Texas legislators have approved new congressional maps meant to give Republicans an edge in next year’s elections for the US House of Representatives.
After a two-week standoff, where Democrats fled the state to stall the vote and rally supporters against the redistricting plans, Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives passed the new voting lines in an 88 – 52 vote.
The maps will now go to the Texas Senate, where they are expected to be swiftly approved.
The new maps are intended give Republicans five seats that are currently held by Democrats and shore up the party’s US House majority. However, Democrat-led states are pushing to redraw their maps to offset those gains.
President Donald Trump backed redrawing the maps to safeguard a Republican majority in the US House, when congressional lawmakers will again be on the ballot in 2026.
The vote followed a dramatic standoff, where state Democrats fled the state to halt the new maps from being voted on.
Texas Gov Greg Abbott issued arrest warrants for members of the group who fled and multiple Democrats said law enforcement had been monitoring their homes.
Those lawmakers returned this week, saying they believed their stalling helped garner widespread awareness of the redistricting plans and caused multiple states to mull their own plans to counter Republicans.
