Texas Senate Passes Map Aimed at Giving GOP 5 Extra Congressional Seats

The Texas state Senate passed a map on Aug. 12 that would give the GOP an extra five congressional seats amid a mid-decade redistricting battle that has included other states such as California.

The final vote tally was 19–2 as all but two state Senate Democrats, Juan Hinojosa and Judith Zaffirini, walked out of the chamber. The Texas House of Representatives must approve the map before Texas Gov. Greg Abbott can sign it into law.

Republicans in the Texas House are looking to pass the map. Democrats in the chamber fled the state to deny a quorum. Abbott has vowed to keep on calling special sessions until the map passes the lower chamber.

“Texans are clear—our top priority must be flood relief and disaster preparedness,” the Texas Democratic Caucus said in a statement on Aug. 12. “Families devastated by the July 4th floods cannot afford more delays. Governor Abbott has the power to move relief funds to survivors immediately using the same emergency budget authority he’s used many times—for his border wall, school safety and even to restore the legislature’s own funding. But now, he’s tying the passage of urgently needed relief to an unconstitutional redistricting plan.”

The caucus went on to criticize the redistricting effort.

“This mid-decade redistricting isn’t about fair representation—it’s about politicians picking their voters instead of voters choosing their leaders. And it doesn’t stop here,” they said.

“If they can gerrymander now, they can and will do it before every election. That’s why we walked out—because this session should only be about flood relief, and we refuse to engage in a corrupt process.”

Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison, a Republican, told Fox News Digital, “The dirty little secret is Democrats have no problem whatsoever with states redrawing their congressional maps to maximize partisan political advantage. They’re just furious that Republican states are starting to redraw their maps.”

Hinojosa and Zaffirini conceded that Democrats could not stop the redistricting effort in the Texas Senate.

“We learned that quorum breaks can delay but not defeat this effort,” they said in a joint statement, according to the Texas Tribune. “Legislators cannot stay away forever, and the Governor will call as many special sessions as needed to prevail. Our greatest hope is at the courthouse, and the sooner we get there, the better.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, on Aug. 11 called on President Donald Trump to tell Texas Republicans to back off on the redistricting effort.

“Donald Trump: It’s time to call Greg Abbott and tell him to stand down. You are not ‘entitled’ to 5 congressional seats. If you do not call your lapdogs off, CA will act quickly and swiftly. We will go to the ballot. We will neutralize whatever gains you make. We will not stand by while you light Democracy on fire,” he said in an X post.