AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott promised Saturday to quickly sign off on a new, Republican-leaning congressional voting map gerrymandered to help the GOP maintain its slim majority in Congress.
"One Big Beautiful Map has passed the Senate and is on its way to my desk, where it will be swiftly signed into law," Abbott said in a statement.
Texas lawmakers approved the final plans just hours before, inflaming an already tense battle unfolding among states as governors from both parties pledge to redraw maps with the goal of giving their political candidates a leg up in the 2026 midterm elections.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks to lawmakers Saturday during a special session in the Senate Chamber at the state Capitol in Austin.
In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom approved a special election to take place in November for residents to vote on a redrawn congressional map designed to help Democrats win five more House seats next year.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump pushed other Republican-controlled states, including Indiana and Missouri, to also revise their maps to add more winnable GOP seats. Ohio Republicans also were already scheduled to revise their maps to make them more partisan.
In Texas, the map includes five new districts that would favor Republicans.
State Sen. Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton, looks over a redrawn U.S. congressional map Friday during debate over a bill in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin.
Democrats vow to challenge it in court
The effort by Trump and Texas' Republican-majority Legislature prompted state Democrats to hold a two-week walkout and kicked off a wave of redistricting efforts across the country.
Democrats prepared for a final show of resistance, with plans to push the Senate vote into the early morning hours in a last-ditch attempt to delay passage. However, Republicans blocked those efforts by citing a rule violation.
"What we have seen in this redistricting process has been maneuvers and mechanisms to shut down people's voices," state Sen. Carol Alvarado, leader of the Senate Democratic caucus, said on social media after the new map was finalized by the GOP-controlled Senate.
State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, listens to other senators speak Friday during a special session in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin.
Democrats already delayed the bill's passage during hours of debate, pressing Republican Sen. Phil King, the measure's sponsor, on the proposal's legality, with many alleging that the redrawn districts violate the Voting Rights Act by diluting voters' influence based on race.
King vehemently denied that accusation, saying, "I had two goals in mind: That all maps would be legal and would be better for Republican congressional candidates in Texas."
"There is extreme risk the Republican majority will be lost" in the House if the map does not pass, King said.
California’s map needs voter approval because, unlike in Texas, a nonpartisan commission normally draws the map to avoid the sort of political battle that is playing out.
On Friday, Abbott called California’s redistricting “a joke” and asserted that Texas’ new map is constitutional but California’s would be overturned.
Texas state senators pray Friday in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin before they debate the bill on a redrawn U.S. congressional map.
Battle for the House waged via redistricting
On a national level, the partisan makeup of existing districts puts Democrats within three seats of a majority. The incumbent president's party usually loses seats in the midterms.
The Texas redraw is already reshaping the 2026 race, with Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the dean of the state's congressional delegation, announcing Thursday that he will not seek reelection to his Austin-based seat if the new map takes effect. Under the proposed map, Doggett's district would overlap with that of another Democratic incumbent, Rep. Greg Casar.
Redistricting typically occurs once a decade, immediately after a census. While some states have their own limitations, there is no national impediment to a state trying to redraw districts in the middle of the decade.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2019 ruled that the Constitution does not prohibit partisan gerrymandering to increase a party's clout, only gerrymandering that's explicitly done by race.
Visitors explore the Texas Capitol rotunda into the late night Friday in Austin as the Senate takes a recess before hearing more debate over the bill on the redrawn U.S. congressional map.
'Fight fire with fire'
More Democratic-run states have commission systems like California's or other redistricting limits than Republican ones do, leaving the GOP with a freer hand to swiftly redraw maps.
New York, for example, cannot draw new maps until 2028, and even then only with voter approval.
Republicans and some Democrats championed a 2008 ballot measure that established California's nonpartisan redistricting commission, along with a 2010 one that extended its role to drawing congressional maps.
Both sides showed concern over what the redistricting war could lead to.
California Assemblyman James Gallagher, the Republican minority leader, said Trump was "wrong" to push for new Republican seats elsewhere. Still, he warned that Newsom's approach, which the governor dubbed "fight fire with fire," is dangerous.
"You move forward fighting fire with fire, and what happens?" Gallagher asked. "You burn it all down."
Photos show Trump’s federal crackdown in a Washington, DC neighborhood
Armed officers prepare to place handcuffs on a man from within an apartment complex, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in the Petworth neighborhood of northwest Washington. The officers pictured had "Washington Field Office" on their shirts underneath tactical gear that said Police. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Yanna Stelle, 19, holds her baby Zyanna, 1, as she talks with neighbors in reaction to a large police presence of officers from several federal agencies including Federal Marshalls, Park Police, HSI, and FBI, who arrested a man from within her apartment complex, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in the Petworth neighborhood of northwest Washington. "That was too many police first thing in the morning," says Stelle, "especially for them just to be doing a warrant. I heard a bunch of walkie talkies and at least 20 officers in the hallways." (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Officers from several federal agencies including FBI, Federal Marshalls, and Park Police, leave an apartment complex after arresting a man from within the apartment complex, Tuesday, August 19, 2025, in the Petworth neighborhood of northwest Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Officers from several federal agencies including U.S. Marshals, FBI, and Park Police, leave an apartment complex after arresting a man from within the apartment complex, Tuesday, August 19, 2025, in the Petworth neighborhood of northwest Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Armed officers from several federal agencies including U.S. Marshals, FBI, HSI, and Park Police, leave an apartment complex after arresting a man from within the apartment complex, Tuesday, August 19, 2025, in the Petworth neighborhood of northwest Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
A woman walks past fruit vendors without buying anything, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, as vendors wait for customers in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of northwest Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
A woman walking her dog watches as officers from several federal agencies including FBI, Federal Marshalls, HSI, and Park Police, arrest a man at an apartment complex, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in the Petworth neighborhood of northwest Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Officers from several federal agencies including FBI, Federal Marshalls, HSI, and Park Police, leave an apartment complex after arresting a man from within the apartments, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in the Petworth neighborhood of northwest Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
