Redistricting in Texas ahead of the 2026 elections
Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures. This article covers redistricting activity in Texas after the 2024 elections and before the 2026 elections.
On August 29, 2025, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill enacting a new congressional map that shifted five Democratic districts toward Republicans ahead of the 2026 elections.[1]
President Donald Trump (R) in July 2025 urged Texas Republicans to redraw the state's congressional district boundaries to help retain the Republican U.S. House majority in the 2026 U.S. House elections.[2] Ahead of the redistricting effort, Republicans represented 25 of Texas' 38 congressional districts. Democrats represented twelve, and the 18th District seat was vacant following the death of Sylvester Turner (D) in March 2025.
On August 20, 2025, the Texas House voted 88-52 along party lines to approve a bill proposing a new congressional map.[3] On August 23, 2025, the Texas Senate voted 18-11 along party lines to approve the new congressional district boundaries.[4]
On November 18, 2025, a three-judge panel ruled 2-1 to block Texas from using the 2025 map in the 2026 elections, ordering the state to use the 2021 map instead.[5] Three days later, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily paused the ruling, reinstating the new map pending further Court action.[6] On December 4, 2025, the Court ruled that Texas could use the 2025 map in the 2026 elections.[7]
Texas was the first state to redraw its congressional map ahead of the 2026 elections. The state's redraw prompted other Republican and Democratic-led states across the country to also draw more favorable district lines for their party before the midterms. Click here to read more about mid-decade redistricting nationwide ahead of the 2026 elections.
This article documents the redistricting effort in Texas ahead of the 2026 elections. To read about redistricting in Texas after the 2020 census, click here.
- Texas redistrictingTexas' 2025 congressional redistricting
- Court challengesLitigation over the redrawn map
- National contextRedistricting in other states ahead of the 2026 elections
Redistricting in Texas ahead of the 2026 elections
Texas voluntarily redrew its congressional map ahead of the 2026 elections. The new map shifted five Democratic districts toward Republicans according to 2024 presidential results.[8]
President Donald Trump (R) in July 2025 urged Texas Republicans to redraw the state's congressional district boundaries to help retain the Republican U.S. House majority in the 2026 U.S. House elections.[2] Ahead of the redistricting effort, Republicans represented 25 of Texas' 38 congressional districts. Democrats represented twelve, and the 18th District seat was vacant following the death of Sylvester Turner (D) in March 2025.
On July 7, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) suggesting that four of Texas' congressional districts were unconstitutional racial gerrymanders, writing, "As stated below, Congressional Districts TX-09, TX-18, TX-29 and TX-33 currently constitute unconstitutional 'coalition districts' and we urge the State of Texas to rectify these race-based considerations from these specific districts."[9]
On July 21, 2025, the Texas Legislature began a 30-day special legislative session for redistricting. Texas Republicans released a map draft on July 30, 2025, that included five additional Republican-leaning districts.[10]
In early August 2025, Democratic legislators left the state to prevent a quorum.[11][12] Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) wrote on X, "My Democratic colleagues and I just left the state of Texas to break quorum and stop Trump’s redistricting power grab. Trump is trying to rig the midterm elections right before our eyes. But first he’ll have to come through us."[13] On August 12, 2025, Gov. Abbott said he would continue calling special sessions to redraw the state's congressional map: "There will be no reprieve for the derelict Democrats who fled the state and abandoned their duty to the people who elected them. I will continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas first agenda passed."[14] The first special session concluded on August 15, 2025, before a new congressional could be passed, and a second special session began.[15] Click here to read more about the 2025 Democratic walkout during mid-decade redistricting in Texas.
On August 20, 2025, the Texas House approved House Bill 4 containing a new congressional map by an 88-52 vote along party lines.[16] On August 23, 2025, the Texas Senate approved the map by an 18-11 vote along party lines.[17] Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed the new map into law on August 29, 2025.[18] The bill text stated the new district boundaries would take effect for the 2026 elections.[19]
Comparison of old and new congressional map
The following maps compare the congressional district boundaries enacted after the 2020 census with those enacted in 2025. The maps in the first tab are colored to best highlight boundary changes, and the maps in the second tab are colored by partisan change according to 2024 presidential results.
