By MARK SHERMAN WASHINGTON (AP) Texas on Friday asked the Supreme Court for an emergency order to be allowed to use a congressional redistricting plan pushed by President Donald Trump that is favorable to Republicans in the 2026 elections despite a lower court ruling that it likely discriminates on the basis of race. The state is calling on the high court to intervene to avoid confusion as congressional primary elections approach in March. The justices have blocked past lower-court rulings in congressional redistricting cases, most recently in Alabama and Louisiana, that came several months before elections. Texas redrew its congressional map in the summer as part of Trump’s efforts to preserve a slim Republican majority in the House in next year’s elections, touching off a nationwide redistricting battle. The new redistricting map was engineered to give Republicans five additional House seats, but a panel of federal judges in El Paso ruled 2-1 Tuesday that the civil rights groups that challenged the map on behalf of Black and Hispanic voters were likely to win their case. If the ruling holds for now, Texas could be forced to hold elections next year using the map drawn by the GOP-controlled Legislature in 2021 based on the 2020 census. Texas was the first state to meet Trump’s demands in what has become an expanding national battle over redistricting. Republicans drew the state’s new map to give the GOP five additional seats, and Missouri and North Carolina followed with new maps adding an additional Republican seat each. To counter those moves, California voters approved a ballot initiative to give Democrats an additional five seats there. The redrawn maps are facing court challenges in California, Missouri and North Carolina.
https://www.whittierdailynews.com/2025/11/21/election-2026-redistricting-texas-scotus/
Tag Archives: redistricting
Trump Makes Indiana ‘RINO’ State Senators Famous in Blistering Takedown As They Defy Him on Redistricting
President Donald Trump has weighed in on a pair of Indiana Republicans involved in thwarting redistricting efforts in the Hoosier State ahead of next year’s midterm elections. As you might have guessed, he wasn’t pleased with their actions.
As reported by RedState’s Teri Christoph, Indiana’s Republican Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray announced earlier this week that the chamber, controlled by the GOP, would not reconvene in December to vote on redistricting. Bray, along with state Sen. Greg Goode (R), became the targets of the President’s ire as he railed against their “politically correct” cowardice for developing an acute case of weak knees at the thought of redistricting.
“Very disappointed in Indiana State Senate Republicans, led by RINO Senators Rod Bray and Greg Goode, for not wanting to redistrict their State, allowing the United States Congress to perhaps gain two more Republican seats,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform.
He rightly points out that Democrats have engaged in this practice for years, but when it comes time for the GOP to fight fire with fire, they can’t summon the courage and instead fall back on their tired, losing strategies.
“Because of these two politically correct type ‘gentlemen,’ and a few others, they could be depriving Republicans of a Majority in the House,” Trump said, noting that in a highly contentious midterm race to control Congress, it amounts to “a very big deal! California is trying to pick up five seats, and no one is complaining about that,” he continued.
“It’s weak ‘Republicans’ that cause our Country such problems. It’s why we have crazy Policies and Ideas that are so bad for America.”
### Trump Criticizes Governor Mike Braun
The President also took aim at Indiana Governor Mike Braun (R), whom he refers to as a friend, for not getting his party in line on the redistricting effort.
“Braun, perhaps, is not working the way he should to get the necessary votes,” he said, before making the subtle suggestion that any Republican opposed to redistricting “should be primaried.”
For his part, Braun has expressed his own disgust on the matter.
“I called for our legislators to convene to ensure Hoosiers’ voices in Washington, D.C., are not diluted by the Democrats’ gerrymandering,” Braun said. “Our state senators need to do the right thing and show up to vote for fair maps. Hoosiers deserve to know where their elected officials stand on important issues.”
However, the President seems unimpressed with the effort so far. He demanded that Bray and Goode get on board with the voters in Indiana, a state he carried by nearly 20 points, and warned that any other Republicans in opposition would be publicly named later today.
They “should do their job, and do it now,” Trump insisted in all caps. “If not, let’s get them out of office, ASAP.”
### Reactions from Trump Supporters and the Republicans Named
Several Trump supporters on social media, as Christoph highlighted, were outraged at the Indiana GOP for taking an ‘L’ on what many saw as an easy win that could help keep control of the House.
Trump advisor Alex Brueswitz described the complete surrender as “a monumental betrayal” of the president.
“Spineless RINO ‘legislators’ have sabotaged and buried Republicans’ vital redistricting push. And they are letting Gavin Newsom & left-wing Democrats get closer to stealing the House,” Brueswitz said.
For his part, Senator Greg Goode has insisted all along that he’s not about to succumb to “bullying.”
