Texas’ new congressional map heads to Gov. Abbott’s desk

The Texas Senate approved a new congressional map early Saturday morning, which is meant to bolster Republicans’ standing in the House going into the 2026 midterm elections. Hours after the map was approved, Gov. Greg Abbott said he would “swiftly” sign it into law. 

The Senate adopted the bill on a party-line vote, 18 to 11.

Abbott pledges to ‘swiftly’ sign the map into law

“The One Big Beautiful Map has passed the Senate and is on its way to my desk, where it will be swiftly signed into law,” Abbott said in a statement Saturday. “I promised we would get this done, and delivered on that promise.”

Abbott added that the new maps “reflect Texans’ voting preferences.” However, the state’s Democratic caucus disagrees. 

In a video posted to social media following the map’s approval, state Sen. Carol Alvarado said, “What we have seen in this redistricting process has been maneuvers and mechanisms to shut down people’s voices.” 

Alvarado, who leads the Senate Democratic caucus, had announced her plans to filibuster the new congressional maps. However, the Senate took a three-hour dinner break before that could happen. When the chamber reconvened, the Senate’s GOP members accused Alvarado of attempting to fundraise off her filibuster in violation of Senate rules. 

In a post on Truth Social Saturday, President Donald Trump lauded the efforts of Texas’ lieutenant general, Dan Patrick, writing “Dan’s leadership was pivotal in the passage of the new, fair, and much improved, Congressional Map, that will give the wonderful people of Texas the tremendous opportunity to elect 5 new MAGA Republicans in the 2026 Midterm Elections.”

Saturday’s vote followed approvals from the state’s House of Representatives on Wednesday. House lawmakers voted 88-52 in favor of the new maps.

The political move fulfills Trump’s hopes of possibly gaining five more GOP seats in the U.S. House during the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats need to net three additional seats to flip the House next year. They have already vowed to challenge the new map in court.

Straight Arrow News spoke with Jonathan Cervas, an assistant teaching professor at Carnegie Mellon University and contributor to Princeton’s Gerrymandering Project, about the impact of Texas’ new congressional map.

“In addition to a potential violation of the Voting Rights Act, this might be viewed in federal court as an intentional act to decrease minority representation, which would be a violation of the 14th Amendment,” Cervas said.

GOP, Dems at odds over voter representation

Redistricting is typically done once every 10 years, following the Census. During hours of debate prior to Saturday’s vote, Senate Democrats accused Republican Sen. Phil King of attempting to disenfranchise voters with his measure.

In response, King said he “had two goals in mind: That all maps would be legal and would be better for Republican congressional candidates in Texas.”

Similarly, Republican Rep. Katrina Pearson said that the new maps increase Black majority districts from zero to two. 

“They say we’re diluting the minority districts. They call us racist. But the facts don’t match your rhetoric,” Pearson said. “Texas currently has zero Black CVAP (citizen voting age population) districts, and under the new map, there are two.”

Democrats have pushed back, including Rep. Nicole Collier, who spent the night in the state Capitol building on Tuesday, protesting the GOP’s maps.

“My constituents sent me to Austin to protect their voices and rights,” Collier said at the time. “My community is majority-minority, and they expect me to stand up for their representation … I know these maps will harm my constituents — I won’t just go along quietly with their intimidation or their discrimination.” 

Cervas, meanwhile, described the new map as “perhaps the most biased map in modern American history.” He added that nearly half of Texas voters have a “diluted vote,” meaning their vote is useless against the majority party.

“Nearly 100% of the population growth in Texas has come from minority populations,” Cervas said. “After the 2020 census, Texas got two additional congressional districts. Both of those districts were drawn so that white voters were able to elect candidates of their choice. This new map appears to have eroded representation for these voters, making it more difficult for people of color to elect candidates of their choice.

A larger redistricting effort grips the nation

Saturday’s vote was the culmination of a nearly month-long saga that saw Texas’ democratic lawmakers flee the state to delay a vote on the GOP’s redistricting effort. The lawmakers left Texas on Aug. 3, the day before a vote was scheduled.

More than 50 lawmakers left for blue states like Illinois and New York, denying Republicans a quorum. However, by Monday, they began returning to the Lone Star State. 

Likewise, Saturday’s vote is also part of a larger push, spearheaded by Trump, to redraw maps across the country, potentially boosting the GOP’s slim congressional majority during the 2026 midterms.

Texas had received the lion’s share of attention, not only because it was furthest along in the process but also because of the high-profile standoff between the state’s Democrat and Republican lawmakers. However, Florida, Ohio, Missouri and Indiana are also laying the groundwork for similar measures. 

Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is leading a strategy to “meet fire with fire,” and redraw maps in blue states. 

“We have got to recognize the cards that have been dealt. And we have got to meet fire with fire. And we’ve got to be held to a high level of accountability. So that’s what this is about,” Newsom said. “It’s not complicated. We’re doing this in reaction to a president of the United States that called a sitting governor of the state of Texas and said find me five seats. We’re doing it in reaction to that act.”

On Thursday, Newsom signed the Election Rigging Response Act, which paves the way for a special election on Nov. 4 in which Californians will vote on a new, temporary Congressional map.