Texas GOP’s New Congressional Map Targets Democratic Urban Districts

Texas Republicans unveiled a redrawn congressional map that they hope will result in a gain of five seats in the U.S. House after the 2026 midterm elections. The new map, pushed by President Trump, puts areas of Houston, Dallas and San Antonio with Democratic incumbents into districts that now favor Republicans.

It does the same with two districts along the border. In redrawing the new maps, Republicans again were able to create what appear to be nearly universally safe seats, with none of their targeted districts closer than 10 percentage points based on 2024 election results.

Gov. Greg Abbott and the Republican-led legislature went along with the overtly partisan redistricting effort.

The proposed map must still be approved by the Texas legislature, which could happen as soon as next week. And it is likely to face an immediate legal challenge from Democrats, who have argued that the new lines cut into majority Black and Hispanic districts in violation of the Voting Rights Act. But several of the new districts that were drawn to favor Republicans also contain a majority of Hispanic voters. The party appears to be counting on keeping the gains its candidates have made among Hispanic voters in recent elections, particularly in Texas.

Houston

In Houston, the biggest impact appeared to be on the ninth district, held by Representative Al Green. District lines would move from south of the city’s downtown to mostly east, and from favoring Democrats to favoring Republicans.

Mr. Green, the 77-year-old incumbent who heckled Mr. Trump during an address to Congress this year, may still be able to hold onto a seat in Congress under the proposed new map because it puts much of the vacant 18th House district in the area that he currently represents. But several rising young Democratic candidates are running for the 18th district in a special election this November. That could yield a competitive primary next year pitting the old guard against the new if Mr. Green — who promised he will “be on the ballot” next year — chooses to enter that race.

Austin and San Antonio

In San Antonio, the new map eliminates a Democratic district that now stretches between San Antonio and Austin and instead carves out a new Republican seat in the more conservative San Antonio suburbs.

The change appears to force two incumbent Democrats, Representative Greg Casar, the 36-year-old chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a rising star, and Representative Lloyd Doggett, the 78-year-old dean of the state’s delegation, to compete for the one remaining Democratic seat.

Dallas

The newly drawn 32nd district is a textbook example of what is known as “cracking,” a term that describes a gerrymander that breaks apart — or cracks — a region with a high concentration of one party’s voters and spreads them out. By diluting such concentrations with far-flung regions, the map flips the majority and prevents the densely populated area from electing voters of its choice.

In this case, Republicans split the 32nd congressional district, found in the densely populated eastern and northern suburbs of Dallas, and extended it over a hundred miles east, into more rural and deeply Republican areas of East Texas. The result changes the district from one that Representative Julia Johnson, the Democratic incumbent, carried by more than 20 points, into one Mr. Trump would have carried by more than 15 points.