The Texas Senate gave final approval to a new, Republican-leaning congressional voting map early yesterday, sending it to Texas Governor Greg Abbott for his signature.
US President Donald Trump has pushed for the map to help the Republican Party maintain its slim majority in the US Congress in next year’s midterm elections. It has five new districts that would favor Republicans.
Abbott, a Republican, is expected to quickly sign it into law, although Democrats have vowed to challenge it in court.
Photo: AP
The effort by Trump and Texas’ Republican-majority legislature prompted state Democrats to hold a two-week walkout and began a wave of redistricting efforts across the country.
Democrats had prepared for a final show of resistance, with plans to push the Senate vote into the early morning hours in a last-ditch attempt to delay passage.
Texas State Senator Carol Alvarado, leader of the Senate Democratic caucus, said that she planned to filibuster the bill with a long speech and intended to speak for several hours. However, just when she expected to start, the Senate broke for a long dinner break.
When members returned, Alvarado never had a chance to filibuster, because Republicans accused her of breaking Senate rules by attempting to fundraise off the coming filibuster.
“Shutting down a filibuster over a fundraising e-mail is unprecedented,” Democratic Senator Sarah Eckhardt wrote on X. “It exposes the hypocrisy of Republicans, who will turn around and raise millions off stealing Texans’ votes while silencing their voices.”
Democrats had already delayed the bill’s passage during hours of debate, pressing Republican Senator Phil King, the measure’s sponsor, on the proposal’s legality, with many alleging that the redrawn districts contravene the Voting Rights Act by diluting voters’ influence based on race.
King denied the accusation, saying: “I had two goals in mind: That all maps would be legal and would be better for Republican congressional candidates in Texas.”
“There is extreme risk the Republican majority will be lost” in the House if the map does not pass, King said.
The showdown has also inflamed a broader, state-by-state redistricting battle, with governors from both parties pledging to redraw congressional maps.
California Democrats approved legislation on Thursday calling for a special election in November for residents to vote on a redrawn congressional map designed to help Democrats win five more US House seats next year. Governor Gavin Newsom quickly signed it.
Abbott called California’s redistricting “a joke” and asserted that Texas’ new map is constitutional, but California’s would be overturned.
On a national level, the partisan makeup of existing districts puts Democrats within three seats of a majority. The incumbent president’s party usually loses seats in the midterms.
Trump has pushed other Republican-controlled states, including Indiana and Missouri, to also revise their maps to add more winnable Republican Party seats.
Ohio Republicans were also already scheduled to revise their maps to make them more partisan.
The US Supreme Court has said the US Constitution does not outlaw partisan gerrymandering, only using race to redraw district lines.
Both sides have shown concern over what the redistricting war could lead to.
California Assemblyman James Gallagher, the Republican minority leader, said Trump was “wrong” to push for new Republican seats elsewhere.
He also warned that Newsom’s approach is dangerous.
“You move forward fighting fire with fire, and what happens?” Gallagher asked. “You burn it all down.”
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