The Texas House of Representatives approved the state’s new congressional map on Wednesday, advancing a Republican proposal that is expected to net the party five additional seats in Washington. The vote fell squarely along party lines, 88–52, with all Republicans — including House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock), who rarely casts votes — backing the measure.
The passage of House Bill 4 marks the culmination of weeks of partisan wrangling over Texas’ redistricting process, and it now heads to the Texas Senate before reaching Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk later this week. The bill’s final approval places Texas at the forefront of a nationwide fight over redistricting, representation, and political power ahead of the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential cycle.
A Familiar Debate: Politics Versus Race
In laying out HB 4, state Rep. Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi), the chamber’s redistricting chair, defended the map as legally sound and squarely based on partisan advantage — not racial gerrymandering.
“This is a good plan. I urge its adoption,” Hunter told the chamber. “Mister speaker, members, according to the US Supreme Court. You can use political performance. And that is what we've done.”
Democrats, however, charged that the map goes far beyond permissible partisan maneuvering and instead dilutes the voting power of Black and Hispanic Texans, who make up much of the state’s population growth over the last decade.
“You’ve been told exactly how to vote today,” said Rep. Ramon Romero (D-Fort Worth), directing his comments to Republican colleagues. “You’ve been harassed, threatened with a future loss of your seat, just as you were with the voucher scam. This is and should be the land of the free, not the land of where you must agree with me. You too have an oppressor.”
Romero went further, arguing that national Republican politics played a direct role in shaping Texas’ new map. “When Donald Trump asked for five more seats, your decision was made, and it was made at the expense of communities of color. Their political representation has been a target of this bill, and you’re making that decision in your mind for political preservation. You made that decision and you’re making that decision out of fear. It’s a political calculation.”
Rep. Armando Walle (D-Houston) echoed those concerns, criticizing Republicans for treating racial representation as a numbers game. “This is more complex than just checking your population percentages. You cannot split apart a bunch of brown and black Texans and pat yourself on the back because you left enough behind to try to avoid legal trouble.”
An Unusual Legislative Push
The House moved the bill at lightning speed. Lawmakers approved HB 4 on both its second and third readings during the same calendar day — a move rarely taken in the lower chamber but permissible under House rules.
Democrats had filed a dozen amendments aimed at altering district lines, but each was rejected by Republicans. With their proposals defeated, Democratic lawmakers turned to procedural delays and extended floor speeches, while progressive protesters filled the Capitol rotunda. Their chants, which carried through to the House floor, underscored the level of opposition to the map both inside and outside the chamber.
The vote capped off months of legislative drama, including a high-profile quorum break by House Democrats earlier in the summer. Dozens of Democratic members decamped to California and Illinois to prevent Republicans from conducting business, drawing national media attention and support from party leaders in Washington. When they returned, Democrats claimed partial victory for stalling the process during the first special session. But Republicans regrouped and pushed HB 4 through during this second session with little sign of wavering.
What the New Map Does
The redistricting bill is designed to shore up Republican majorities and expand the party’s representation in Congress by five seats. According to GOP leaders, the new districts are all ones that former President Donald Trump carried in 2024 by at least 10 percentage points — giving the party confidence that they can withstand Democratic challenges.
The targeted districts are Texas’ 9th, 28th, 32nd, 34th, and 35th. Geographically, they span diverse regions: two are in South Texas, one in the Dallas area, one in Houston, and another on the edge of San Antonio.
While all five districts favored Trump, some may not be as safe as Republican mapmakers suggest. For instance, the 28th Congressional District, long represented by Democrats, still tilts Democratic overall, with a D-53% rating in the Texas Partisan Index published by The Texan. However, Trump performed better there than other Republican candidates, making it a tempting target for GOP strategists.
The committee substitute adopted in this session made adjustments, most notably shifting the 9th Congressional District from R-58% to R-60%, strengthening its Republican lean.
Trump’s Role and the Bigger Picture
One of the most contentious claims during debate centered on the involvement of former President Trump. Democrats insist the map was drawn with Trump’s political future in mind, arguing that the former president directly influenced Texas Republicans to pursue a five-seat gain to bolster GOP prospects in Congress.
Republicans, by contrast, frame the map as a straightforward reflection of voting patterns and partisan performance. Hunter and other GOP leaders emphasized that political considerations — but not racial ones — are legally permissible under U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
Still, the fact that Trump won each of the new target districts by double digits has fueled Democratic accusations that the map was engineered not only for state politics but also as part of a broader national strategy for Trump’s potential 2028 run.
Legal Challenges Ahead
Even as the bill heads toward final passage, Democrats and allied groups are preparing to challenge the map in court. Lawsuits against previous Texas redistricting efforts have been common, and this cycle appears no different.
Democrats argue the map violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the representation of minority communities. Walle and Romero’s floor remarks previewed the kinds of arguments likely to surface in court filings.
In fact, plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit over Texas’ current congressional districts, filed in El Paso, already moved this week to schedule hearings next month to contest the new map. Their motion anticipates Abbott’s signature and seeks to place the dispute on the federal docket as quickly as possible.
Given the history of Texas redistricting litigation, observers expect a lengthy legal battle that could extend well past the 2026 elections.
The Road Ahead
The Texas Senate is set to move swiftly, with its redistricting committee scheduled to meet Thursday morning. The upper chamber is expected to approve HB 4 quickly and send it to Abbott, who has signaled support.
Democrats, meanwhile, are coordinating with national allies. During the quorum break, Texas Democrats met with federal lawmakers and the Biden administration to argue that the state’s redistricting efforts are part of a broader Republican strategy to limit minority political power. That messaging is expected to resurface as lawsuits progress.
California’s Democratic leadership has already announced plans to redraw its own map in response, a signal of how Texas’ actions may reverberate across the country.
A National Flashpoint
Texas’ growth over the past decade — much of it driven by Black, Hispanic, and Asian American communities — earned the state additional congressional seats after the 2020 Census. But the way those new seats and boundaries are drawn has become a flashpoint not only in Texas politics but nationally.
With Republicans in full control of the process, Democrats say the state has squandered an opportunity to expand minority representation. Republicans counter that their map reflects voter behavior and adheres to legal precedent.
The coming months will determine which argument prevails in court. In the meantime, Texas has cemented its role as one of the most closely watched battlegrounds in the fight over redistricting, voting rights, and partisan power.
Conclusion
Wednesday’s House vote was decisive but far from the final word. The expedited passage of HB 4 reflects Republican confidence in their political position, but also sets the stage for protracted legal challenges.
In the short term, the map bolsters GOP hopes for five additional congressional seats — all in districts Trump carried. But the long-term picture remains unsettled, with courtrooms likely to become the next battleground over whether Texas’ new map stands or falls.
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