Texas Democrats Engage with California and Illinois Governors Over Redistricting Strategies

Facing an assertive Republican push to redraw congressional districts in Texas, Democratic members of the Texas House traveled on Friday to meet with the Democratic governors of California and Illinois. These governors have indicated their states could adjust their own political boundaries in response to changes enacted in Texas.

Over a dozen Democratic legislators took flights early Friday with plans to discuss with Governor Gavin Newsom of California and Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois the potential repercussions of Texas’s redistricting on their states, as well as possible countermeasures they might implement.

State Representative Richard Peña Raymond, a Democrat from Laredo and part of the delegation heading to Chicago, emphasized that this issue extends beyond Texas. He noted, "We want the nation to recognize that what is unfolding in Texas is a battle with national implications," adding that the redistricting efforts are clearly designed to influence the entire country.

The Republican-led redistricting initiative, encouraged by former President Donald Trump, aims to reshape Texas’s congressional maps ahead of the usual post-census schedule. This effort seeks to bolster the Republican Party’s majority in the U.S. House by potentially adding five additional Republican seats to Texas’s current 38 congressional districts, where Republicans presently hold 25.

This daylong visit represents the most definitive action taken by Texas Democrats as they navigate their response to the redistricting plan in a state dominated by Republican control of the Legislature and statewide offices. The effort follows Governor Greg Abbott’s call for a special legislative session dedicated to redrawing district lines, prompted by pressure from the White House.