Texas lawmakers begin controversial redistricting process

Texas lawmakers speak on redistricting

One of the big hot button issues for the Texas Special Session got its first hearing on Thursday. Gov. Abbott has called on state lawmakers to re-draw congressional lines, which has sparked protests from state and national democrats

AUSTIN, Texas - One of the big hot-button issues for the Texas Special Session got its first hearing on Thursday. 

Gov. Abbott has called on state lawmakers to re-draw congressional lines, which has sparked protests from state and national democrats.

Democrats call it a power grab and Republicans consider it a fair opportunity to gain seats in Congress. 

Featured

article

Trump wants five-seat gain through Texas redistricting

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said a Texas redistricting plan ahead of the midterm elections should gain Republicans five seats in the U.S. House.

Redistricting hearing

On Thursday, state lawmakers held the first of three hearings on a plan to re-draw congressional districts in Texas.

The House Select Committee on Redistricting opened its first hearing of the Special Session on Thursday afternoon with 9 votes, essentially all but confirmed as "No" votes. Of the 21 members, 9 are Democrats.

"I'm insulted, I'm concerned, and I'm wondering why must we do this? And what I'm hoping, and this is to the entire committee, let's not allow the White House to put its arms into Texas and divide our community. It's wrong, it should not happen, and we want to make sure, that our legislators know this is wrong, and we will not stand by and just let it occur," said State Rep. Barbara Gervin Hawkins  (D) San Antonio in a opening statement at the hearing.

Texas Special Session: Redistricting on agenda

Lawmakers return to the Capitol with a packed schedule at the top of the list are four congressional districts which are all currently held by Democrats. UT at San Antonio professor Jon R. Taylor shares some insight.

Texas has 38 Congressional Districts, with 13 considered to be Democrat strongholds. Redrawing the lines now, in theory, could increase the number of seats held by Republicans which Democrats oppose. 

Several familiar Democrat faces were seen at a protest rally that took place before Thursday’s committee hearing. Former Congressman Robert "Beto" O’Rourke, spoke at the rally and said the move by President Trump was similar to the rise of Adolph Hitler. 

"And if he holds this election in 2026 and nothing changes in the system or the map before then, he will lose this power, and we will finally have a check on him," said O’Rourke.

Congressman Greg Casar also made political accusations and also took note of supporters of Palestine who were also at the gathering.

"I believe the United States should stop funding Netanyahu and Trump's plans to ethnically cleanse Gaza. And as we go to save lives in the U.S. in Gaza, across the world, we need to restore a full democracy here in the U.S. And that's what we're doing right here, right now," said Congressman Casar.

Related

article

'Meet fire with fire': O'Rourke says Democrats need aggressive approach to Texas redistricting

O'Rouke said Republicans were more focused on being in power, while Democrats were more focused on being right.

Round Rock Democrat James Talarico, who is considering running for the US Senate, also condemned the re-districting process.

"This is the rot at the core of our broken political system. Politicians picking their voters instead of voters picking their politicians. In any other industry, this would be called a conflict of interest. But in politics, it's business as usual. It's why I filed a bill to take the power to draw political maps out of the hands of politicians and put it in the hands of the Texans we seek to represent," said Rep. Talarico.

Both political parties have used redistricting to gain an edge in Texas elections for decades. This current political fight was triggered after a court ruling against what’s called "Coalition Districts", where voting boundaries are set by counting different smaller minority groups as one large set. 

Four Texas districts, in Dallas and Houston, held by Democrats, were cited as justification for a re-write. But they are not included in a long list of districts the house committee is considering to re-draw. That brought this question from committee member Gene Wu.

"I’m personally very confused about why exactly we are here doing this," said State Rep. Gene Wu (D) Houston.

Trump wants Texas to redistrict

Could republicans in Texas get another five congressional seats? That is what President Trump is hoping for when state lawmakers start redistricting. Democrats aren't happy about it

Governor Greg Abbott, in a recent interview with FOX 4 reporter Steven Dial, defended his decision to put re-districting in his Special Session call.

"Don't think that Texas is the only state that's doing this. Texas is first in line because our primaries are earlier. Our filing deadline is a few months away here in December. There are other states that are Democrat states across the country where their election process begins much later, who have been talking about and doing this very same thing," said Gov. Abbott.

Democratic committee members called several witnesses during the hearing. Some pointed out that last year Republicans supported the current Congressional map and claimed it was "race neutral." 

Redrawing Congressional lines comes with some risk for Republicans. A new map could reduce the GOP advantage in several districts, making races more competitive, and providing possible opportunities to flip seats for Democrats. 

A proposed congressional map is not expected to be made public until all the hearings are held. The next committee meeting is in Houston on Saturday, and then Monday in Arlington.