Less than 24 hours after Texas Republicans shoved their redistricting plan across the finish line, the celebration had already soured. Some lawmakers are beginning to quietly admit what Democrats shouted from the rooftops: the map may not only fail to secure the GOP more seats, but it could backfire and hand competitive districts right into Democratic hands.
The plan was designed to give Republicans a shot at picking up five new U.S. House seats heading into the 2026 midterms. It was rushed through over furious objections from Democrats, who accused the GOP of mid-decade election rigging and vowed to fight it in the courts. The map, touted as a weapon to cement a Republican majority, has now sparked whispers of regret within the party’s own ranks.
According to conservative journalist David Drucker, the problem is not what the GOP gained on paper, but what they may have sacrificed in the process. Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Drucker explained that while Republicans were banking on five easy pickups, they may have put as many as ten seats into play.
“On the one hand, we could, in the short term, have some more competitive districts,” Drucker said. “If you look at that Texas map, some is dark red, a lot of it is shaded light red. And that means if this atmosphere goes against the president and his party next year, instead of gaining five seats, you could end up losing seats.”
Host Joe Scarborough jumped in with his own take, saying the very nature of gerrymandering creates monsters in politics. “One of the main consequences I see from gerrymandering is you get the people in the safe seats, and I won’t even mention their names, but you get people in the safest seats, they say the most outrageous things. Especially on the Republican side, they say the most vulgar, the more insane they sound, the more money they raise nationwide, the more their profile goes up.”
Drucker agreed, noting that in today’s GOP, most of the action is in the primaries, not the general election. “How often are we discussing a topic here, and you guys ask me, what do Republicans think, and my answer is usually they don’t want to rock the boat ahead of primary season. Because the only place they’re going to have a competitive race is in a Republican primary.” By drawing lines so heavily in their favor, Republicans could be inviting not just Democratic challengers in swing years, but extreme voices dominating in primaries.
Democrats, for their part, are seizing on the confusion. They fought the map every step of the way, staging dramatic walkouts, hammering Republicans in floor speeches, and warning that the plan would not withstand legal scrutiny. Civil rights groups and voting rights advocates are already preparing lawsuits, pointing out that the new districts could weaken minority representation and violate federal law.
California Governor Gavin Newsom also jumped into the fight, mocking Texas Republicans while pushing his own redistricting plan in California that would counter the Lone Star State’s aggressive maneuver. Newsom framed his effort as fighting fire with fire, a move that has already earned praise from Barack Obama and other Democrats nationwide.
Now, instead of basking in a victory lap, Texas Republicans are nervously eyeing the calendar. Midterms are coming fast, and while they thought they had stacked the deck, their opponents are seeing openings. Headlines that were supposed to read “GOP picks up five seats” could easily become “Republicans blow five safe seats” if the political climate turns.
