AUSTIN, Texas (KLTV) - The Texas House passed a bill along party lines on Wednesday that would change the state’s congressional maps to add five Republican-leaning seats prior to the 2026 midterms.

The vote comes over two weeks after House Democrats left the state in protest of a mid-decade redraw, and after Gov. Greg Abbott added the item to the first special session “in light of constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice.”

“The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward: improve Republican political performance,” said State Rep. Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi), the bill’s primary author.

“Redistricting can be done at any point in time,” Hunter added.

During the over seven-hour debate, Democratic lawmakers introduced multiple amendments to the bill, inclu

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