“For those trying to bully me on redistricting, I love you,” he wrote on X. “I pray to our Lord and Savior for wisdom and reflect on political heroes who stood up for the greater good above the politics of the day.”
Making that claim while bowing down to bullying redistricting efforts by the Democrats is an extreme lack of self-awareness.
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https://redstate.com/rusty-weiss/2025/11/16/trump-makes-indiana-rino-state-senators-famous-in-blistering-takedown-as-they-defy-him-on-redistricting-n2196251
Longtime Houston Rep. Al Green switching to 18th Congressional District in run for reelection
U.S. Rep. Al Green (D-Houston) ended months of speculation Friday night by declaring himself a candidate for Texas’ 18th Congressional District in 2026.
“We are here tonight, friends, because we refuse to allow President Donald Trump to decide for us who is going to represent us in the Congress of the United States of America,” said Green, speaking at his campaign kickoff event at the Wyndam Houston near NRG Park.
Green has represented Texas’ 9th Congressional District for more than 20 years. He became one of the central targets of Republican redistricting efforts this past summer, following intense pressure from Trump and Gov. Greg Abbott. State lawmakers moved the 9th from solidly Democratic territory in south and southwest Houston to Republican-leaning areas in eastern Harris County and Liberty County.
Much of Green’s traditional base, not to mention his own home, was redrawn into the 18th Congressional District. Green had stated as early as August that, while he would be on the ballot in 2026, he would not be a candidate for the 9th.
In the March primary, he likely will face the winner of a special election runoff to complete the term of the late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner, who served in the 18th District from January until his death in March. The runoff is between acting Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards, both fellow Democrats.
“We’re going to fight for all sides of the 18th and 9th congressional districts, because these districts have come together now as one, and while they are the 18th, the 18th is the number that’s on the district, most of the people have come from the 9th congressional district,” Green said. “And I’m going to ask that you in the 9th now and in the 18th now as they exist, let’s start now to unify.”
The redistricting map is currently under legal challenge. A collection of civil rights groups and individuals have asked a panel of three federal judges to issue an injunction blocking the map from taking effect in time for the 2026 election. The panel has yet to issue a ruling, and the candidate filing period for that election begins Saturday.
Green is trying to claim the mantle of two of the three previous members of Congress for the 18th District, both of whom he had worked alongside: U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died in July 2024 at the age of 74, and Turner, who died in March at the age of 70. Green himself is 78 and will be 79 by Election Day 2026.
He enters the primary just days after the first round of the special election to fill the remainder of Turner’s term. Menefee is 37, and Edwards is 43. Green alluded to the age difference, without naming his potential opponents in the Democratic primary, with a line reminiscent of one used by President Ronald Reagan against former Vice President Walter Mondale during the 1984 presidential campaign.
“There is some question about age, and I want you to know that I will not make an issue about anybody’s youthfulness,” Green said. “I think that people who are of age can run, so I want them to run.”
Green stressed his actions in office in making the case for the votes of residents of the new 18th Congressional District.
“You know that I will stand up to Donald Trump because you saw me do it,” Green said. “You know that I will fight for your health care because you’ve seen me do it. You know that I believe in raising the minimum wage to $25 an hour, because you’ve heard me say it.”
Green argued that, if Democrats retook control of both houses of Congress, they needed to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, overriding the use of the filibuster in the Senate if necessary, as Republicans had done in confirming Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee.
“If we had used that rule, we could have prevented people from deciding now that where you are from does not allow you to buy land in the state of Texas,” Green said, in reference to Texas’ recently enacted Senate Bill 17. “We can protect people who happen to be of Asian ancestry, who have money in their pocket that they want to spend in this country to buy land, and they only want it for a residence, for a business.”
Finally, Green leaned into his record of having filed multiple articles of impeachment against Trump.
“I celebrate the people who are going to make sure that the Trumps of the world don’t have an opportunity to serve in office one day longer than they’ve already been there, which is why, when I go back to Congress, I promise you, I will file additional articles of impeachment to remove Donald Trump from office.”
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2025/11/07/535536/al-green-18th-congressional-district-march-primary-houston-democrat/
More than 6 in 10 plan to vote for California redistricting plan: Survey
More than six in 10 Californian voters plan to support an upcoming redistricting plan, according to a new poll.
In the CBS News/YouGov poll released Wednesday, 62 percent of respondents said they would vote “yes” on Proposition 50 if the election happened on the day they responded. Meanwhile, 38 percent said they would vote “no.”
These results indicate strong voter support for the measure ahead of the upcoming election.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5570623-california-voters-support-redistricting-poll/