Texas Republicans have redrawn congressional maps to target Democratic-held districts, lending themselves an advantage for the 2026 elections.
Using a tactic called gerrymandering, or changing electoral maps to favor one party, Republicans altered the boundaries of five historically Democratic areas to include more areas that are historically Republican leaning.
Dr. Wesley Lummus, who teaches U.S. Government, explains the strategy behind the gerrymandering.
“Midterm elections are coming up, and one party in power wants to keep their power,” Lummus said. “They believe that if they redraw these district lines, they can keep their seats and maybe even add seats in the House.”
Analysts predict that the Republican Party will gain five additional seats in the U.S. Congress with the new map, affecting the Democratic districts of Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and South Texas. Encouraged by President Donald Trump, Gov. Greg Abbott asked the Texas Legislature to redistrict Texas, citing constitutional concerns as the basis for change. Lummus said this decision will also affect other states.
“Texas deciding to redistrict kick-started a national movement in so many other states, be they Republican or Democratic states,” Lummus said. “They’re also now thinking about redistricting, including California and how their voters approved of the new map. Texas kicked off a race to redistrict.”
After the League of United Latin American Citizens and the League of Women Voters of Texas challenged the congressional map based on racially discriminatory practices, claiming the new districts undermined Black and Latino representation, the Supreme Court approached the issue, eventually voting in favor of the new districts.
“For marginalized communities, it’s going to be harder for them to get their representatives elected, and it’s going to be harder for them to campaign,” Lummus said. “It could weaken people’s belief in the voting process and limit people’s belief that this process actually works.”
Dallas Redistricting
Dallas County historically votes in favor of Democratic candidates, with Kamala Harris winning 60 percent of the vote in the 2024 Presidential Election according to Politico.
Under the new map, the Republicans will “pack,” or divide blue districts to maximize Republican influence from the surrounding areas.
Several Texas districts have been reshaped, affecting communities and neighborhoods. The majority of District 32, which includes northern Dallas suburbs, will shift from predominantly non-white voters to majority-white voters, likely becoming a Republican district and threatening the seat of Democratic House Representative Julie Johnson.
District 33, previously located in Tarrant County, now includes Dallas County, setting up current representative Mark Veasey to compete against Johnson for the blue seat.
To find out how the new congressional map affects you, enter your ZIP code in Texas.gov or use Dallas County’s map resources available online.
Advocating for Representation
Jordan Innerarity, Upper School Dean, highlights how gerrymandering can minimize the political voice of voters.
“It is like watering down the ability for people to advocate for themselves,” Innerarity said. “Because our lives are very different, how you grew up, who you are and your race makes a difference to how you see the world. You want someone who can speak for your way of life, the way that you see life. That can’t happen when you have one representative for a group of completely opposite people.”
Innerarity suggests several options to citizens who want to be politically active outside of federal elections. Voting in local elections and participating in Dallas-area groups that align with your political ideology are both ways to ensure that your voice is heard in your community.
“Getting involved in small-time political activities leads to broader democratic changes and promotes democracy in a bigger way,” Innerarity said. “Democracy has to be grassroot activism as well as large federal government changes.”
