RNC-Hired Mapmaker Denies Using Racial Data in Texas Gerrymander

EL PASO, TEXAS — The Republican Party’s leading mapmaker took the stand Tuesday in a federal hearing to determine whether Texas can use its new gerrymandered congressional map in the 2026 election.

The testimony from Adam Kincaid, the director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, included the following information:

• That Kincaid had numerous contacts with the White House and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over the redistricting effort — including sending messages on Signal that were set to automatically delete.

• That Kincaid viewed a draft of a letter sent to Texas by DOJ officials, urging them to redistrict because of concerns about race-based districts in the state’s existing map.

• That Kincaid was hired by the Republican National Committee (RNC) to draw the map.

• And that Kincaid entirely ignored the input of ordinary Texans, provided at public hearings held over the summer — instead taking input only from the White House and Texas’ GOP congressional delegation.

Kincaid also denied using racial data in drawing the map. But because lawyers for Texas had Kincaid testify as a lay witness, not an expert, plaintiffs’ lawyers weren’t able to question him about the underlying data and statistical methods he used to draw the map.

The RNC’s involvement in the effort, though unsurprising, underlines how the effort to draw more Republican seats in states across the country has been a top priority for the national GOP, including President Donald Trump. 

The map could create five new GOP seats, boosting the party’s chances of maintaining control of Congress next year. That comes at the expense of Texas’ minority voters, whose voting power is undermined by the new map.

Kincaid said that, while at the White House, he viewed a draft of the Justice Department letter. He also spoke with Michael Gates and Maureen Riordan, two DOJ officials, about the letter.

The letter, which has played an important role in the challenge to the map, was signed by Gates, as well as Harmeet Dhillon, who leads DOJ’s Civil Rights division.

Because the letter used the existence of race-based districts to argue that a new map was needed, lawyers for the plaintiffs have cited as evidence that the redistricting effort was driven by race, which is illegal. The goal, they have argued, was to break up districts in which two or more groups of non-white voters made up a majority.

“My view of the DOJ letter was that it was unnecessary,” Kincaid said, adding that he thought parts of the letter were accurate and others inaccurate. He spoke with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) about the letter before it was released, he testified.

Kincaid also testified he held conference calls with Abbott, along with RNC attorneys and White House officials, three times in June to discuss Texas redistricting. And Kincaid said he corresponded with the White House about Texas redistricting using Signal messages that were set to automatically delete — something that may be a violation of public records laws.

Kincaid revealed in his testimony that he was hired by the RNC on a retainer to draw the map. He led the national GOP’s map-drawing for the last redistricting cycle.

The RNC paid Kincaid $2,500 on June 6, federal campaign finance records show. It paid him another $2,500 on July 9, the same day that Abbott announced a special legislative session to draw a new congressional map. And it paid him $2,500 again on August 8. All three payments were for “legal and compliance services.”

Texas Republicans pushed the map through a hasty, ultra-secretive redistricting process over the summer, signing the measure into law without answering basic questions about the map – including who drew it.

Republicans shielded Kincaid throughout the legislative session, blocking Democratic lawmakers’ efforts to subpoena him to answer questions at a committee hearing. 

Texas continued to shield Kincaid in federal court Tuesday. By presenting him not as an expert but as a lay witness, Kincaid was able to testify that he drew the map without using racial data, while not disclosing details of the work.

Lawyers for pro-voting groups objected to Kincaid being allowed to testify as a lay witness. Judges decided to hear Kincaid’s testimony and later rule whether it should be admitted.

“I don’t think it’s right to use race when drawing maps,” Kincaid testified.

Minority voters* and voting advocates challenging the map in court argue it’s a racial gerrymander that discriminates against minority voters by eliminating some districts across the state where they’ve been able to elect the candidates of their choice. 

Texas insists the map was drawn only for partisan advantage, to maximize Republican seats in Congress. 

Expert witnesses for the plaintiffs have testified over the past week that the map could not have been drawn without using racial data. 

Attorneys representing the state have picked apart their underlying data and computer code down to the most granular level – but they’re presenting Kincaid as a lay witness so their opponents aren’t able to give Kincaid’s work the same level of scrutiny. 

Some Texas voters are represented by the Elias Law Group (ELG). ELG firm chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.