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“Democratic lawmakers in Texas said on Sunday they were leaving the state to deny Republicans the quorum needed to redraw the state's 38 congressional districts, a move Republicans are seeking to protect their narrow U.S. House majority in next year's midterm elections. President Donald Trump has championed the redistricting plan, telling reporters he expects the effort to yield as many as five additional House Republicans…
“States are required to redistrict every 10 years based on the U.S. Census but the Texas map was passed just four years ago by the Republican-dominated legislature. While mid-cycle redistricting occasionally takes place, it is usually prompted by a change in power at the legislature.” Reuters
The left criticizes Texas Republicans, arguing that Trump and the GOP are trying to avoid consequences for their unpopular policies.
“Republicans could have tried to pass bills in Congress this year that helped them win the midterms. Instead, they insisted on pushing through a deeply unpopular domestic policy bill that cut taxes for the rich and health care for the poor. So to ensure victory in the midterms, they want to redraw district lines in Texas and potentially other states…
“Republicans are essentially assuming a public backlash to their agenda—and trying to change the election map so that they can keep the House while ignoring voter sentiments…
“When you combine the presence of Trump and the Republican Party’s long-standing aversion to honoring the public’s desires, what’s happening in Texas isn’t just a story of crazy legislators or hyperpartisan politics. It’s a party that doesn’t care what the public wants.”
Perry Bacon, New Republic
“Trump and the GOP could retain full control of the federal government in 2026, even if voters in Texas and nationwide give a majority of their votes to Democrats… This is a life-and-death struggle for the future of representative democracy as Americans have understood it—and for the people-centered policies that, in the best of circumstances, have historically extended from at least reasonably free and fair elections.”
John Nichols, The Nation
“Congress can stop the madness at any point. The Constitution gives Congress the power in Article I to ‘make’ or ‘alter’ state rules for running congressional elections, including redistricting. Congress could outlaw mid-decade redistricting, require the use of commissions, or set a standard barring the most egregious partisan gerrymanders…
“In the current polarized atmosphere… a bipartisan deal to avoid a redistricting war seems most unlikely. But as the Cold War taught us, détente is better than mutually assured destruction for all the parties. Those who suffer the most are the voters, who should not be packed in or cracked out of districts simply because their party is in the minority.”
Richard L. Hasen, MSNBC
“Even with the Texas gerrymander, the House is winnable for Democrats next year. Trump is increasingly unpopular, and voters are restive. With their college-educated base, Democrats are well-positioned, generally, for midterm elections. Casual Trump voters might stay home, since he won’t be on the ballot. Democrats will need tough messaging to cut through the noise — saving Medicaid is a good place to start — and candidates who will excite average people.”
Ross Barkan, New York Magazine
The right criticizes Texas Democrats, and argues that Democratic states gerrymander even more aggressively than Republican ones.
The right criticizes Texas Democrats, and argues that Democratic states gerrymander even more aggressively than Republican ones.
“Illinois lost one district after the 2020 census and managed to write lines that changed the congressional ratio from a 13-5 Democratic advantage to a 14-3 Democratic advantage… This makes it especially inapt that a contingent of Texas Democrats fleeing the Lone Star state to try to stop what they consider unfair new congressional boundaries found a safe harbor in Illinois…
“Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker welcomed the self-exiling Democrats and hailed their courage… His conscience showed no sign of being pricked by the fact that he signed into law the redistricting that saw Republicans in 2022 win nearly 44% of the popular vote in Illinois congressional races — and only 18% of the congressional seats…
“Pritzker says he may re-draw his state’s lines, but this would require gerrymandering on top of his current gerrymander. Gavin Newsom is making similar noises, but the California map is already tilted toward Democrats: Republicans won nearly 40% of the congressional vote in the Golden State in 2024, but only about 17% of the seats. If the Texas plan goes through and all else remains equal, the Lone Star state will have about the same partisan skew as California.”
Rich Lowry, New York Post
“Currently, there is only a 10-point gap between the Republican presidential vote share in Texas (56%) and the percentage of seats they control in the House delegation (25 of 38 or 66%). If Texas Republicans adopt their new map, that gap would widen to 23 points (79% to 56%), which would still make Texas LESS gerrymandered than California already is… If anything, the new Texas map would only move toward leveling what is currently an unfair playing field…
“Considering that the census made a huge mistake in 2020, overcounting people in Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Rhode Island (all Democratic states), while undercounting in Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas (all Republican states), costing Republicans a net six House seats, Democrats should not be complaining about unfair advantages in House elections.”
Conn Carroll, Washington Examiner
“Politics ain’t beanbag, as they say, and gerrymandering is such an old trick that it is named for a signer of the Declaration of Independence. We would advise Texas Republicans to remember that pushing political norms to their absolute limit has a way of boomeranging. But Democrats are the last people on earth who ought to be crying foul.”
The Editors, National Review
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