By Gabby Birenbaum, The Texas Tribune.

With Texas’ new congressional map on the verge of full passage, local elected Republican officials are eyeing bids in districts newly drawn to favor the GOP.

The redistricting has created a rare opportunity for Republicans in numerous metro areas to advance their careers when they would typically be stuck waiting for members of Congress to retire — or be forced to run in less favorable terrain.

State Rep. Briscoe Cain , R-Deer Park, kicked off the frenzy Thursday, filing a declaration of candidacy for the newly drawn 9th Congressional District, anchored east of Houston. That seat, currently held by Democratic Rep. Al Green , was moved from southern Houston to the eastern parts of Harris County and Liberty County, going from a district that voted for Kamala Harris by 44 percentage points to one that Donald Trump would have carried by 20 points.

But with three of the newly created seats lacking an incumbent and two South Texas districts redrawn to be more favorable to Republicans, operatives expect a flurry of candidates to jump into races that Trump hopes yield five new GOP members of Congress.

South Texas

Republicans were targeting two South Texas seats held by Democrats even before the map was redrawn to fold more GOP voters into those districts.

Texas’ 28th Congressional District, centered in Laredo, and the 34th Congressional District, which includes Brownsville and McAllen, were two of just 13 districts nationwide to elect a congressional Democrat while being carried by Trump. Reps. Henry Cuellar , D-Laredo, and Vicente Gonzalez , D-McAllen — two of the House’s most moderate Democrats — were able to hang on to their heavily Hispanic seats in 2024.

Under the current boundaries, the 28th District voted for Trump by a 7-point margin, while Trump carried the 34th District by 4.5 percentage points. Both were redrawn to be seats that Trump would have won by 10 points.

Cuellar’s district lost Democratic-leaning precincts in the San Antonio area and picked up Live Oak County and a sliver of Hidalgo County, including parts of McAllen and areas west of the city. Gonzalez lost his portion of McAllen and Hidalgo County, instead gaining much of conservative Nueces County and its biggest city, Corpus Christi.

Those two districts were already on the National Republican Campaign Committee’s target list — meaning the nominees will receive ample resources — and had attracted challengers. Former Rep. Mayra Flores, who lost to Gonzalez in 2022 and 2024, switched to run in Cuellar’s district — though operatives and Gonzalez have speculated she could switch back to the 34th.

But Republicans are also excited about Eric Flores, an army veteran and lawyer from Mission who launched his campaign in July.

In Cuellar’s district, Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina has formed an exploratory committee, a formal step toward launching a run in the 28th District. Tijerina, a former Democrat, switched parties after the 2024 election. He had been a Democratic county judge for nearly a decade.

Because of Texas’ resign-to-run law, Tijerina would need to step down from his county judge job if he launches a formal congressional campaign with more than one year and 30 days left in his term.

San Antonio

Several local elected officials in San Antonio are thinking about running in the newly drawn 35th Congressional District, which includes parts of San Antonio and outlying eastern areas in Bexar, Guadalupe, Wilson and Karnes counties, the latter three of which are heavily Republican.

The new seat, cobbled together from pieces of five current congressional seats, would have voted for Trump by a 10-point margin had it existed in 2024.

Grant Moody, the only Republican on the Bexar County Commissioners Court, said in a statement that he is exploring a congressional bid in the new district.

“Texans are known for our hard work, devotion to selfless service, and conservative values — and they deserve to be represented by someone who shares those ideals,” Moody said. “I’ve always felt called to serve my community and country, and these new maps present a unique opportunity to continue serving.”

San Antonio City Council member Marc Whyte, whose district in San Antonio’s North Side is part of the new 35th District, is also exploring a bid. Though the City Council is nonpartisan, Whyte, an attorney first elected in 2023, represents the only conservative-leaning district in the city and previously ran, unsuccessfully, for the Texas House as a Republican.

“I’m certainly looking at it,” Whyte said in a text message.

State Rep. John Lujan , a Republican and former Bexar County sheriff’s deputy who represents a number of towns outside San Antonio, and Kristin Tips, a San Antonio funeral director who heads the Texas Funeral Service Commission, are also contemplating running, according to a source familiar with the district.

Austin Republican Rep. Chip Roy ’s announcement that he is running for attorney general also leaves a vacancy in his Central Texas-based 21st Congressional District, which includes parts of San Antonio and Bexar County. That seat could see enormous interest — Roy was one of 18 Republicans who ran in the 2018 primary, the last time the seat was open.

The Republicans contemplating a run in the 35th Congressional District may also be interested in the 21st District. Whyte said he is looking at both.

Dallas

The redrawn 32nd Congressional District is the safest Republican seat that GOP map-drawers created. Currently a geographically compact district that contains about a third of the city of Dallas and some northern and eastern suburbs, the district was redrawn to become far more rural.

Under the new map, the 32nd District contains just 11% of the city of Dallas and extends east into six heavily Republican, majority-white counties, running nearly to Longview in East Texas.

Rep. Julie Johnson , D-Farmers Branch, was drawn out of the district. It went from voting for Harris by 24 percentage points to favoring Trump by 18 points.

Given how red the district is, the candidate that emerges could stand to spend decades in Congress, making it an attractive seat for ambitious Republicans.

Already, Ryan Binkley, a businessman and the founding pastor at Create Church in Richardson, has announced he is running. Binkley mounted a long-shot Republican presidential bid in 2023, competing in the first four states before dropping out and endorsing Trump. He spent millions of his own money in the process and never received more than 1,000 votes in any contest.

“I believe we need leaders in Washington, D.C. with real-world experience who will fight for your freedom, fight for your prosperity and your family’s safety,” Binkley said in a launch video, calling himself a “strong, common-sense Texas voice.”

Operatives are also eyeing state Rep. Katrina Pierson , a longtime tea party activist and communications consultant from Rockwall. Pierson was Trump’s national spokesperson in his first presidential campaign and a senior adviser on his 2020 bid. She went on to successfully defeat Republican then-state Rep. Justin Holland in a 2024 primary and is in her first term in the Legislature.

Pierson ran for Congress in 2014, losing a primary to Republican Rep. Pete Sessions . She contemplated running for an open Dallas-area seat in 2021 before ultimately deciding against it, saying at the time she was “not closing the door on Congress.”

But Pierson has not indicated if she is interested in running for the seat.

“I need to get through the [legislative] session before even thinking about it,” she said in an interview Wednesday.

The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.