{"id":49430,"date":"2025-11-14T13:52:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T13:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/49430\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T13:52:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T13:52:10","slug":"how-a-new-map-could-alter-houstons-congressional-districts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/49430\/","title":{"rendered":"How a new map could alter Houston\u2019s Congressional Districts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Congressional redistricting was the big Texas political story<\/a> of the summer, when the state\u2019s Republican-dominated legislature led an unconventional push to redraw Texas congressional districts years earlier than normal.<\/p>\n

State leaders weren\u2019t shy about the goal: giving Texas more Republican-friendly districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections at the request<\/a> of President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

Texas Democrats responded by walking out, leaving the statehouse at a standstill<\/a>. When they returned<\/a>, state lawmakers pushed through a new map<\/a> which could give the GOP as many as five new seats<\/a> from Texas in the U.S. House. Those five seats are a big deal since Republicans already hold 25 of the state\u2019s 38 spots in the chamber.<\/p>\n

Whether the new congressional map will be used in 2026 midterms is still tied up in court. A lawsuit seeking to block it is currently being considered by a panel of federal judges in El Paso, who heard the case<\/a> last month. The plaintiffs allege illegal racial gerrymandering<\/a>, while the state argues its motivation was purely partisan \u2014 and therefore, legal. <\/p>\n

How the three-judge panel rules could ultimately determine whether Democrats or Republicans hold control of the U.S. House after next November\u2019s elections.The court decision will be especially impactful in Houston, where redistricting shifted which voters in several key districts hold the power when it comes to choosing who represents them in Washington.<\/p>\n

Houston, we have a problem<\/p>\n

Greater Houston saw some of the biggest changes<\/a> to district lines in Texas\u2019 new congressional map, especially in Houston\u2019s 9th and 18th districts. In fact, they were among four districts<\/a> specifically targeted by the Trump administration earlier this year.<\/p>\n

In July, the Department of Justice sent a letter to Governor Abbott<\/a> saying the state could face a lawsuit if it didn\u2019t redraw lines to eliminate these “unconstitutional racial gerrymanders.” Three of the four districts<\/a> the DOJ listed were in the Houston area, and all were seats most recently held by Democrats of color.<\/p>\n

According to the Justice Department, these were \u201ccoalition districts that were in violation of a recent federal court decision,\u201d Michael Adams, a political science professor at Texas Southern University in Houston, told The Texas Newsroom.<\/p>\n

These types of \u201copportunity\u201d districts, said Adams, are drawn to ensure minority voters get a fair chance to send a candidate of their choice to Washington.<\/p>\n

The letter, along with Trump’s request<\/a> for more Republicans in the state’s congressional delegation, sparked Texas\u2019 redistricting push \u2014 a push that left district lines in Houston significantly altered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat all of this tells me is that those who are part of the ruling party are afraid,\u201d said Karen Kossie-Chernyshev, a professor of history at TSU in Houston. \u201cThey’re afraid of the power of the black vote. They\u2019re afraid of the power of the brown vote. They really are. And so they are going out of their way to dilute that vote.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo-slider
\n\u2018A classic case\u2019: Packing the 18th<\/p>\n

In the state\u2019s new map, Houston’s Congressional District 18 got a drastic facelift.<\/p>\n

The district has long been a Democratic stronghold. In 1972, voters there sent Barbara Jordan, the first black congresswoman from Texas<\/a>, to Washington. Since then, only African Americans have represented the 18th.<\/p>\n

Under the state\u2019s new congressional map, that will likely continue. The district used to be 34% Black. After redistricting, that percentage increases to just under 45%.<\/p>\n

While that may not seem like a huge change, redistricting critics say it will ultimately dilute voting power. It\u2019s \u201ca classic case of what you call cracking and packing,\u201d said Adams.<\/p>\n

In redistricting terms, packing is when voting districts are drawn to minimize the true voting power of a certain demographic by constraining them to as few districts as possible. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the new map also cite TX-18 as an example of packing.<\/p>\n

The rearrangement has an even larger impact on who can run in the district. Congressman Al Green, the Democrat who represents neighboring TX-9, recently announced<\/a> he would be running for reelection in the new TX-18 instead. That\u2019s because redistricting drew Green out of his district, nullifying any chance of him running for reelection there in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was done with intentionality and it was done, in part, because of who I am,\u201d Green told The Texas Newsroom. \u201cAs you know, the President and I don’t exchange Christmas cards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Green has long been an outspoken critic of President Trump<\/a> and believes that is another reason Republicans moved the lines around the district he\u2019s been representing for two decades.<\/p>\n

\u2018They\u2019re basically screwed\u2019: Cracking the 9th<\/p>\n

Texas\u2019 9th Congressional District changed even more dramatically, both demographically and geographically. According to Adams, some \u201c97% of the people were moved out of that district if you look at the new map.\u201d<\/p>\n

The district had contained a large swath of the southwest Houston area. Now, its boundaries have moved to include the eastern portion of the city and all of neighboring Liberty County \u2014 a much more rural and white area that has traditionally voted Republican<\/a>.<\/p>\n

TX-9 was also considered a coalition district and consistently elected Democrats. Looking at the district\u2019s new composition, it appears minorities still have a solid hold on the district. Before redistricting, the 9th was 78% Black and Hispanic. In the redrawn district, that number drops to 72%.<\/p>\n

But experts say it\u2019s not that simple. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe population numbers look [like] well, Hispanics could win this,\u201d said University of Houston political scientist Richard Murray. But, he added, \u201cWhen you bear down, and look at who’s registered, who votes \u2014 No.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"photo-slider<\/p>\n

Murray has been testifying as an expert witness in redistricting cases since the 1970s and was called by the plaintiffs in Texas\u2019 redistricting case. He told The Texas Newsroom that minorities in the new TX-9 are \u201cbasically screwed\u201d when it comes to voting power.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn population, it’s a majority Hispanic. But that population includes a lot of people who are under 18. Hispanics tend to be younger,\u201d Murray said, adding the district now includes larger numbers of undocumented persons who do not register and vote in Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray said the newly drawn district also includes some majority Hispanic Houston neighborhoods that have historically low voter turnout. <\/p>\n

Given all that, and that Liberty County voted for Trump 4 to 1 in 2024, this once solid Democratic district will likely vote Republican in 2026. <\/p>\n

Beyond that, whether a Republican or Democrat goes on to represent TX-9, TSU\u2019s Kossie-Chernyshev says it won\u2019t be easy representing the radically redrawn congressional district that stretches from the city to the countryside.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe learning curve is gonna be there for whomever is elected,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are going to be certain areas that they may be less familiar with that they’re going to have to become more familiar with.\u201d<\/p>\n

All this matters because which party controls the U.S. House is at stake<\/a> in next year\u2019s midterm elections. Nationally, this gives Republicans a chance to keep control after 2026. Though other states, like California,<\/a> have also redrawn their lines in an attempt to offset any Republican gains in Texas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Congressional redistricting was the big Texas political story of the summer, when the state\u2019s Republican-dominated legislature led an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49431,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[11346,2671,28195,3480,56,58,57,2830,5600,28194,2558,10806],"class_list":{"0":"post-49430","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-al-green","9":"tag-congress","10":"tag-congressional-map","11":"tag-gerrymandering","12":"tag-houston","13":"tag-houston-headlines","14":"tag-houston-news","15":"tag-redistricting","16":"tag-texas-democrats","17":"tag-texas-gop","18":"tag-trump","19":"tag-u-s-house"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}