Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signs redistricting plan into law

The governor on Friday morning inked a bill that redrew Texas’ congressional maps to favor Republican candidates in November 2026 U.S. House elections. The Trump-backed plan could potentially net the GOP five more seats.

Texas’ Republican-controlled House and Senate passed the hotly contested plan last week after a two-week political standoff with Democratic lawmakers. Nearly 60 House Democrats left the state in early August to keep their chamber from reaching the necessary quorum to advance the legislation. They returned by Aug. 18 for the start of a new special legislative session, after lawmakers failed to pass the redrawn maps in the previous session.

The standoff sparked partisan redistricting efforts in both Republican- and Democrat-led states around the country.

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s report on which states could redraw their congressional maps before the midterm elections next year.