California Democrats just threw a sharp elbow back at Texas Republicans—and at Donald Trump’s bare-knuckled redistricting playbook—by fast-tracking a plan to temporarily replace the state’s independent maps with a voter-approved, pro-democracy redraw aimed at flipping multiple U.S. House seats. If approved by Californians this fall, the shift could ripple all the way to Harris County, tilting the 2026 fight for the House and blunting the GOP’s mid-decade gerrymander in Texas.

The Big Picture

Texas moved first with a mid-decade congressional map crafted to lock in more Republican seats at Trump’s urging.

California answered with a ballot measure that would greenlight new congressional lines for 2026–2030—then restore its independent commission afterward.

The stakes are national: cont

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