Democrats in the Texas legislature were able to delay the Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting scheme, but only temporarily. The partisan gambit to redraw the state’s district lines to give the GOP an even greater advantage is now advancing in Austin and appears on track to reach Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk in the coming days.
There is effectively nothing Democrats in Texas can do to derail the scheme, but Democrats in California have a response in mind: If Republicans in the Lone Star State can rig their map to give the GOP five more congressional seats, then Democrats in the Golden State will do the same thing for their side.
That effort, which is being spearheaded by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, has now received an endorsement from the party’s most popular and most influential voice. NBC News reported:
Former President Barack Obama is backing California’s plan to counter mid-decade redistricting efforts by Republicans in Texas. At a fundraising event Tuesday night for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, Obama said the Democratic Party needs to ‘respond effectively’ to Republican attempts to gerrymander.
“I’ve had to wrestle with my preference, which would be that we don’t have political gerrymandering, but what I also know is that if we don’t respond effectively, then this White House and Republican-controlled state governments all across the country, they will not stop, because they do not appear to believe in this idea of an inclusive, expansive democracy,” Obama said at the event.
The former Democratic president, speaking of Newsom’s plan, added, “I think that approach is a smart, measured approach, designed to address a very particular problem in a very particular moment in time.”
In Texas, it was Donald Trump calling the shots, telling Republican legislators to follow his demands. In California, it’s a bit more complicated. The state has an independent redistricting commission, put in place to prevent gerrymandering abuses. But now that Democrats in the state want to respond to a gerrymandering abuse underway a few states away, they’ll need voters to approve a new district map that circumvents the commission. In other words, this isn’t about persuading like-minded legislators, it’s about persuading voters in a statewide campaign. Given Obama’s stature, his public support matters as the broader electoral effort moves forward. But stepping back, even if Californians approve a redrawn map in response to Texas’ scheme, it appears increasingly likely that other states will soon pursue similar tactics. The White House, fearing a possible voter backlash in the 2026 midterm elections, has also been leaning heavily on states like Indiana and Missouri to launch mid-decade redistricting gambits of their own, and according to the president, his efforts are paying off. A related effort in Florida also appears on track. Watch this space.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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