The Texas House on August 20 approved new congressional district maps for the Lone Star State with a party-line 88-52 vote. This comes just days after Democrats who had earlier fled the state to sabotage the vote returned. Gov. Greg Abbott called for a special session to get the new district maps – already approved by the Texas Senate – through the House.

The redistricting, labeled gerrymandering by Democrats, creates five new likely-Republican districts – an opportunity for the GOP to win five additional House of Representatives seats in the 2026 midterm elections.