Capitol Context: Unusual timing for Texas redistricting
As the Texas special legislative session gets underway, keep up with Capitol Context as KXAN examines the bills being debated, the messages we’re hearing from elected leaders, and how their votes impact us all.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — As Texas lawmakers reconvene for a special legislative session, we're taking a closer look at the controversial Republican-led plan to redraw the state's congressional maps, also known as "redistricting."
No matter the state, redistricting is almost always controversial.
That's because in most cases, the party in power draws district lines to increase their party's odds of securing as many seats in Congress as possible.
So why is it controversial this time in Texas?
Well, the maps are usually only redrawn after a U.S. census count, so about every 10 years. Texas last redrew its congressional district maps in 2021.
This new effort comes in the middle of the decade, and ahead of next year's likely consequential midterm elections that could once again tip the balance of power in Washington.
Gov. Greg Abbott said he added redistricting to the special session agenda because of a letter received from the U.S. Department of Justice that warned four districts in the Dallas and Houston areas might be racially gerrymandered.
But that justification contradicts what state GOP leaders have said in the past.
State Sen. Jon Huffman, a Republican from Houston who led the redistricting efforts in 2021, repeatedly defended the current maps, calling them "race blind."
Texas Democrats in the U.S. House have labeled the new mapping effort as ploy by President Donald Trump to secure more congressional wins for Republicans in Texas in 2026.
The president, himself, didn't deny it when speaking to reporters last week. According to reporting from Politico, Trump said about Texas, "A simple redrawing, we pick up five seats."
The current map in Texas has been tied up in litigation for the last four years. A redrawn map would likely face a similar legal challenge.