Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday signed into law a new congressional voting map designed to help Republicans gain more seats in the 2026 midterm elections, delivering a win for President Donald Trump and his desire to hold on to a slim GOP majority in the U.S. House. The Texas maps drafted in rare mid-decade redistricting have prompted a gerrymandering tug-of-war for voters with Democrats in states across the country. Outnumbered Democrats tried in vain to stop the Texas vote. At one point, they staged a two-week walkout. Democrats have vowed to challenge the new map in court.
Texas Republicans are pushing to finalize a mid-decade redraw of the state's congressional map. The GOP-controlled Senate debated the bill on Friday, with Democrats questioning its legality. They argue it violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting racial voter influence. California Democrats responded to the Texas effort by passing legislation Thursday for a special election to approve their own redrawn map. The moves are part of a broader redistricting battle among states. Both parties are redrawing lines to secure power ahead of the midterms, with accusations of gerrymandering on both sides.
California's Democratic Legislature is moving to counter Texas' mid-decade redraw of its congressional map with one of its own. The Texas House on Wednesday passed a map creating five new winnable seats for Republicans. President Donald Trump has pushed for Republican-controlled states to redraw their legislative maps to give his party a better chance of holding onto control of the U.S. House in the 2026 midterm elections. California lawmakers are expected to pass a map Thursday to create five new winnable Democratic seats. However, that will still need approval from California voters. The Texas map still needs approval from the state Senate and governor.
As Republicans lambasted California lawmakers for rushing through their effort to gerrymander the state’s congressional map, Democrats are fac…
Gov. Gavin Newsom and his fellow Democrats in the Legislature are steering California onto a unique political course with an unpredictable outcome.
Former President Barack Obama has expressed support for California Governor Gavin Newsom's approach to redistricting. Obama spoke at a fundraiser on Martha's Vineyard, emphasizing the need for Democrats to respond effectively to Republican-led redistricting efforts, particularly in Texas. He praised Newsom's plan as responsible and temporary, contingent on Republican states' actions. The event raised $2 million for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. Texas lawmakers have been debating a new congressional map that could create five new GOP seats. Democratic governors are considering similar strategies to strengthen their party's position in Congress.
As California Democrats prepare for an unprecedented retaliatory redistricting effort, San Mateo County lawmaker say it’s the only option to p…
California state lawmakers have started a series of legislative hearings to advance a partisan plan aimed at winning Democrats five more House seats. It's part of a plan to counter a similar effort by Texas Republicans that President Donald Trump pushed for. California Republicans on Tuesday filed an emergency petition to the state Supreme Court to try to stop Democrats' plan. In Texas, state Rep. Nicole Collier stayed at the Capitol overnight and into Tuesday to protest a Republican requirement that she and some of her Democratic colleagues have around-the-clock law enforcement surveillance after they ended a two-week walkout that delayed a vote on the Trump-backed maps.
Texas Democrats have ended a two-week walkout that stalled efforts to redraw congressional districts as part of a national partisan brawl over President Donald Trump's desire to reshape U.S. House maps to his advantage. Their return Monday to the Texas Capitol will allow the Republican-run Legislature to proceed as California Democrats' advance a countereffort to redraw their congressional boundaries in retaliation. The tit-for-tat puts the nation's two most populous states at the center of an expanding fight over control of Congress ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Texas and California have been at the forefront of a national fight to reshape the congressional landscape.