Texas Gov. Abbott vows to approve GOP-leaning congressional voting map

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott connected Saturday promised to rapidly motion disconnected connected a new, Republican-leaning legislature voting representation gerrymandered to assistance the GOP support its slim bulk successful Congress.

“One Big Beautiful Map has passed the Senate and is connected its mode to my desk, wherever it volition beryllium swiftly signed into law,” Abbott said successful a statement.

Texas lawmakers approved the last plans conscionable hours before, inflaming an already tense conflict unfolding among states arsenic governors from some parties pledge to redraw maps with the extremity of giving their governmental candidates a limb up successful the 2026 midterm elections.

In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has approved a peculiar predetermination to instrumentality spot successful November for residents to ballot connected a redrawn legislature representation designed to assistance Democrats triumph 5 much House seats adjacent year.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has pushed different Republican-controlled states, including Indiana and Missouri, to besides revise their maps to adhd much winnable GOP seats. Ohio Republicans were besides already scheduled to revise their maps to marque them much partisan.

In Texas, the representation includes 5 caller districts that would favour Republicans.

Democrats vow to situation it successful court

The effort by Trump and Texas’ Republican-majority Legislature prompted authorities Democrats to clasp a two-week walkout and kicked disconnected a question of redistricting efforts crossed the country.

Democrats had prepared for a last amusement of resistance, with plans to propulsion the Senate ballot into the aboriginal greeting hours successful a last-ditch effort to hold passage. Yet Republicans blocked those efforts by citing a regularisation violation.

“What we person seen successful this redistricting process has been maneuvers and mechanisms to unopen down people's voices,” said authorities Sen. Carol Alvarado, person of the Senate Democratic caucus, connected societal media aft the caller representation was finalized by the GOP-controlled Senate.

Democrats had already delayed the bill’s transition during hours of debate, pressing Republican Sen. Phil King, the measure’s sponsor, connected the proposal’s legality, with galore alleging that the redrawn districts interruption the Voting Rights Act by diluting voters’ power based connected race.

King vehemently denied that accusation, saying, “I had 2 goals successful mind: That each maps would beryllium ineligible and would beryllium amended for Republican legislature candidates successful Texas.”

“There is utmost hazard the Republican bulk volition beryllium lost” successful the House if the representation does not pass, King said.

Battle for the House waged via redistricting

On a nationalist level, the partisan constitution of existing districts puts Democrats wrong 3 seats of a majority. The incumbent president’s enactment usually loses seats successful the midterms.

The Texas redraw is already reshaping the 2026 race, with Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the dean of the state’s legislature delegation, announcing Thursday that helium volition not question reelection to his Austin-based spot if the caller representation takes effect. Under the projected map, Doggett’s territory would overlap with that of different Democratic incumbent, Rep. Greg Casar.

Redistricting typically occurs erstwhile a decade, instantly aft a census. While immoderate states person their ain limitations, determination is nary nationalist impediment to a authorities trying to redraw districts successful the mediate of the decade.

The U.S. Supreme Court successful 2019 ruled that the Constitution does not prohibit partisan gerrymandering to summation a party’s clout, lone gerrymandering that’s explicitly done by race.

‘Fight occurrence with fire’

More Democratic-run states person committee systems similar California’s oregon different redistricting limits than Republican ones do, leaving the GOP with a freer manus to swiftly redraw maps. New York, for example, cannot gully caller maps until 2028, and adjacent past lone with elector approval.

Republicans and immoderate Democrats championed a 2008 ballot measurement that established California’s nonpartisan redistricting commission, on with a 2010 1 that extended its relation to drafting legislature maps.

Both sides person shown interest implicit what the redistricting warfare could pb to.

California Assemblyman James Gallagher, the Republican number leader, said Trump was “wrong” to propulsion for caller Republican seats elsewhere. But helium warned that Newsom’s approach, which the politician has dubbed “fight occurrence with fire,” is dangerous.

“You determination guardant warring occurrence with fire, and what happens?” Gallagher asked. “You pain it each down.”

___

Cappelletti reported from Washington and Golden from Seattle. Associated Press writer Kimberlee Kruesi contributed to this study from Providence, Rhode Island.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.