Proposed Texas redistricting maps shift Houston district lines

HOUSTON — The long-anticipated proposed redistricting maps were made public Wednesday morning, sparking renewed debate over the future of congressional representation in the Houston area.

The proposed changes, unveiled during Texas’s ongoing special legislative session, come amid mounting controversy over mid-decade redistricting, a rare move that critics say is politically motivated and threatens minority representation.

Democrats argue that communities won’t fully grasp the potential impact of these changes without being able to see proposed boundaries during public hearings. A virtual hearing held Monday highlighted that frustration, with District 18 candidate Jolanda Jones pressing House Redistricting Committee Chair Cody Vasut on the lack of transparency.

“Why are we having hearings before we have a bill, where we can actually say for or against?” Jones asked.

Vasut defended the process, saying it’s been standard practice to hold hearings before maps are drafted.

But with new maps now released, the stakes are clearer. The Department of Justice has already raised red flags, calling District 18 “racially gerrymandered.” The proposed maps appear to shift key boundaries in Houston’s core, where districts 9, 18, and 29 have long represented Black and Latino communities.

Political analyst Brandon Rottinghaus says national Republican leaders, including President Donald Trump, are pressuring Texas lawmakers to deliver more congressional seats.

“The real overriding pressure here is political as it always is,” Rottinghaus said. “You have the Trump administration saying we’d love to squeeze a few more seats out of this and Republican lawmakers saying we’ll give it a shot.”

Opponents argue that doing so would dilute minority voting power. “The only way President Trump gets five seats is if he cracks Black and brown constituencies in Texas,” said Jones. “It terrifies me.”

The current districts were drawn in 2021, following the census. While redistricting typically happens once every decade, this effort — just five years later — has reignited accusations of racial and partisan gerrymandering.