First came the Republican gerrymander in Texas. Now comes the Democratic chaos in Houston.
When Republican lawmakers, at the behest of President Trump, successfully redrew the congressional map of Texas this summer, the explicit aim was to grab as many as five U.S. House seats from the Democrats to try to preserve the Republican majority in the 2026 midterm elections.
But well before then, the repercussions are being felt in a newly drawn district in Houston, even though it will almost certainly stay Democratic.
“It’s just kind of ridiculous,” said one exasperated Houston voter, a trumpet teacher named George Chase.
A certain amount of confusion is likely to play out in districts from the Rio Grande Valley to suburban Dallas, as voters and candidates adjust to new lines that are usually redrawn only once a decade.
But Texas’ 18th House district is feeling it right now, thanks to the unexpected death of its Democratic congressman, Sylvester Turner, just weeks into this session of Congress; a special election that was delayed by the Republican governor to help Republican leaders in Washington navigate their narrow House majority; and new district lines that will take effect soon after the special election.
“It’s been wildly confusing to people,” said Amanda Edwards, a former Houston City Council member who is running for a seat in the district, as she knocked doors in the Woodland Heights neighborhood last Saturday morning.
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