Timeline of mid-decade redistricting in Texas
The timeline below tracks updates to Texas' redistricting efforts ahead of the 2026 elections, including map proposal and approval and major court filings. For more information about litigation over the new congressional map, click here.
- December 4, 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Texas could use its 2025 map in the 2026 elections.[20]
Court challenges
League of United Latin American Citizens v. Abbott
After Texas passed a new congressional map in August 2025, plaintiffs in the challenge against the previous map filed a supplemental complaint arguing that the new map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.[36] On November 18, 2025, a three-judge panel ruled 2-1 to block Texas from using the 2025 map in the 2026 midterm elections, ordering the state to use the 2021 map instead.[5] On November 21, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily paused the panel's ruling, reinstating the new map pending further Court action.[6] On December 4, 2025, the Court ruled that Texas could use its 2025 congressional map in the 2026 elections.[7]
To read about litigation over the map passed after the 2020 census, click here.
National overview
As of January 2026, five states had congressional district maps that were subject to change before the 2026 elections, and six states—California, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Utah—had new congressional maps. Three states were reportedly exploring voluntary redistricting, and two states had congressional maps that were subject to change due to litigation. Before 2025, only two states had conducted voluntary mid-decade redistricting since 1970.[37]
The map below shows redistricting activity between the 2024 and 2026 elections.
The table below shows redistricting activity between the 2024 and 2026 elections as well as the pre-redistricting U.S. House delegation in each state.
| State | Reason for redistricting | Status | Method of redistricting | U.S. House delegation before redistricting | Potential result of new maps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New map enacted | |||||
| California | Voluntary redistricting | Voters approved the use of a new map on Nov. 4, 2025. | Commission | 43 D - 9 R | +5 D |
| Missouri | Voluntary redistricting | Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) signed new map into law on Sept. 28, 2025. | Legislature-dominant | 6 R - 2 D | +1 R |
| North Carolina | Voluntary redistricting | Legislature passed new map into law on Oct. 22, 2025 | Legislature-dominant | 10 R - 4 D | +1 R |
| Ohio | Required by law to redistrict | Redistricting commission approved a new map on Oct. 31, 2025 | Legislature-dominant | 10 R -5 D | +2 R |
| Texas | Voluntary redistricting | U.S. Supreme Court ruled the new Texas map could be used in 2026 | Legislature-dominant | 25 R -12 D with 1 vacancy | +5 R |
| Utah | Changed due to litigation | Court approved new plaintiff-submitted map | Legislature-dominant | 4 R - 0 D | +1 D |
| Net | +3 R | ||||
| New map possible | |||||
| Florida | Voluntary redistricting | Florida House to form Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting | Legislature-dominant | 20 R - 8 D | - |
| Georgia | Subject to change due to litigation | Litigation ongoing | Legislature-dominant | 9 R - 5 D | - |
| Louisiana | Subject to change due to litigation | Litigation ongoing | Legislature-dominant | 4 R - 2 D | - |
| Maryland | Voluntary redistricting | Gov. Wes Moore (D) announced a redistricting advisory commission. | Legislature-dominant | 7 D - 1 R | - |
| Virginia | Voluntary redistricting | The Virginia General Assembly completed its first of two required rounds of approval for a constitutional amendment. | Hybrid | 6 D - 5 R | - |
See also
- Redistricting ahead of the 2026 elections
- Redistricting in Texas
- State-by-state redistricting procedures
- Majority-minority districts
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- All About Redistricting
- Dave's Redistricting
- FiveThirtyEight, "What Redistricting Looks Like In Every State"
- National Conference of State Legislatures, "Redistricting Process"
- FairVote, "Redistricting"
Footnotes
- ↑ X, "Gregg Abbott on August 9, 2025," accessed December 8, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Houston Chronicle, "Trump tells Texas Republicans to redraw the state congressional map to help keep House majority," July 15, 2025
- ↑ New York Times, "Texas House Approves Redistricting Maps, Just as Trump Wanted," August 20, 2025
