GOP, Texas
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Trump won Ohio with 55% of the vote, but Republican politicians want to gerrymander 80% of the state’s U.S. House districts for themselves.
Texas Democrats can run from Republicans' gerrymandering, but they can't hide. No walkouts, blue state redistricting or Voting Rights Act protections can thwart Trump's plot to keep the U.S. House.
Texas Republicans want to redraw the state's congressional districts to gain an advantage in next year's election. U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., says Democrats must counter or become complicit.
The Texas GOP knows the risk. In the 2010s, the Republican-controlled Legislature drew political lines that helped pad the GOP’s House majority. That lasted until 2018, when a backlash against Trump in his first term led Democrats to flip two seats in Texas that Republicans had thought safe.
At Trump's urging, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has requested lawmakers potentially redraw the state's electoral map. Opponents warn it could backfire.
The catastrophic floods in the Texas Hill Country and a partisan redrawing of U.S. House maps, aimed at giving Republicans more winnable seats in the 2026 elections, are two major issues in a 30-day special session that is already off to a combative start.
1don MSNOpinion
Why is this about the Texas Republicans' redistricting gambit a story with importance far beyond the Lone Star State? Several reasons, actually.