By Joseph Ax
(Reuters) -Texas Republicans on Wednesday will take up a new state congressional map intended to flip five Democratic-held U.S. House seats in next year’s midterm elections, after dozens of Democratic lawmakers ended a two-week walkout that had temporarily blocked its passage.
Republican state legislators have undertaken a rare mid-decade redistricting at the behest of President Donald Trump, who is seeking to improve his party’s odds of preserving its narrow U.S. House of Representatives majority despite political headwinds.
The gambit has triggered a national redistricting war, with governors of both parties threatening to initiate similar efforts in other states.
Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom is advancing an effort to neutralize Texas’ move by redrawing his state’s map to flip five Republican seats, pitting the nation’s most populous Democratic state against Texas, its most populous Republican one. The Texas map aims to flip five Democratic seats.
Other Republican states including Ohio, Florida, Indiana and Missouri are moving forward with or considering their own redistricting efforts, as are Democratic states such as Maryland and Illinois.
Redistricting typically occurs every 10 years after the U.S. Census to account for population changes, and mid-decade redistricting has historically been unusual. In many states, lawmakers manipulate the lines to favor their party over the opposition, a practice known as gerrymandering.
Texas’ new map was listed on Wednesday’s schedule for the state House, though it was not clear how quickly Republicans could move to approve it. The bill is still subject to debate on the floor, and Democrats can also introduce amendments to be voted upon.
Democrats fled the state earlier this month to deny the Texas House a quorum. In response, Republicans undertook extraordinary measures to try to force them home, including filing lawsuits to remove them from office and issuing arrest warrants.
The walkout ended when Democrats voluntarily returned on Monday, saying they had accomplished their goals of blocking a vote during a first special legislative session and persuading Democrats in other states to take retaliatory steps.
Republican House leadership assigned state law enforcement officers to monitor Democrats to ensure they would not leave the state again. One Democratic representative, Nicole Collier, slept in the Capitol building on Monday night rather than accept a police escort.
Republicans, including Trump, have openly acknowledged that the new map is aimed at increasing their political power. The party currently controls 25 of the state’s 38 districts under a Republican-drawn map that was passed four years ago.
Democrats and civil rights groups have said the new map dilutes the voting power of racial minorities in violation of federal law and have vowed to sue.
Nationally, Republicans captured the 435-seat House in 2024 by only three seats. The party of the president historically loses House seats in the first midterm election, and Trump’s approval ratings have sagged since he took office in January.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
