OAN Staff Blake Wolf
10:46 AM – Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Texas GOP state lawmakers unveiled their plan to redraw Congressional maps ahead of next year’s midterm elections as the Republican Party seeks to defend its “razor-thin” majority.
The proposed maps are expected to create five additional House seats in areas that President Donald Trump dominated in last November.
“Just a simple redrawing. We pick up five seats,” Trump stated earlier this month.
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Despite the potential for additional GOP Congressional seats, Texas-based Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser revealed that the proposal has the potential to be a high-risk venture.
“There is some risk of making safe Republican seats more competitive, and I think that the incumbents are certainly worried about that,” Steinhauser stated. If you talk to Republican members of Congress, they’re going to be worried about their own seats. They don’t want to be in a seat that’s more competitive.”
“That’s the tradeoff for Republicans, if you want to grow the majority,” he added. “The people drawing the maps… they don’t want to make any seat too competitive because that will defeat the purpose.”
The proposal was filed by Rep. Todd Hunter (R-Texas) on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Democrats have taken notice of the Republican effort to redraw districts, and have since floated their own potential redistricting efforts.
“It’s our belief that we can’t fight with one hand behind our backs,” stated House Democrat Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) last week.
“We can’t let Texas go unanswered,” he added. “And it’s our belief that we should do whatever we can to protect democracy.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has also accused the GOP of being “afraid of the voters in 2026 in the midterm elections and they’re trying to cheat to win.”
California Democrats have since announced that they are attempting to gain “at least” five additional seats through redistricting the Golden State, which could potentially counter the GOP effort in Texas.
The California-led effort may face challenges though, as the state features an independent commission in charge of drawing districts. However, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) has signaled that California Democrats should go ahead with the redrawing — despite potential roadblocks.
“Two can play this game,” Newsom recently wrote on social media, referencing the growing efforts to redraw state districts.
Republicans are also looking to potentially redistrict red states such as Florida, Missouri, and Indiana, while Democrats set their sights on New York, Illinois, and New Jersey.
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