Texas GOP poised to sink Trump DOJ's plan to 'screw over Democrats': report
Source: Raw Story
July 13, 2025 6:50PM ET
The Trump administration's efforts to make Texas a less competitive state in the midterm elections could be sunk by the state's Republican party, according to a report by Democracy Docket. At issue is a request from Trump's Department of Justice for Texas state officials to redraw their congressional map. The request came in a letter sent by Attorney General Pam Bondi shortly after the deadly flood that killed more than 100 people in central Texas last week.
In the letter, dated July 7, Bondi says four congressional districts in Texas are unconstitutional because they were drawn using "race-based considerations." Three Democrats currently hold seats in the contested districts: Rep. Al Green, Rep. Sylvia Garcia, and Rep. Mark Veasey. The fourth district is currently vacant, but was formerly held by Rep. Sylvester Turner before he died in March.
However, court testimony obtained by Democracy Docket shows DOJ's underlying premise for redrawing the districts is false. Republican State Sen. Joan Huffman, who worked on the state's 2021 redistricting effort, told a court on July 10 that he drew the congressional maps "blind to race."
Voting rights lawyer Mark Elias said Sunday on Democracy Docket's YouTube channel that this admission could completely upend Texas's efforts to "screw over Democrats" in the upcoming 2026 primary election. "Oh, what a tangled web they have weaved," Elias said.
Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/gop-2673149328/
Jul 13, 2025
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SSJVegeta
(1,117 posts)"Screwing over Dems" like they think they are...
Bernardo de La Paz
(57,015 posts)By making the seats more marginal, it is a risky strategy that works until it fails spectacularly. When there is a swing the small margins means it takes less of a swing for a wipeout.
LetMyPeopleVote
(166,210 posts)I have been volunteering on voting rights/voter protection since 2004 when I went to Florida as part of the Kerry Edwards voter protection team. I have testified before committees of both the Texas House and Senate on gerrymandered districts. Part of my testimony was used in a prior lawsuit that unfortunately failed. Texas is heavily gerrymandered. My congressional district went from a R+1 to a R+21 as part of the last gerrymander. trump wants Ohio and Texas to re-gerrymander their districts to help in the midterms. I was amused to see that these efforts run a risk of failing
Republicans run a risky strategy for holding the House that rests on redrawn maps
— David Darmofal (@daviddarmofal.bsky.social) 2025-07-11T18:40:41.292Z
www.politico.com/news/2025/07...
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/11/texas-redistricting-00448145
They are playing a little bit of roulette with these maps, said Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas). In a wave election like what we have a potential opportunity for in 26 I think it makes these Republicans very vulnerable.
Texas has 38 House seats, with 25 held by Republicans. Members of the states Democratic delegation huddled with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as the redistricting talk ramped up, with follow-up meetings planned.
Jeffries warned in a statement Wednesday that an aggressive map could result in making several incumbent House Republicans vulnerable to fierce general election challenges.
Republicans are cutting off their nose to spite their face, he added.....
Democrats are almost certain to sue over whatever new maps are created in both Ohio and Texas, said John Bisognano, president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.
I imagine we will have a lot to say about the map they create and the legalities of it, he said Thursday.
On top of everything else, there is a trial going on with respect to the Texas maps that these efforts may affect.
This will be fun to watch