Texas Republicans have released their proposals for a redrawn Texas congressional map, and that could spell trouble for Democrats in the midterms.
The new map, proposed by state Rep. Todd Hunter, has the potential to add nearly half a dozen Republican seats from Texas to the GOP House conference in 2026, which could counteract the historical trend of the party holding the White House suffering in the midterms.
Hunter serves on the Committee on Congressional Redistricting, where the redistricting legislation will be debated on Friday.
The push for redistricting began after Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, alleged “unconstitutional racial gerrymanders” in four urban, Democrat-controlled districts.
Hunter’s map alters South Texas’ 28th and 34th districts, both of which are held by Democrats, but were won by President Donald Trump in 2024. That could cause problems for Democrat Reps. Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar.
Additionally, the map would likely boot one Austin Democrat from the House of Representatives.
Hunter’s proposal could force Rep. Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett to compete over a redesigned 37th District, since Casar’s 35th District is moved to the San Antonio area under the redesign.
That could set the stage for a primary battle between the 36-year-old Casar, an ultraliberal “Squad”-allied congressman, and 78-year-old Doggett, a more moderate member who has been in Congress since 1995.
The Texas Tribune reports that the map would “remake four Democratic districts” and create a completely revamped 9th District in the eastern Houston area, “where no current member of Congress lives.”
The Texas Tribune further noted that “instead of being a seat that Vice President Kamala Harris won by 44% under the current boundary, Trump would have won it by 15%.”
Additionally, Texas’ 32nd District, which is currently held by Dallas-area Democrat Rep. Julie Johnson, would be stretched far to the east, most of the way to the Louisiana border—which would transform an urban district into a semirural one that Republicans could pick up in 2026.