Texas Democrats are preparing their final show of resistance against a mid-decade redraw of the state's congressional map

The Texas Senate is debating the controversial GOP redistricting bill that triggered a weekslong House standoff. The Republican-backed proposal, which passed the House in an 88-52 party-line vote on Wednesday, aims to redraw the state's congressional map and produce five new GOP-leaning districts.

All three Democrats are either declared or potential contenders for the Senate seat on the ballot in next year's midterm elections. In what would typically be a quiet period in Texas politics, Republicans have roiled the state's 2026 Senate campaign with their rush to redraw congressional maps to give Trump more allies in Congress.

The approval came at the urging of US President Donald Trump, who pushed for the extraordinary mid-decade revision of congressional maps to give his party a better chance at holding onto the US House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections.

Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives returned to Austin on Aug. 18, 2025, but their protest of redistricting efforts continues.

Texas lawmakers meet again Friday, when the Republican majority in the Senate could give final approval to their map.