- ↑ Reuters, "Texas Senate approves redistricting bill, sending it to governor to sign," August 25, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Texas Tribune, "Federal court blocks Texas from using new congressional gerrymander in 2026 midterms, November 18, 2025 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "2025block" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 6.0 6.1 Texas Tribune, "Supreme Court temporarily restores Texas’ new congressional map," November 21, 2025
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Texas Tribune, "Supreme Court lets Texas keep new congressional map while legal battle continues," December 4, 2025
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "Texas House panel advances redrawn congressional map that would add more GOP seats," August 1, 2025
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 U.S. Department of Justice, "Re: Unconstitutional Race-Based Congressional Districts TX-09, TX-18, TX-29 and TX-33," July 7, 2025
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Politico, "New Texas congressional map will create 5 districts Trump carried by double digits," July 30, 2025
- ↑ Associated Press, "Texas Democrats fleeing state to block redistricting vote follows strategy that’s had mixed results," August 3, 2025
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "The Texas Legislature is back for a special session. Here’s what we’re watching.," July 21, 2025
- ↑ the Hill, "Texas legislator James Talarico on Democratic walkout: ‘It’s time to fight back’," August 3, 2025
- ↑ The Hill, "Abbott hitting reset in Texas redistricting standoff," August 12, 2025
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Texas Tribune, "Texas Senate panel again advances redrawn congressional map," August 17, 2025
- ↑ CBS News, "Texas House passes GOP redistricting plan after weeks-long standoff," August 20, 2025
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Texas Democrats ramp up criticism of new Texas congressional map after Senate sends it to governor," August 23, 2025
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 X, "Greg Abbott on August 29, 2025," accessed August 29, 2025
- ↑ LegiScan, "Texas House Bill 4," accessed August 29, 2025
- ↑ Texas Trbiune, "Supreme Court lets Texas keep new congressional map while legal battle continues," December 4, 2025
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "Supreme Court temporarily restores Texas’ new congressional map," November 21, 2025
- ↑ Reuters, "Texas Senate approves redistricting bill, sending it to governor to sign," August 25, 2025
- ↑ New York Times, "Texas House Approves Redistricting Maps, Just as Trump Wanted," August 20, 2025
- ↑ ABC News, "Texas House redistricting committee advances bill with new congressional maps," August 18, 2025
- ↑ The Hill, "Abbott hitting reset in Texas redistricting standoff," August 12, 2025
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "Texas Senate approves new congressional lines as House Democrats remain out of state," August 12, 2025
- ↑ CNN, "The Texas redistricting showdown reaches a critical moment," August 8, 2025
- ↑ News 10, Texas governor asks court to remove House Democratic leader from office over walkout," August 5, 2025
- ↑ ABC News, "Texas Republicans fail again to advance redistricting effort amid Democrat absences," August 5, 2025
- ↑ Governor Greg Abbott, "Gov. Abbott on August 3, 2025," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ Politico, "Texas Dems to flee state amid national redistricting battle," August 3, 2025
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "Texas House panel advances redrawn congressional map that would add more GOP seats," August 1, 2025
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "Texans, Democrats condemn GOP redistricting plans at first public hearing," July 24, 2025
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "The Texas Legislature is back for a special session. Here’s what we’re watching.," July 21, 2025
- ↑ Associated Press, "Trump tells Texas Republicans to redraw the state congressional map to help keep House majority," July 15, 2025
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "Can Texas use its new congressional map for 2026? A trio of judges will decide.," September 29, 2025
- ↑ Pew Research Center, "Redistricting between censuses has been rare in the modern era," August 28, 2025
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