Former President Barack Obama has sharply criticized Texas Republicans for their push to redraw congressional maps in a way that would add five new GOP-leaning seats, calling the move “a power grab that undermines our democracy.”
In a statement posted August 5 on X (formerly Twitter), Obama expressed concern that the Texas redistricting initiative is part of a broader Republican effort to manipulate district boundaries for political advantage ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. “We can’t lose focus on what matters – right now, Republicans in Texas are trying to gerrymander district lines to unfairly win five seats in next year’s midterm elections,” Obama stated.
The redistricting proposal comes as former President Donald Trump has urged Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Republican-led state legislature to expedite the process, despite the U.S. Census traditionally prompting redistricting only once every 10 years. During an August 5 appearance on CNBC, Trump claimed Republicans “are entitled to five more seats” due to his 2024 electoral victory in Texas.
Currently, Texas holds 38 congressional seats, with 25 Republicans, 12 Democrats, and one vacancy in a Democrat-leaning district. The proposed new map, advanced by a legislative committee on August 2, would create five additional Republican-leaning districts and redraw others to target Democratic incumbents. This would help bolster the GOP’s narrow House majority, now standing at 220-212.
The move has sparked fierce backlash from national Democrats. Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, now chair of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, condemned the plan as “an authoritarian move” in an August 3 appearance on ABC’s This Week. He and other Democratic leaders have vowed to resist what they see as an attempt to tilt the electoral playing field.
In response to Democratic lawmakers fleeing the state to block the vote and deny a quorum, Governor Abbott this week directed Texas law enforcement to detain and return absent legislators.
The battle has intensified along partisan lines, with Democratic governors in California, Illinois, and New York signaling they will counter the Texas plan by redrawing their own maps to favor Democrats. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed bypassing the state’s independent redistricting commission to pursue a more partisan map, potentially creating up to six new Democratic seats.
California’s legislature is expected to vote on its redistricting proposal the week of August 18, aiming to place the new maps on the ballot for a special election scheduled for November 4.
This clash over congressional lines underscores a deepening national conflict over political representation and the future balance of power in the U.S. House — a battle that’s increasingly being shaped not just by voters, but by the drawing of the maps that determine who represents them.
