Republicans Release Proposed New Texas Congressional Map, Could Add 5 GOP Seats
Republicans released their proposed Texas congressional map Wednesday, delivering on a request from the White House that could set off a nationwide redistricting battle between red states and blue states over control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm election.
The proposed map can be found here. It could add 5 new Republican congressional seats, according to Texas political observers.
The Houston area is drastically redrawn, with most of the change falling on District 9, the seat held by Rep. Al Green (D), and District 18, the seat that has been open since Rep. Sylvester Turner (D) died in March. If passed, the map could go into effect immediately, throwing the competitive November election to fill the District 18 seat into chaos.
Constituents of Rep. Greg Casar (D) are severely impacted by the proposal, which moves his District 35 out of Austin entirely and potentially forces either Casar or Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D), who represents District 37, out of office.
The changes also target two other districts held by Democrats: Rep. Julie Johnson’s District 32 in Dallas, and Rep. Marc Veasey’s District 33, which spans Dallas and Fort Worth.
State Sen. Carol Alvarado (D), who represents Houston and serves on the Senate redistricting committee, told Democracy Docket the potential impacts are “extreme.”
“It definitely causes a lot of political mayhem in Texas,” Alvarado said. “We are still looking at this as closely as we can to determine the damage it will do. We know that it will damage representation in Texas.”
The White House reportedly pressured Texas to redraw its congressional districts to produce five additional GOP seats to help protect Republicans’ narrow House majority. Republicans currently hold 25 out of the state’s 38 districts — meaning the map is already heavily gerrymandered in their favor.
Democrats in California, Michigan and Maryland have warned they could respond by redrawing their own congressional maps.
“The 2026 election is being rigged. California won’t sit back and watch this happen,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on social media Wednesday after the Texas map was released.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also weighed in Wednesday, commenting: “We’re not going to sit by while Donald Trump and Texas Republicans try to steal this nation’s future. I’ve been in active talks with local and national leaders, and in the coming days we’ll meet to align on our next move.”
The balance could be disrupted even more if red states take a similar approach. Ohio is set to redistrict its congressional map this year, and the White House is reportedly prodding Missouri Republicans to follow in Texas’ footsteps.
The Texas House announced Wednesday it will hold a public hearing on the new proposed map Friday morning.
Four Democratic U.S. senators sent a letter Tuesday to the federal Office of Special Counsel (OSC) asking for an investigation into potential Hatch Act violations committed by senior officials in the White House and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
“Multiple reports indicate that White House officials are involved in a political pressure campaign to convince Republicans in Texas and other states to redraw district lines with the goal of providing an advantage to the Republican party in the 2026 midterm elections,” the letter said. “We believe an OSC investigation is warranted to determine whether senior White House officials are violating the law’s prohibition on impermissible partisan political activity.”
The senators pointed to a July 7 letter sent by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon to Texas officials as evidence that Dhillon may have violated the Hatch Act, as well.
Republicans chairing the Texas House and Senate redistricting committees are considering issuing a subpoena to Dhillon after relentless calls from Democrats who want her to answer questions about her letter.
The Texas Legislative Council, a nonpartisan legislative agency, advised the Senate Wednesday that the state’s authority to enforce a subpoena against a federal officer is likely limited and is “arguably at odds with the comity expected between the states and the federal government.”
Democrats call Dhillon’s letter a pretext to give the GOP a rationale for their rare mid-decade redistricting. It urged Texas to redistrict by claiming that that the current map impermissibly uses race, violating the 14th Amendment. But Texas officials have repeatedly claimed they did not use race.
Alvarado said the DOJ letter underscores that Republicans are redrawing districts to dilute the voting strength of minority voters – despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of the state’s population growth has been in minority communities.
“When you consider that the DOJ instructed them to go after these very specific districts based on race, which is illegal, they are reducing minority representation,” Alvarado said.
State Rep. Gene Wu (D), chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, stressed that the redistricting maneuver is designed to target minority voters.
“These maps are a corrupt, racially-motivated gerrymander designed to steal the voices of Black and Latino Texans so Donald Trump can send five new hand-picked allies to Washington,” Wu said.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin hinted that the proposed map, if passed, would likely result in a legal challenge.
“This newest attempt to save Republicans from the wrath of voters after they passed Trump’s budget betrayal is an assault on Texas voters and a likely violation of the Voting Rights Act,” Martin said. “It won’t work.”