Texas Republicans try to win five Democratic seats by releasing new House maps

Texas Republicans are advancing with a plan supported by President Donald Trump to alter the state’s congressional map in order to take control of several Democratic seats prior to the midterm elections next year.

Republicans are seeking five additional congressional seats, according to many Democratic sources, in an effort to increase their prospects of retaining the House majority in the 2026 midterm elections.

The design specifically targets Democrats, such as Rep. Greg Casar, whose seat in the Austin area would be destroyed. That would probably require him to run in the Austin region in a primary against Rep. Lloyd Doggett, another extreme Democrat.

Republicans also suggest combining Rep. Al Green’s seat with a seat that was left empty by the late Rep. Sylvester Turner, who passed away earlier this year. Though he could have to compete with some of the Democratic candidates who were already vying for the Turner seat, Democrats anticipate that Green will run for the new seat because his Houston-area district was changed more than any other incumbent.

Given that Democratic governors in states like California have promised to try the same strategies to help their party gain more seats if Republicans do this in Texas, it could be a game-changer for the House. One House Democratic lawmaker told TFD that it would be a “redistricting arms race.”

As they are ready to oppose the map, which the state legislature is anticipated to pass in the next few days, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries headed to Austin on Wednesday to meet with a few state Democrats.

Democrats want to file a legal challenge to the map. Republicans want to flip all five seats, while some party members think that losing only two seats would be the best-case scenario if the map is approved.

“We expect Texas to be sued and the map to be overturned if this becomes law,” Julie Merz, executive director of the House Democrats’ campaign arm, stated in a statement on Wednesday.

In private, some Democrats question if Doggett, the longest-serving Texan in Congress, would decide to resign instead of challenge his fellow progressive colleague Casar.

However, several of Doggett’s close associates told TFD that they do not anticipate him retiring quietly and instead see the two competing in a primary. The senior House Democrat has $6.2 million in cash on hand, according to one of those close to him.

Doggett stated in his own statement that his “sole focus” is opposing the new GOP plan, but he did not address the issue of his future.

Republicans have been unable to remove me through redistricting for years. They will fail once more if we keep working together,” Doggett stated.

In his own statement, Casar called on voters to “mobilize against this illegal map” and pledged to “fight back with everything we’ve got.”

One possible silver lining for Democrats: A Texas Democratic senator told TFD on Wednesday that the map is not as awful as it could be for the state’s two South Texan Democrats.

Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, both from South Texas, are being targeted by Republicans in an attempt to shift their districts toward the GOP. However, a number of Democrats, including Beto O’Rourke and Kamala Harris, believe that the two moderate members, who often outperformed statewide or national Democrats, still have a chance to win the seats.

The Democratic legislator from Texas contended that those two South Texans could still win those seats even if they would need to increase their fundraising and staffing. For example, Cuellar has previously represented Hidalgo County and other parts of that turf.

Compared to 27 districts under the present district lines, the new model shows 30 districts that Trump would have won in 2024.

According to Texas Legislative Council figures, Trump won five additional seats overall by more than 10 percentage points.

Vice President JD Vance wrote on X about California’s congressional map, calling it a “outrageous” gerrymander, but Trump has not responded to the Texas proposal.

Nine of their fifty-two congressional districts are Republican. Given that Republicans typically receive 40% of the vote in that state, that indicates that 17% of their delegation is Republican, Vance said. “How could this be permitted?”

The independent commission, not the state’s Democratic legislature, created the map of California.

More information has been added to this story.