Republicans may have finally learned how to fight fire with fire. In an unexpected move, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) called a special session in mid-July to redraw his state's congressional map. The plan? To nuke the Democrats' dominance in several key areas, garnering five new seats. That would provide the GOP with a significant boost going into the 2026 midterms.
SEE: Trump and Abbott End Run Around Democrat 2026 Hopes
With that said, the new map has now been released, and it's a bloodbath for Democrats.
TEXAS GOP PROPOSE CONGRESSIONAL MAP ELIMINATING 5 DEMOCRATIC SEATS pic.twitter.com/zUgfKjHG0c
— NewsWire (@NewsWire_US) July 30, 2025
Texas Republicans unveiled a new congressional map on Wednesday that would provide their party with five new red-leaning districts, a plan that — if enacted — could provide a boost to the party as it tries to cling to control of the House.
The redraw would significantly benefit Republicans by making districts held by Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, who both represent heavily-Latino areas of the Rio Grande Valley, redder, and make some Democratic-controlled districts even bluer in an attempt to create GOP-leaning districts elsewhere. The proposed map would also put a number of Republican and Democratic incumbents in the same district.
Democrats have long dominated the Rio Grande Valley. Under this new proposal, they'd be wiped out. That includes waving goodbye to Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), who is currently facing federal bribery charges. As noted above, the trade-off will be making some blue districts even more Democrat-leaning, but that's a rather irrelevant price to pay. Republicans in the Texas legislature have until August 19th to get the new map over the finish line, and committee hearings are set to begin on Friday.
Expectedly, Democrats are losing their minds. House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has already ranted about it, and he's in Austin on Wednesday to meet with his state-level counterparts. Presumably, he will encourage Texas Democrat lawmakers to walk out of the session, denying a quorum, a gambit that was tried back in 2021 to block election reform. Texas Republicans aren't without options if that occurs, though. Those include arresting the obstructionist Democrats under a state constitution provision and forcing them to appear, or even declaring their seats vacant.
Meanwhile, some Democrat-led states are threatening to redraw their own maps. That includes Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY). The problem? Both states have legally binding independent commissions, and their constitutions only allow redrawing their congressional maps once every ten years. In other words, it's not as simple as just calling a legislative session for either governor, no matter how much they bluster.
The other issue is how gerrymandered California and New York already are. You can only move the lines around so much before you start costing yourself more seats than you gain. While those states have independent commissions, they are stuffed with left-wing academics who aren't exactly unbiased. That means that California already has a map that heavily skews toward Democrats compared to the vote share Republicans garner in the state.
As for other deep blue states, they are already gerrymandered to the point of absurdity, and there's just not anything left to squeeze out of them. In other words, Texas Republicans should absolutely move forward with this new map. Forget the threats and the noise. Democrats are out of cards to play, and all this will do is put Texas in line with the gerrymanders that already exist in blue states.
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