Texas House Republicans have passed a new congressional district map after hours of debate and efforts by Democrats to stall the vote.
Democrats filed amendments to delay the measure and have pledged to challenge the map in court. The final vote in the House was 88-52 on Wednesday.
With the lower chamber’s approval, the map will be taken up by the Senate on Thursday. The redistricting plan could give Republicans five additional seats in Congress.
The legislation had been delayed earlier in the summer when Democrats broke quorum by leaving the state in protest. Before Wednesday’s vote, Democrats criticized Republicans for failing to hold hearings on the map during the second special session.
The map largely mirrors the version introduced in the first special session, though some district boundaries have been adjusted.
During the debate, Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston, said, “So let’s talk about cowardice and cheats, because if you knew you could win this next election, you wouldn’t be taking this effort to try to steal five seats from elected officials that members of color elected to represent them in Washington, D.C.”
Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, countered, “You want transparency? Here’s the U.S. Supreme Court’s legal transparency. The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward: Improve Republican political performance.”
Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, D-San Antonio, asked, “Would you believe it would be a great process to include the public in a way that they could see what’s going on, or do we want to do the things in the cloak of darkness here?”
Hunter replied, “Well, you’ve been gone in the cloak of darkness for 18 days. I could have public input while you were gone. You prevented this. You were gone from acting.”
Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, said, “You removed key economic engines from CD 30, like Love Field in Downtown Dallas. Hell, you even took her home out of her district. She told you that, but you ignored her on that, too. Just like you ignored the thousands of Texans who voiced their strong opposition to this corrupt process.”
Mid-decade redistricting is not common but is legal under the U.S. Constitution. Congressional districts are typically redrawn once each decade after census data is released, but the law allows for changes at other times.
In North Texas, the map would alter several districts. Rep. Julie Johnson’s District 32, currently Dallas County-based, could extend past Tyler in East Texas. Rep. Marc Veasey’s District 33 would move entirely into Dallas County, leaving Tarrant County. Rep. Jasmine Crockett would no longer live in the district she represents.
The Senate will hold a committee hearing Thursday morning, followed by a floor vote that evening. If passed, the bill will be sent to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature.
