A Texas Senate committee advanced a new GOP-friendly House map Thursday as Republicans look to quickly move forward in both chambers with passing new congressional lines that would give the Republicans several pickup opportunities ahead of 2026.
In a 6-1 vote, the Texas Senate Special Committee on Congressional Redistricting advanced an identical set of congressional lines that a Texas state House passed earlier this month.
The House map aims to give Republicans five more pickup opportunities, impacting lawmakers in the Austin, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and Rio Grande Valley areas.
The move in the Texas Senate committee tees the House lines for a vote on the state Senate floor.
But with Texas Democrats having fled the state to block the quorum — the minimum number of lawmakers needed to conduct business — the effort to pass the maps in both chambers have stalled. It remains unclear how long Democrats will stay away from Texas.
Republicans say the FBI is working with officials to help track down the Democrats who fled the state.
Texas state Sen. Borris Miles (D), who sits on the Senate redistricting committee, strongly condemned the Republicans’ efforts to pass the gerrymandered map in remarks before the vote.
“I’m truly saddened, but I guess at this point I should not be shocked by the fact that my colleagues — you all — have openly embraced an invitation to engage in overt racism, mindful of our sordid history of disenfranchising people who look like me,” said Miles, who is Black.
“These seats don’t belong to Donald J. Trump. He’s not owning — he doesn’t own anything,” Miles continued. “And we should not be auctioned off — our votes — to get him five more seats, Mr. Chairman. These seats belong to the people of Texas.”
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