State lawmakers are moving forward with efforts to redraw congressional maps a move that’s sparking both political controversy and public pushback ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
TEXAS , UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 21: The Texas State Capitol building is seen as daily life continues in Austin, Texas , United States on 21 October 2024. Are scooters and bikes fueling crime in Downtown Houston?Robert Roberson at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec.
19, 2023. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has requested a new execution date for Roberson.Attorneys for Robert Roberson, man in shaken baby syndrome case, ask Texas court to delay his October execution date Read full article: Attorneys for Robert Roberson, man in shaken baby syndrome case, ask Texas court to delay his October execution dateTEXAS, UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 21: The Texas State Capitol building is seen as daily life continues in Austin, Texas, United States on 21 October 2024. – State lawmakers are moving forward with efforts to redraw congressional maps a move that’s sparking both political controversy and public pushback ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting and the Senate Special Committee on Redistricting will begin a series of public hearings this week. These hearings come as part of Governor Greg Abbott’s special legislative session agenda, with redistricting rising to the forefront following recent comments from former President Donald Trump suggesting redrawn maps could give Republicans a political edge.“I think we get five , and there could be some other states. Texas would be the biggest one,” Trump said last week. The Senate Committee is chaired by Republican State Senator Phil King and Conroe’s Brandon Creighton is the vice chair.The House Committee is chaired by Republican State Representative Cody Vaust and Houston’s Jon Rosenthal is the vice chair.The hearings will take place in multiple cities across Texas, inviting residents to share feedback on how their communities may be impacted:KPRC 2’s Rilwan Balogun reached out to state Sen. Creighton, King, and Vaust along with the Texas Republican Party for comment. No one returned his calls or emails. The redistricting process typically happens once every 10 years following the U.S. Census. But this mid-decade effort has raised questions and concerns about the motivations behind it. Houston residents, particularly in the historically Black 18th Congressional District, say they fear the effort could dilute their voting power and strip them of fair representation. “We fought hard to get that district,” said Maxine Lane-Seals, an 82-year-old resident of District 18. “Let us be able to elect the people that we, the people, want to represent us.” Lane-Seals and others have been without a representative for most of the year following the death of Congressman Slyvester Turner.“If you split this group up five different ways, you’re not only splitting their voice, you’re splitting their resources,” she said. “I need someone who understands my issues... someone who’s living through the same issues as I am.” According to David Froomkin, an assistant law professor at the University of Houston, the redistricting plan could face serious constitutional challenges. “The Department of Justice has already called the current Texas map an unconstitutional racial gerrymander,” Froomkin said. “The premise of this new plan, that race is the problem, directly violates federal protections.” Froomkin explains that while partisan gerrymandering is currently legal at the federal level, racial gerrymandering is not. If race is found to be the predominant factor in redrawing districts, courts could strike down the maps.State Representative Jon Rosenthal , Vice Chair of the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting, is vowing to fight any map that he sees as an attempt to rig elections. “We will oppose this with everything we have,” he said. “We want those voting on these maps to hear directly from the people about how unpopular and un-American this is.” Rosenthal added that while Democrats aren’t currently planning to break quorum, as they have in past legislative fights, all options remain on the table. “That’s the nuclear option, the last resort. I will fight with everything that I have,” Rosenthal said. Froomkin says any shift in congressional lines will have ripple effects across the state — potentially weakening both Democratic and Republican strongholds. “If lawmakers crack Houston across several districts, they’ll have to adjust rural Republican districts too,” Froomkin said. “That could reduce GOP margins elsewhere.”“We should pick our representatives,” Bess said. “Our representatives shouldn’t be picked for us.”A creative force with a lifelong passion for the arts. Exploring the realms of acting, singing, and film at an early age. With nearly 100 original songs, he is a BMI-published author, his music resonates on all major platforms, international video, films and Netflix.
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