FROM FOX NEWS: The Texas State House on Wednesday passed a new congressional map, blasting through a Democratic roadblock in a bid to bolster the GOP’s chances of holding onto the U.S. House next year.
The map passed the Republican-controlled House in a 88-52 vote, setting up a new look for the upcoming 2026 midterm elections with the addition of five Republican-leaning congressional districts in the Lone Star State.
Still, the map must make its way through the Texas State Senate before it lands on Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
Abbott aimed to prevent a Democratic majority in the House, as they had at the end of President Donald Trump’s last term in 2018, which would have hampered his agenda.
The win in Texas is only a first step for Republicans.
The New York Times reports:
The redrawing of Texas’s maps was only the first battle in what is likely to be a bruising and protracted coast-to-coast clash over redistricting between states led by Republican and those led Democrats over the coming months. The California legislature is expected to vote Thursday on a newly drawn congressional map designed to flip as many as five Republican-held seats to the Democrats, an exact counterweight to Wednesday’s vote in Texas.
If the fight broadens significantly, the outcome of the redistricting war could help determine control in the U.S. House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a slim majority, even before a single vote is cast in what were expected to be very close midterms elections in 2026.
Already, Mr. Trump and his allies have been looking beyond Texas to other Republican states, including Indiana, Missouri and Florida. Beyond California, Democratic state leaders are looking at Illinois and Maryland ahead of the 2026 midterms, and New York ahead of the 2028 presidential election, vowing to embark on their own mid-decade redistricting efforts.
For Democrats, however, the fight is proving harder. The California effort will require working around the state rules that give an independent commission responsibility for redistricting. A temporary map up for passage in the state legislature on Thursday would have to be approved by voters in a special election in November.
The Big Beautiful Map is one step closer to being a reality in Texas! HB 4 (89th Leg., 2nd C.S.), the congressional redistricting map, has passed the Texas House of Representatives. Thank you to President @realdonaldtrump for your leadership in this matter! pic.twitter.com/J6uS8izA1n
— Texas GOP (@TexasGOP) August 20, 2025
Quote of the day: “Let Me Finish!” Thank you, Chairman @toddahunter, for standing up for the Big Beautiful Map and for staying and doing your job.@Dist32StateRep pic.twitter.com/64HHs5txsd
— Texas GOP (@TexasGOP) August 20, 2025
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