Texas House Passes Redistricting Map

Two days after Democrats returned to the state, the Texas House voted along party lines to approve a new redistricting map.

The Republican-led Texas House on Wednesday approved a new congressional map crafted to hand five additional U.S. House seats to the GOP over fierce opposition from Democrats, who cast the plan as a racially discriminatory attempt by President Donald Trump to stack the deck in next year’s midterm election.

The House adopted the map, 88 to 52, along party lines. A Senate panel advanced a similar map Sunday, and the full chamber was expected to send the new lines to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk later this week…

To create up to five Republican pickup opportunities, the map dismantles Democratic strongholds around Austin, Dallas and Houston and makes Democrat-held seats in South Texas redder — all without seriously jeopardizing any of the 25 districts Republicans already control. The proposed map also would push a handful of Democratic members of Congress into seats already represented by other Democrats, setting up possible primary battles between long-serving members of the Texas delegation and younger newcomers.

The map will now have to be approved by the Senate before going to the governor for his signature. Both sides are aware this is happening and that once it is signed it will be challenged in court.

With passage in the State House, the map goes to the State Senate, where Republican leaders have an even stronger hand. Once Mr. Abbott signs it, Democrats have said they will challenge its legality.

“Texas will have to go to the courts,” said State Representative Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat, who led the walkout…

The law says maps can be redrawn for political performance and Republicans say that’s what they have done.

“The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward: improve Republican political performance,” Todd Hunter, a Republican state representative from Corpus Christi, said Wednesday in a speech introducing the map legislation, known as House Bill 4.

“According to the U.S. Supreme Court, we can use political performance” in drawing congressional districts, he said. “And that is what we’ve done.”

Democrats don’t deny that it’s legal to redistrict for partisan advantage which is why they are focused instead on claiming the new map is racist.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that states can draw electoral maps on partisan grounds. But under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the map cannot diminish the voting power of people of color…

“This bill represents one of the most blatant assaults on fair representation we have seen in Texas,” Rep. Ana Hernandez, D-Houston, said. “Diversity is our greatest strength. It is what makes our neighborhoods vibrant, our workforce dynamic and our communities resilient. HB 4 silences that diversity instead of celebrating it.”

Democrats were open about this approach. When they returned to Texas Monday they said they would be working to lay the groundwork for the court challenge and the allegation that the map is racist is what the challenge will be about. So this fight isn’t over yet but at least for this afternoon, the Texas GOP is celebrating a win.

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

Here’s the moment it passed.

🚨BREAKING: Texas House passes the GOP redistricting map, adding five Republican seats.

It now heads to the Senate for the final vote.
pic.twitter.com/W5OYj9ORmy

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 20, 2025

Finally, Rep. Katrina Pierson gave a speech directed at Democrats before the vote in which she said, “The racist rhetoric is old…Democrats do not own minorities in Texas.”