Texas House Democrats are returning to Austin on Monday after temporarily thwarting the Trump-inspired Republican push to redraw the state’s more favorable GOP congressional maps before the midterms next year.
State Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said his members scored victories by gumming up the Republican plan during the first special session, withstanding “unprecedented surveillance and intimidation” and rallying “Democrats nationwide to join this existential fight for fair representation — reshaping the entire 2026 landscape.”
Despite insisting they won the public relations war and winning praise from former President Barack Obama and national Democrats, Texas Democrats have been poised to lose the legislative battle.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott called a second special session as soon as the GOP-led legislation adjourned from the first special session that was called to address the redistricting push. It was also intended to address financial relief for Texas flood victims and a “bathroom bill” that would require people to use restrooms in government buildings and schools that match their sex at birth.
Republicans are pushing a new map that would pave the way for them to gain at least 5 congressional seats in the midterm elections next year, making it easier for the GOP to defend its slim majority in Washington and ensure the chamber remains aligned with the Trump agenda over his final two years in office.
Saying the maps will disenfranchise minority communities, Democrats fled to blue states, leaving the Texas legislature without the quorum needed to act on the maps.
“We’re returning to Texas more dangerous to Republicans’ plans than when we left,” Mr. Wu said in his statement. “Our return allows us to build the legal record necessary to defeat this racist map in court, take our message to communities across the state and country, and inspire legislators across the country how to fight these undemocratic redistricting schemes in their own statehouse.”
The Trump administration and the effort in Texas are inspiring Republicans in other states, including Ohio and Indiana, to consider following suit.
Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California has led the Democratic pushback.
Mr. Newsom, a possible 2028 presidential contender, announced last week that the Democrat-led state legislature plans to ask voters this fall to vote on whether they would like to see the state’s maps be redrawn in response to what’s happening in Texas.
“Trump knows he is going to LOSE in 2026,” Mr. Newsom said on X Monday. “His plan to rig new Congressional seats is going to backfire — thanks to California.”
The proposed map would help Democrats net five seats, and also help shield incumbents in their re-election campaigns.
However, the California map faces more legal hurdles than the GOP-led effort in Texas. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, has also pledged to raise $100 million to counter the effort.
Political analysts say this could prove to be a slippery slope for Democrats.
“Even if California is successful, though, Republicans still have more states beyond Texas where they can look for additional seats than Democrats do,” Kyle Kondik and J. Miles Coleman, of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, wrote in their latest analysis.
“Ohio has to draw a new map, and Florida is taking steps to re-open redistricting,” Mr. Kondik and Mr. Coleman wrote. “Republicans could net more than one extra seat in each state, and Republicans also could easily draw themselves extra seats in Indiana and Missouri, both of which are under pressure from the White House to redraw.”
