Redistricting fight escalates as both parties commit to gerrymandering voter maps

Maria Garcia, founder of the Hispanic Republican Club of North Texas, admits her party’s attempt to redraw congressional district maps is a straightforward political tactic to gain up to five Republican seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 election.

It’s a tactic she fully supports.

Democrats have gerrymandered other states to their advantage, argued Garcia, a former school crossing guard and healthcare worker. Now, it’s Republicans’ turn in Texas.

“It’s just trying to pick better seats so we can continue to have control,” she said. “I mean, why wouldn’t you want that as a Republican?”

The push to redraw congressional districts continued to escalate over the weekend as legislators in at least 12 states indicated they could initiate redistricting before the midterm election, which will determine whether Republicans maintain their slim House majority.

A win by Democrats would present the first real challenge to President Donald Trump’s second-term America-first agenda, which has so far moved forward with little pushback from Republican lawmakers.

The moves come after Texas Republicans, at the request of Trump, agreed to consider redrawing the state’s map during a special session called by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to wrap up unfinished business on flood relief and public education.

In response, Democrats left the state Aug. 3 to deny Republicans the quorum required to vote on the redistricting plan, calling the effort a blatant attempt to stack the deck ahead of the 2026 election.

Democrats said they plan to stay away until the end of the special session Aug. 19, but Abbott threatened Sunday to continue to call special sessions indefinitely until they return to the statehouse.

“This could literally last years,” Abbott said on “Fox News Sunday.”

“As soon as this one is over, I’m going to call another one, then another one, then another one, then another one.”

Now, legislators in blue states like California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Maryland have all indicated they might redraw their congressional districts in favor of Democrats if Texas moves forward with its plan.

Republican leaders in Indiana, Ohio, Missouri and Florida said they are also discussing new maps after Trump made clear his desire to win House seats through redistricting efforts.

States are required to redraw congressional districts every 10 years following the U.S. Census, but numerous states have also had to redistrict following judicial…