AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republicans on Friday began a second special session to approve new congressional maps sought by President Donald Trump to bolster his party ahead of the 2026 midterm elections as California Democrats prepared to unveil their own redistricting plan in an intensifying fight over control of Congress.
The GOP's first special session in Texas ended without approving new political maps, thwarted by Democrats who staged a nearly two-week walkout that meant not enough lawmakers were present to pass any legislation. Gov. Greg Abbott then quickly called a second session that then started without the necessary quorum to conduct business.
However, that could soon change as absent lawmakers have said they will return to Austin once California Democrats take more formal steps on their own redistricting plan that they’ve been shaping behind closed doors. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his fellow Democrats were expected to release their proposal later Friday.
Trump is trying to protect Republicans’ slim House majority in Washington and avoid a repeat of the 2018 midterms, when the GOP yielded control during his first presidency to a Democratic majority that stymied his agenda and twice impeached him. The nation’s two most populous states have been at the forefront of the resulting battle that has reached into multiple courtrooms and statehouses controlled by both parties.
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows chided his colleagues who left Austin, accusing them of “following Gov. Newsom's lead instead of the will of Texans.” The speaker said, however, that he's “been told” to expect a quorum on Monday.
“Let's be ready to work,” Burrows said, ticking through a litany of issues without mentioning the president or redistricting.
Texas Republicans sidestep the reasons for a stalemate
Abbott and Burrows have accused Democrats of preventing a legislative response to devastating floods that killed more than 130 people last month.
“Delinquent House Democrats ran away from their responsibility to pass crucial legislation to benefit the lives of Texans,” Abbott said in a statement Friday, also without mentioning redistricting.
Burrows on Friday again threatened to have absent Democrats arrested under civil warrants issued under legislative rules. The lawmakers who left the state and have been staying in Illinois, Massachusetts and New York, remain beyond the jurisdiction of those warrants and Texas authorities.
Democrats have countered that Republicans are responsible for holding up flood relief by pairing it in special sessions with redistricting at Trump's urging.
“We are in basically a cold Civil War that we’re starting by capitulating to a person in the White House,” said Rep. Eddie Morales, one of the few Democrats who has remained in Austin during the walkout.
After the new session opened, Republicans reintroduced a redistricting bill intended to send five more Republicans to Washington. The GOP already holds a 25-13 advantage in Texas’ U.S. House delegation.
Fight has gone national
In California, Newsom said Thursday that his state will hold a Nov. 4 special referendum on redrawn districts intended to give Democrats five more U.S. House seats.
“We can’t stand back and watch this democracy disappear district by district all across the country,” Newsom said.
Newsom's announcement marked the first time any state beyond Texas officially waded into Trump's fight, though several governors and legislative leaders from both parties have threatened such moves.
Trump has urged other Republican-run states to redraw maps, even dispatching Vice President JD Vance to Indiana to pressure officials there. In Missouri, a document obtained by The Associated Press shows the state Senate received a $46,000 invoice to activate six redistricting software licenses and provide training for up to 10 staff members.
Newsom encouraged other Democratic-led states to “stand up — not just California.”
House control could come down to a few seats in 2026
Nationally, the partisan makeup of existing district lines put Democrats within three seats of a majority. Of the 435 total seats, only several dozen districts are competitive. So even slight changes in a few states could affect which party is in control after the 2026 midterms.
New maps are typically drawn once a decade after the census — the last being in 2020. Many states, including Texas, give legislators the power to draw maps. California is among those that empowers independent commissions with the task.
California Democrats hold 43 of the state’s 52 House seats. A new California map would take effect only if a Republican state moves forward. It would remain through the 2030 elections. After that, Democrats say they would return mapmaking power to the independent commission voters approved in 2008.
Newsom and others depicted the looming battle as a conflict with all things Trump.
“Donald Trump, you have poked the bear, and we will punch back,” said Newsom, a possible 2028 presidential contender.
Some people already have said they would sue over the effort. Republican former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a longtime opponent of partisan redistricting, signaled he won’t side with California Democrats even after talking to Newsom. On Friday, he posted a photo of himself at the gym wearing a T-shirt that said, “Terminate gerrymandering,” with a reference to an obscenity and politicians.
“I'm getting ready for the gerrymandering battle,” Schwarzenegger wrote.
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Nguyễn reported from Sacramento, California, Blood reported from Los Angeles and Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writer David Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, contributed.
Nadia Lathan, Bill Barrow, Michael R. Blood And Trân Nguyễn, The Associated Press
