What to know about Texas' proposed congressional map
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Texas Republicans released a proposed new congressional district map Wednesday that targets Democrats in an attempt to create five new GOP seats ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Why it matters: The move to redraw district boundaries in the middle of the decade is unusual and comes as President Trump seeks to keep hold on the U.S. House.
- The effort is drawing pushback and will likely be challenged in court.
Zoom in: The proposed map makes the following districts, currently represented by Democrats, more favorable to Republicans, per the Texas Tribune:
- 9th District, Al Green: The southern Houston seat would shift to eastern Houston.
- 28th District, Henry Cuellar: This heavily Hispanic South Texas seat would no longer extend into San Antonio's South Side.
- 32nd District, Julie Johnson: This Dallas area seat would extend into more rural areas.
- 34th District, Vicente Gonzalez: Another largely Latino South Texas district that would pick up more presumed Republican voters.
- 35th District, Greg Casar: This seat would shift from following Interstate 35 from Austin to San Antonio and instead include south Bexar County and more rural areas, completely excluding the Austin area.
The draft map packs more Democratic voters into urban districts already represented by Democrats: U.S. Reps. Joaquin Castro in San Antonio, Sylvia Garcia in Houston and Jasmine Crockett in Dallas would continue to have safely blue seats.
- It could set up a blockbuster Democratic primary between Casar and U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, who represents the 37th District.
What they're saying: Doggett said in a statement Wednesday that "Trump is taking a hatchet to chop up Austin and our state with the sole objective of maintaining his one-man rule. This is designed to eliminate accessibility, accountability and a strong voice for our shared values."
- "Merging the 35th and the 37th districts is illegal voter suppression of Black and Latino Central Texans," Casar said in a statement.
- "Everyone who cares about our democracy must mobilize against this illegal map," Casar added.
Between the lines: The proposed map "really seeks to take advantage of the shifting loyalties of Texas Latino voters," SMU political science professor Matthew Wilson tells Axios.
- The proposal would increase the number of majority-Hispanic districts, Wilson adds.
- "That's possible because Hispanic voters have become more Republican," he said. "That's an effort to blunt race-based criticism they may get with this map."
- Democrats will "inevitably criticize the proposed maps as racist and partisan," Wilson said. "Whether racist or not, they're certainly partisan. But Republicans by drawing these maps have a fairly strong retort: 'You're not interested in protecting Hispanic representation. You're interested in protecting only Hispanic Democrats.'"
Zoom out: The proposed map has largely avoided imperiling sitting Republicans, Wilson says.
Reality check: The map is just a draft, and could still change.
What's next: There will be a committee hearing on the proposed changes at the state Capitol 10am Friday.
- Democrats could try to break quorum and deny the Legislature a vote by fleeing the state. That could cost them in $500 a day fines, but donors have been stepping up to cover that expense.
The bottom line: The proposed maps "will pass eventually," Wilson says. "The question is how long Democrats will delay them."