Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a new congressional redistricting map into law, pushed by Donald Trump and designed to flip up to five U.S. House seats from Democrats to Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterms. The move came after a charged legislative session, including a two-week walkout by over 50 Texas House Democrats, who allege the map illegally weakens Black and Hispanic voting power and have vowed legal challenges.
In response, California’s Democratic-led legislature passed a map aiming for five new Democrat-leaning districts, explicitly calculated to offset Texas’s gains. This map is set for a voter referendum in November. Missouri’s GOP governor Mike Kehoe announced a special session to redraw maps with the aim of targeting Democrat Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City seat and potentially shifting the delegation to 7-1 Republican. These rapid escalations, spurred by Trump’s call for mid-decade redistricting, highlight a broad partisan arms race over control of the House as both parties seek every advantage before the 2026 elections.
