Trump Triggers Mid-Decade Gerrymandering Wave — Texas Redraws Maps Adding Five GOP Seats, Setting Off National Race to Bottom

President Trump pressures Texas Republicans to redraw their congressional maps in a rare mid-decade redistricting, despite no new census data to justify the change. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signs a revised map on August 29 that could give Republicans five additional seats. The move triggers a national race to the bottom: California suspends its independent redistricting commission in response and redraws maps to add Democratic seats. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis calls a special session on redistricting. Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, and Ohio follow suit with their own new maps. The Supreme Court clears the Texas map in December despite a lower court finding it was 'racially gerrymandered.' Common Cause calls the mid-decade push 'a nationwide race to the bottom where, no matter who holds power, voters lose.' By early 2026, nine more seats are identified as Republican gains and six as Democratic gains from the redraws. The wave represents the most aggressive partisan redistricting effort since the post-census 2011 cycle, occurring in an off-year without constitutional justification.