Democrats face gerrymandering criticism amid Texas redistricting battle

Democrats are fighting tooth and nail to stop Texas lawmakers’ plan to redraw the state’s congressional map, but critics, including one prominent member of their own party, say they don’t exactly hold the moral high ground.

Democrat legislators have fled the state to avoid votes on redistricting, which is expected to add more Republican seats to Congress for the Lone Star State. They’re getting the rock-star treatment as they visit blue states, where several governors have vowed to gerrymander Republicans out of their own Congressional delegations in retaliation for the Texas effort.

CALIFORNIA LAUNCHES REDISTRICTING FIGHT TO ‘NULLIFY’ TEXAS GOP PLAN, WITH DEMS POISED TO GAIN 5 SEATS

However, Democratic strategist Julian Epstein told “Fox News Live” on Saturday that his party is not immune from criticism, as many blue states have already gerrymandered in a way that limits Republican congressional representation.

“No, I think they don’t have the moral authority, and there’s a lot of pearl-clutching going on,” he said.

Several blue states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Mexico, have no Republicans in their House delegations. And many feature oddly-drawn districts, seemingly crafted to limit GOP representation.

“The Democrats don’t have clean hands here. You look at states like Massachusetts, New Jersey[…] Illinois, California, and Democrats have effectively gerrymandered Republicans out of existence,” Epstein added.

NETWORKS POUNCE ON REPUBLICAN REDISTRICTING. THEY DIDN’T CARE WHEN DEMOCRATS DID IT

J.B. Pritzker, governor of Illinois, left, and State Representative Gene Wu, a Democrat from Texas, during a news conference at the Democratic Party of DuPage County office in Carol Stream, Illinois, US, on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025. 

Epstein cautioned that the nationwide redistricting battle could create a “race to the bottom,” and that leaving Republicans and Democrats in states led by the opposite parties could lead to people feeling left out of the democratic process. Epstein cited New Jersey, in which Trump garnered 46% of the vote in 2024, but Republicans only have three out of the 12 congressional seats.

Meanwhile, Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison, a Republican, told Fox News Digital on Saturday that…