Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Saturday said he would quickly sign off on a newly-approved congressional voting map designed to favour Republican candidates, The Associated Press reported. The GOP-drawn map adds five new Republican-leaning districts and seeks to help the party retain its narrow House majority in 2026.
“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, per AP.
The map’s passage comes as both Republicans and Democrats across the US scramble to redraw congressional lines to boost their respective odds in the upcoming midterm elections.
Democrats Criticise the Map as ‘Voter Suppression’
Texas Democrats strongly opposed the move, staging a two-week walkout and attempting to delay the vote until the early morning hours. However, Republicans eventually shut down those efforts by citing rule violations.
“What we have seen in this redistricting process has been maneuvers and mechanisms to shut down people”s voices,” AP quoted state Senator Carol Alvarado, who leads the Senate Democratic caucus, as saying.
Democrats, who have argued that the map not only weakens the voting power of communities of colour, but it also violates the Voting Rights Act, are preparing to challenge it in court.
GOP: A Legal and Strategic Move
Denying any racial bias in the new district lines, Republican sponsor of the bill Senator Phil King reportedly said, “I had two goals in mind: That all maps would be legal and would be better for Republican congressional candidates in Texas.”
King further insisted that failing to pass the map would pose an “extreme risk the Republican majority will be lost” in the House.
Redistricting Reshapes 2026 Elections
The impact of the new map is already being felt. Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the longest-serving Texas congressman, subsequently announced that he won’t be seeking reelection if the map takes effect. Should that happen, Doggett’s Austin-based district would be merged with that of fellow Democrat Rep. Greg Casar, the report said.
The redistricting effort is part of an increasingly intense battle over political control across the US. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom recently approved a special election for a new map that could flip five House seats blue. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has pushed red-state leaders to redraw maps to boost GOP chances.
Meanwhile, California Republican Assemblyman James Gallagher also voiced concern about escalating redistricting tactics, reportedly saying, “You move forward fighting fire with fire, and what happens? You burn it all down.”
ALSO READ: How Texas’ Redistricting Battle Is Rewriting the 2026 US Senate Race for Both Parties
