.
Texas Republicans have sought to portray their efforts as typical. Democrats in the state and beyond have decried the unusual mid-decade redistricting attempt as a partisan power grab to tilt the midterm elections so the GOP can hang onto its control of Congress. Republicans now have a 219-212 House majority with four vacancies.
The redrawing of maps typically takes place after the U.S. Census Bureau finishes its once-a-decade population count and can dramatically alter the balance of power between political parties. Rules for redrawing the lines vary by state, and in Texas legislators control the process.
Here's what to know about the proposed maps in Texas and what comes next:
• 1. What do the Texas draft maps show?
The maps released Wednesday would shift five districts now held by Democrats toward Republicans. That would give Republicans a potential backstop for keeping control of the House even if they perform poorly elsewhere in the midterm elections.
Under the current maps, Republicans hold 25 of the state's 38 congressional districts. Under the new plan, they would be likely to win 30 seats in the state. Trump won all 30 of the proposed districts by 10 points or more last year, making it extremely difficult for Democrats to win any of them.
Four of the five potential GOP pickups have Hispanic majorities, according to demographic information released by the state.
The districts of five Democrats - Greg Casar, Henry Cuellar, Al Green, Vicente Gonzalez and Julie Johnson - were tilted significantly to the right. Further scrambling the picture, Democrats Joaquin Castro and Marc Veasey were moved into districts now held by Republicans.
Cuellar and Gonzalez outperformed Joe Biden in the 2024 race and could have a shot at winning even under lines more favorable to Republicans. Cuellar faces additional challenges: He was charged last year with bribery, unlawful foreign influence and money laundering involving an Azerbaijan energy company. He has denied wrongdoing and is slated to go to trial this fall.
Trump's Justice Department sought to ramp up pressure this month to draw new maps by alleging that Texas lawmakers ran afoul of the Constitution by considering race when they drew some of the existing districts. But in their latest proposal Texas Republicans mostly targeted other districts, not the ones the Justice Department cited.
• 2. What do Republicans say about them?
Publicly, Texas Republican lawmakers have downplayed their plans, saying they are responding to a request from Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to reconsider the maps they drew after the 2020 Census. After that census, Republicans largely played it safe and tried to protect incumbents.
Adam Kincaid, the executive director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, praised the maps and downplayed the possibility that Democrats could take similar actions in other states.
"Texas Republicans are moving forward with a map that is more compact, keeps communities together and increases the number of minority majority districts in the state," he said. "At the same time, Democrats [in other states] are openly talking about ignoring the Voting Rights Act and violating their own state constitutions."
• 3. How have Democrats responded?
Texas Democrats decried the moves as a power grab and accused Republicans of violating the Voting Rights Act, a 1965 law meant to ensure Black and Latino communities can elect candidates of their choosing. "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," Casar said in a statement.
Texas Democrats are promising to fight but they have little power to stop the redistricting efforts because Republicans control both legislative chambers. They have been in discussion with House Democratic leadership and their congressional delegation about having the maximum financial support to break quorum, which would likely involve lawmakers fleeing the state ahead of a vote on the new map. Doing so would put them at risk of arrest and daily $500 fines.
Two Democrats familiar with the plans say enough state lawmakers are willing to break quorum, but details to support their effort are still being ironed out and will likely be under discussion when House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) meets with Texas House and Senate lawmakers Wednesday night in Austin.
"Donald Trump and House Republicans believe the only way they can win the midterm elections is to cheat," he said in a statement. "This is a moment that requires a forceful on-the-ground response."
• 4. What are the national implications?
Republicans are defending a slim majority in next year's elections. Historical trends and Trump's low approval rating suggest the midterms could be challenging for the GOP, and any redrawing of maps in a way that favors one side could have far-reaching impacts. Republicans control both chambers of Congress and losing either one could be a major impediment to Trump's legislative agenda.
• 5. What comes next?
Republicans have only a couple of weeks to act because special sessions in Texas last just 30 days. If they don't approve the maps in time because of a Democratic walkout or another reason, Abbott could call a new special session and restart the 30-day clock.
• 6. What countermeasures are Democrats weighing?
Democratic-controlled states such as California, Illinois and New York are exploring options to retaliate by redrawing their own lines to give their party more House seats if Texas approves new maps.
Before the proposed maps were released, California Gov. Gavin Newsom described the Texas GOP's redistricting efforts as "a five-alarm fire for democracy" and said he was considering asking California voters to change the state's procedures for drawing the congressional maps to give Democrats greater sway in Washington. Other Democratic governors such as JB Pritzker of Illinois - who like Newsom is weighing a run for the White House in 2028 - have said they are open to launching a process to redraw congressional boundaries in their states.
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