Dems to Fight Texas’ ‘Illegal, Unconstitutional and Egregious Effort to Rig the Elections’

With Texas set to begin a special session that includes drawing a new congressional map next week, national Democrats say they’re exploring ways to stop the Republican plan. 

The rare mid-decade redistricting push comes after President Donald Trump pressured Texas Republicans to redraw the state’s congressional map to help the party hold its slim majority in the House. 

“All options will continue to be on the table as it relates to our efforts to push back legislatively and legally in Texas,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said at a Tuesday news conference. 

Jeffries condemned what he called Texas’ “illegal, unconstitutional and egregious effort to rig the elections and gerrymander the maps.”

Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX), whose district is targeted by Republicans, filed a bill Thursday to ban mid-decade redistricting efforts unless mandated by a court order.

Jeffries and other top national Democrats are reportedly set to encourage Democrats to break quorum in the Texas Legislature — that is, stay away from the upcoming session — so there won’t be enough members present for Republicans to hold a vote on their redrawn map. Texas Democrats attempted the maneuver in 2021 to block a sweeping bill packed with election restrictions, but they ultimately caved and failed to stop the measure. 

But a top aide to a House Democrat told Democracy Docket members could be reluctant to delay flood relief items that are also on the agenda for the session. 

Trump reportedly told Texas Republicans Tuesday that the party aims to gain five seats from redrawing the state’s congressional map.

However, that could backfire, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Suzan DelBene (D-WA) said at Tuesday’s news conference.

“Any new map that Texas Republicans draw will almost certainly increase the number of competitive districts, thereby endangering more Republican incumbents,” DelBene said. “For them to try to break up Democrat-held districts, they will have to weaken Republican districts who already are facing Republican headwinds.”

Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced the redistricting last week, citing “constitutional concerns” raised in a July 7 letter by the U.S. Department of Justice. In that letter, the DOJ argued that Texas impermissibly used race in drawing four majority-minority districts. But in defending a lawsuit brought against its current map, Texas continues to deny using race — raising questions about the justification for the redistricting.

Republicans already hold 25 out of Texas’ 38 congressional seats – a much higher share of seats than their vote-share in the state should net.

Eric Holder, the former U.S. attorney general who chairs a national Democratic redistricting organization, told Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias that Texas Republicans have made some seats so safe that lawmakers no longer need to worry about doing what their constituents want.

“It’s why you see these out-of-touch anti-reproductive choice laws,” Holder said. “It’s why you see them doing all kinds of crazy things around immigration, a whole range of things that are not supported by the people of the state as a whole. But they suffer no political consequence. They’re actually afraid of the very people who they say they want to represent.”