Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday signed the state’s new redistricting plan into law.
The Texas Senate gave final approval to a new, GOP-leaning congressional voting map early Saturday, sending it to Abbott, who signed it into law, Friday.
“Today, I signed the One Big Beautiful Map into law,” Abbott posted on X with a brief video showing him signing the approved bill.
“This map ensures fairer representation in Congress. Texas will be more RED in Congress.”
President Donald Trump had pushed for the Texas map to help the GOP maintain its slim majority in Congress in the 2026 midterm elections. It has created five new districts expected to favor Republicans.
State GOP lawmakers passed redistricting legislation after Texas House Democrats left the state to delay a vote on the maps, and Republicans blocked a planned Democrat filibuster in the Senate, Axios reported.
The Lone Star State’s 38-member U.S. House delegation includes 25 Republicans, 12 Democrats, and one vacant seat, left open after Democrat Rep. Sylvester Turner’s death this year.
A group of 13 Texas residents, alleging that the redrawn districts are racially discriminatory, filed a lawsuit against Abbott just hours after the Senate approved the bill. The complaint supplements legal action taken by the League of United Latin American Citizens in 2021, The Texas Tribune reported.
In California, state Republicans on Monday filed their second legal challenge in a week to block state Democrats and Gov. Gavin Newsom from moving forward with a ballot measure this fall to redraw congressional district lines.
Newsom has cited the Texas Legislature’s redistricting move for a tit-for-tat measure in his state.
Trump has pushed other Republican-controlled states, including Indiana and Missouri, to also revise their maps to add more winnable GOP seats. Ohio Republicans were also already scheduled to revise their maps to make them more partisan.
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 Associated Press contributed to this story.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
