The Texas GOP Power Grab: Gerrymandering at Its Worst
As Texas Democrats flee the state to prevent a rewritten map from passing, America must come to terms with gerrymandering and the corruption it creates.
Gerrymandering continues to disrupt American politics and society. In a blatant display of corruption, Texas Republicans are attempting to rewrite congressional districts in Texas, hoping to cut out five Democratic seats in the state. Such a move would not only help the GOP protect its slim majority in the House, but it is also part of a longer, sordid history of manipulating districts to hold onto power—even if it undermines the will of the people.
What is Gerrymandering?
Gerrymandering is a two-hundred-year-old tactic that involves redrawing district maps to benefit one political party or another. The term, coined in 1812, was named after Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry, who signed a law that redistricted state senate seats to help his party, the Democratic-Republicans. In reaction, the Boston Centennial published a map depicting the map as a sort of salamander-like figure, dubbed the "Gerry-mander." From that point on, the term has stuck.
If a party controls the legislature as well as the governorship, it can rewrite districts to suit its needs. They can do this by 'cracking' groups into smaller communities, effectively weakening their vote-density to ensure they don't control any seat that the ruling party doesn't allow them to hold.
Conversely, the ruling party can engage in what is known as 'packing' where voters are packed into as few districts as possible, allowing certain voters, such as Democrats, to hold onto a few districts. In both cases, the voters themselves don't physically move, but the lines that distinguish their districts do.
And while this moment is unacceptable, it isn't illegal either. In the case of Rucho v. Common Cause (2019), the Supreme Court ruled that federal courts couldn't address the issue of partisan gerrymandering as it was considered a "political question.” As such, the regulation of partisan gerrymandering was beyond the jurisdiction of the federal government. However, instances of racialized gerrymandering are fair game for federal intervention.
The Problem
With such an abdication of responsibility, powerful figures across this country continue to use this power—a power they should never have had in the first place—to counter the popular will of the American people. And while Republicans are undeniably the greatest benefactors of this power, Democrats are also guilty of this approach.
In a previous piece on the issue of gerrymandering, I noted that Illinois was one of the most gerrymandered states in the country, but even with that in mind, Republicans continue to wield gerrymandering with the explicit purpose of holding onto power.
In an interview with CNBC's Squawk Box, President Trump said, "We have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats, we have a really good governor and we have good people in Texas, and I won Texas... and we are entitled to five more seats." There is no way around this self-evident truth—Republicans are using redistricting to subvert the will of the people. They are artificially creating districts while undermining the popular will of the people. How can the people consent to their government if this is how our government runs its elections?
The Challenge and Possible Solution
The problem with trying to address gerrymandering is that it can be like fighting with one's "hands behind" their back, as Governor Kathy Hochul of New York put it. If a party decides to abdicate the power to gerrymander, it loses the ability to retaliate when the other party, in this case the GOP, decides not to do the same.
States like California and New York both have independent commissions for their congressional districts, meaning that the two main Democratic strongholds are, in some sense, already abdicated.
However, that is likely to change in California. Governor Gavin Newsom has publicly called for temporarily setting aside the independent commission to eliminate five Republican districts, effectively countering the GOP gains in the House from Texas. New York may try the same thing, but it likely won't take effect until 2027, so its impact is limited for now.
The problem here lies in the risk of cementing gerrymandering rather than countering it. If Democrats can counter the GOP redistricting in Texas and gain control of the House in 2026, then it may incentivize them to abandon their reforms for redistricting. Such a shift in policy would ensure that gerrymandering would remain a fixture of American politics for a lifetime.
However, if Democrats can counter this effort in Texas and keep the larger picture in mind, then perhaps they could adopt a larger platform of redistricting reform come 2028, but that will require intense pressure and, if gerrymandering is to be thoroughly abolished, an amendment to the Constitution. I am holding out for hope, but when parties start playing political hardball, it can be hard to get them to stop.
References
“2025 Redistricting Control.” 2025. The American Redistricting Project. http://thearp.org/blog/party-control/2025/ (August 6, 2025).
Bailey, Phillip. 2025. “Trump Says Republicans Are ‘entitled’ to More Congressional Seats in Texas.” USA Today. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-says-republicans-are-entitled-to-more-congressional-seats-in-texas/ar-AA1JWWJ1?ocid=BingNewsSerp (August 5, 2025).
Birenbaum, Gabby, and Eleanor Klibanoff. 2025. “Texas House Republicans Unveil New Congressional Map That Looks to Pick up Five GOP Seats.” The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/texas-redistricting-congressional-maps-house-republicans/ (August 5, 2025).
De Vogue, Ariane, and Devan Cole. 2019. “Partisan Gerrymandering Allowed to Continue by Supreme Court | CNN Politics.” CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/27/politics/partisan-gerrymandering-supreme-court/index.html (August 5, 2025).
Kelly, Conor. 2025. “Abolish Gerrymandering.” The Progressive American Report. https://www.progressiveamerican.net/p/abolish-gerrymandering-35d44329cec7 (August 5, 2025).
Lieb, David. 2025. “Texas Dispute Highlights Nation’s Long History of Partisan Gerrymandering. Is It Legal?” AP News. https://apnews.com/article/gerrymandering-texas-congress-redistricting-0c751f48a7757fc11214472944670413 (August 5, 2025).
Rashid, Qasim. 2024. “Texas Dems Give America a Blueprint to Save Democracy.” Let’s Address This with Qasim Rashid. Substack. (August 5, 2025).
Rosenhall, Laurel, J. David Goodman, Shane Goldmacher, and Nick Corasaniti. 2025. “California Democrats Look to Redraw House Map Amid Texas Redistricting War.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/us/politics/california-texas-redistricting-maps.html (August 5, 2025).
Royden, Laura, and Michael Li. 2021. Gerrymandering Explained. New York: Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/gerrymandering-explained.
“Rucho v. Common Cause.”2019. Oyez. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2018/18-422 (August 5, 2025).
Sherman, Mark. 2023. “Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Black Alabama Voters in Unexpected Defense of Voting Rights Act | AP News.” The Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-redistricting-race-voting-rights-alabama-af0d789ec7498625d344c0a4327367fe (August 5, 2025).
Treisman, Rachel. 2025. “Texas Democrats Walked out to Block the GOP. How Well Has the Tactic Worked Before?” NPR Illinois. https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-08-04/texas-democrats-walked-out-to-block-the-gop-how-well-has-the-tactic-worked-before (August 5, 2025).
Woodward, Alex. 2025. “Democrats Ready for ‘War’ in Political Map Arms Race with Republicans.” The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/texas-democrats-gerrymander-redistricting-b2801833.html (August 6, 2025).