Texas GOP Approves Redistricting Bill to Secure 5 House Seats
(MENAFN) In a move that could reshape the political landscape ahead of next year’s U.S. midterm elections, the Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a contentious redistricting bill designed to secure five additional congressional seats for the GOP.
The chamber advanced the new congressional map in a sharply divided 88-52 vote, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed.
This legislative milestone followed a dramatic two-week standoff, during which over 50 Texas Democratic lawmakers fled the state to block the unusual mid-decade redistricting push.
During Wednesday’s session in Austin, Democrats proposed a dozen amendments to the bill, all of which were struck down by the Republican majority.
The bill now heads to the Republican-led Texas Senate, where it is expected to pass later this week. Upon Senate approval, it will move to the desk of Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who is widely anticipated to sign it into law.
If enacted, the redrawn boundaries would dramatically alter district lines across Texas. Notably, some residents in Austin, a Democratic stronghold in central Texas, could find themselves grouped with rural voters located nearly 300 miles to the north.
The current Texas congressional map, last revised in 2021, gives Republicans control of 25 out of the state’s 38 U.S. House seats.
The proposed redistricting effort—initiated in late July under the influence of U.S. President Donald Trump—seeks to break up existing Democratic districts in Austin, Houston, and Dallas to create five new Republican-leaning seats.
The political ripple effects have reached beyond Texas. Last Thursday, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that his state would respond by redrawing its own congressional districts mid-decade. "To respond to what's happening in Texas," he said, his plan would allow for one-time boundary revisions in 2026, 2028, and 2030—potentially gaining Democrats five new U.S. House seats and strengthening their current 43-9 advantage.
In retaliation, California Republican lawmakers filed a lawsuit on Tuesday with the California Supreme Court, accusing Newsom of bypassing proper legislative procedures.
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