The Texas Senate approved a bill early Saturday to redraw the state’s congressional maps in a bid, backed by former President Donald Trump, to flip five Democratic-held seats to Republicans. The state House passed the measure on Wednesday, and it now heads to Republican Governor Greg Abbott to be signed into law amid a nationwide redistricting battle.
The Senate approved the bill along party lines, 18 to 11, after more than eight hours of debate. Democrats attempted to delay the vote through a filibuster, led by State Senator Carol Alvarado, but a rare procedural motion by Senate Republicans ended the debate just after midnight, moving directly to a final vote, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Republicans say winning additional congressional seats in Texas could help the party maintain its narrow U.S. House majority in next year’s midterm elections. Critics, however, argue that the new map dilutes minority voting power, particularly for Hispanic and Black communities. Senator Royce West, a Democrat, warned the map could reduce the number of African American representatives from four to two.
Senator Phil King, the Republican bill sponsor, defended the legislation, stating that the map was drawn using voting history rather than racial data and meets all legal requirements.
The move comes as other states controlled by Democrats, including California, pursue counter-redistricting measures. California’s legislature recently approved a plan to give Democrats five additional congressional seats, which must still be approved by voters in November. Texas, by contrast, does not require voter approval, but Democrats have indicated plans to challenge the law in court.
The legislation had previously been delayed for two weeks after more than 50 Democratic state House members staged a walkout to prevent a legislative quorum.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll this week found that most Americans view redrawing congressional maps for political gain—commonly known as gerrymandering—as harmful to democracy.
