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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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Several Texas Democrats are at risk of losing their seats after the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed next year’s election to be held under the state’s new congressional map favorable to Republicans.
The High Court’s ruling pauses a 2-1 decision from a lower court that had blocked the map from being used.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump had pushed for the map, which would help the GOP preserve its slim majority in Congress in next year’s elections, triggering a national battle over redistricting.
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Republicans hold 25 of Texas’ 38 congressional seats, and the new map has five new districts that would favor Republicans.
To counter the GOP efforts, California voters in November approved a redrawn map that would give Democrats an additional five seats in the state. Redrawn maps in California and Missouri are also facing court challenges.
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Which Democrats Are At Risk in Texas?
Greg Casar
Among the biggest changes affects Texas’ 35th congressional district, which Casar represents.
The new map moves the district away from Austin and into that of Representative Lloyd Doggett, potentially pitting the two Democrats into a race for the only remaining seat representing Austin or running in a newly created Central Texas district outside of San Antonio that Trump would have won by 10 points in 2024, according to VoteBeat. Casar has said if the new map went into effect, he would run in the Austin-centered 37th congressional district which Doggett currently represents.
Lloyd Doggett
After the lower court blocked Texas from using the new maps, Doggett said he would run for election in the 37th district.
He had previously said he would not seek reelection if the newly drawn congressional map went into effect.
Julie Johnson
Johnson’s 32nd congressional district, currently contained mostly in Dallas County, is being expanded into east Texas to favor Republicans.
The move would shift it from one that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris by nearly 24 percentage points in 2024 to one that would have favored Trump by nearly 18 points, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Mark Veasey
Veasey’s 33rd congressional district would remain solidly blue under the new map, but drops all of Fort Worth, his hometown and political base.
The new district is based solely in Dallas County and could lead to a primary between Veasey and Johnson, according to the Texas Tribune.
Al Green
Parts of Green’s 9th congressional district, which currently covers the southern part of Harris County, would shift to the eastern part of Houston and become a district hat Trump would have won by 15 points, according to VoteBeat.
Henry Cuellar
Cuellar’s 28th congressional district, which is overwhelmingly Hispanic, would become slightly more favorable to Republicans, making reelection more difficult, according to the Tribune.
Vincent Gonzalez
Gonzalez would see the 34th congressional district, which he represents, become more favorable to Republicans, making his chances of winning reelection harder. He won reelection by just three points last year.
Newsweek has contacted the lawmakers for comment via emails sent outside regular business hours.
What People Are Saying
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement that the Supreme Court’s order "defended Texas’s fundamental right to draw a map that ensures we are represented by Republicans.”
He said: "Texas is paving the way as we take our country back, district by district, state by state. This map reflects the political climate of our state and is a massive win for Texas and every conservative who is tired of watching the left try to upend the political system with bogus lawsuits.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement on X: "We won! Texas is officially—and legally—more red.”
Democratic National Committee chairman Ken Martin said in a statement that the Supreme Court’s decision "to allow Texas Republicans’ rigged, racially gerrymandered maps to go into effect is wrong—both morally and legally.
"Once again, the Supreme Court gave Trump exactly what he wanted: a rigged map to help Republicans avoid accountability in the midterms for turning their backs on the American people.”
Representative Greg Casar wrote on X after the lower court’s decision last month: "The Trump Abbott maps are clearly illegal, and I’m glad these judges have blocked them. If this decision stands, I look forward to running for reelection in my current district. No matter what, we must fight to pass a federal ban on gerrymandering once and for all.”
What’s Next
Texas voters will cast their ballots using the redrawn map in next year’s midterm elections unless the Supreme Court later rules otherwise.
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