Texas Democrats slam GOP redistricting plan as "grossly unfair" and "deeply undemocratic"

Top Texas Democrats are sounding the alarm over a GOP plan to redraw Texas' congressional maps, warning in interviews with CBS News it would dramatically dilute minority representation in the Lone Star State and set off a nationwide ripple effect.

Republican state lawmakers unveiled a draft congressional map on Wednesday that would turn five U.S. House districts currently held by Democrats into GOP-leaning seats — an idea blessed by President Trump as Republicans angle to hold onto their narrow congressional majority in next year's midterms.

One Democratic member of Congress whose district could be impacted called the proposed map "grossly unfair," arguing Black and Latino communities are being "scrambled" and intentionally fractured for political gain.

"They've already gerrymandered the map — and now they're trying to make it 30 to 8 in favor of Republicans," the lawmaker told CBS News, referencing the state's congressional delegation. "This is grossly unfair and starts a dangerous domino effect. If Texas lights the fire, it will spread to other states like California and New York. It's going to be a mess across the country."

The Democratic representative also argued that Texas Republicans are banking on maintaining the historic margins they saw among Hispanic voters in November's election, but warned that recent polling shows a softening in GOP support among Latino voters — particularly in the wake of backlash over the Trump administration's deportation policies.

Those voters "may not be there," the lawmaker said, cautioning the strategy could backfire and jeopardize Republican gains.

Another top Democrat who has previously run statewide in Texas echoed the concern, calling the proposal "deeply undemocratic."

"We're seeing losses of representation for people of color in Texas," the Democrat said. "Five of the affected districts are Latino-majority seats. They're not just stacking the deck — they're doing it without any expectation of being held accountable. But they will be held accountable."

Mr. Trump has publicly encouraged Texas Republicans to reshape the state's congressional districts, predicting to reporters earlier this month a "simple redrawing" could net five extra seats for his party. The GOP currently controls 25 of Texas' 38 House districts, which were last redrawn after the 2020 Census.

House Republicans are defending a razor-thin seven-seat majority in next year's congressional elections — a challenging task since the party that controls the White House almost always loses upwards of a dozen seats in the midterms.

Texas' Republican Gov. Greg Abbott called the state legislature into a special session, and on Wednesday, lawmakers released an early draft map — though changes could be made. It will need to pass the GOP-controlled state House and Senate.

The map would improve the GOP's edge by tilting two Democratic seats in the Rio Grande Valley to the right, making a pair of districts in the Dallas and Houston area redder and merging two Democratic seats near Austin into one.

For example, Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar — who already represents a district won by Mr. Trump in 2024 — would lose parts of the San Antonio suburbs under the new map. And the Dallas-area district held by Democratic Rep. Julie Johnson would be redrawn to stretch more than 100 miles from Dallas County to deep-red parts of rural North Texas.

Texas Republicans have pledged to ensure the redistricting plans are constitutional. Abbott has argued the maps need to be redrawn due to "constitutional concerns" raised by the Justice Department. CBS News has reached out to the Texas GOP for comment.

But Democrats have blasted the map, which Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin called a "blatant gerrymander" and a "likely violation of the Voting Rights Act." Rep. Greg Casar — whose Austin-area district would be merged with that of fellow Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett — called the move "illegal voter suppression of Black and Latino Central Texans."

The governors of some Democratic states, including California and New York, have floated launching their own mid-decade redistricting processes, with an eye to creating more blue seats. But those plans could require constitutional amendments since, unlike Texas, those two states have put independent commissions in charge of redistricting.

Johnson — whose Texas district is set to be redrawn — says other states should redraw their maps in response.

"This is an all-out war," she told CBS News senior White House correspondent Ed O'Keefe. "I am for fair and independent redistricting across the country, so long as we all do it. But if we're going to do partisan gerrymandering, then game on, we all should."

Meanwhile, some experts have suggested Texas' plan to create five extra GOP-leaning districts could make some of those newfound red seats more competitive, by distributing Republican voters across more districts.

The state has also undergone significant demographic changes in recent elections. The fast-growing Dallas and Houston suburbs have shifted toward Democrats, but the once reliably blue Rio Grande Valley has become redder with more Hispanic voters supporting Republican candidates. Those shifts could complicate efforts to rearrange the congressional map.

Hunter Woodall contributed to this report.