Republican state lawmakers in the Texas legislature could unveil proposed new congressional redistricting maps as early as Wednesday. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has accused the Republicans of being "afraid of the voters in 2026 in the midterm elections and they're trying to cheat to win."
The Republican push in Texas is part of a broader effort by the GOP across the country to keep control of the House, and cushion losses elsewhere in the country, as the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats in midterm elections.
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Trump and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House, when Democrats stormed back to grab the House majority in the 2018 midterms.
"Texas will be the biggest one," the president told reporters recently, as he predicted the number of GOP-friendly seats that could be added through redistricting in the reliably red state. "Just a simple redrawing, we pick up five seats."
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California is considering launching a redistricting push in his blue state to counter Republican efforts underway in red-state Texas. (Paul Steinhauser - Fox News )
Jeffries, after his two-day stop in Texas, heads to California for meetings with state Democrats.
But it won't be easy to enact the change, because in California, congressional maps are drawn by an independent commission that is not supposed to let partisanship influence their work.
Newsom has suggested that the state's Democratic-controlled legislature move forward with a mid-decade redrawing of the maps, arguing that it might not be forbidden by the 17-year-old ballot initiative that created the independent commission.
The governor also proposed quickly holding a special election to repeal the commission ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Both plans are considered long shots, as they would face plenty of legislative, legal and financial hurdles.
Democrats in other heavily populated blue states—including New York, Illinois, and New Jersey, are also considering making changes to their maps, but have redistricting limits enshrined in their state constitutions.
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Meanwhile, Ohio is required by law to redistrict this year, and a redrawing of the maps in the red-leaning state could provide the GOP with up to three more congressional seats.
And Republicans are also mulling mid-decade redistricting that might give the GOP a couple of more House seats in red states such as Florida, Missouri, and Indiana.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
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