Texas Democrats fled the Lone Star State this week to deny Republicans a quorum to approve a mid-decade redistricting plan.
The plan that has the support of President Donald Trump could gerrymander five Congressional districts currently held by Democrats, allowing the GOP to bolster its chances of maintaining its slim majority in the 2026 midterms.
Congressman Paul Tonko, a Democrat from New York’s 20th district, met with six of the Texas House lawmakers this week in New York. As Trump seeks their arrest, Tonko praised their actions.
The conversation over redistricting in red states like Texas, Ohio, and Missouri has leaders in blue states, including New York Governor Kathy Hochul, calling for action to "fight fire with fire." It's unclear, however, what, if anything, New York could do to change its redistricting laws ahead of the midterm elections due to an amendment to the State Constitution.
Tonko seeks a change at the federal level that would even the playing field. In 2021, the House, then controlled by Democrats, passed a voting law that languished in the Senate that would require states to utilize independent redistricting bodies to draw Congressional maps.
WAMC’s Lucas Willard spoke with Tonko about the legislation that he sees as essential to preventing partisan gerrymandering...
Our H.R. 1 legislation calls for a universal, a nationwide…redistricting effort that does not gerrymander, but rather work through an independent commission. Here, they're not only ignoring that, all of the Republicans voted against that concept, but they're also further denying the law as it exists today by doing some of the racially motivated silencing of voters. And so, we can't have double standards here. You know, we would best function under a universal outcome where the entire nation is put into this effort for redistricting with a with a new standard that is established by an independent commission. So, if they're going to break the rules, our democracy is at risk. And I think then it calls for an equal, an equal bit of action from states, just so that we can make the statement that we have to have a level playing field here. Everyone has to be playing under the same rules, otherwise our democracy is at risk.
Is it wrong or hypocritical for Democrats in New York to suggest that they should also change their redistricting laws to keep up with what's being done in Republican states?
Well, I think what, what we're saying is that we believe in H.R. 1, an independent commission for all the states in the country, so that we're all playing under the same rules. And here, they not only denied those rules, but broke the existing laws. And for the sake of our democracy, you know, this continuation of this majority that they're trying to maintain and build is, you know, denying millions of people, 17 million, health care. They're growing the deficit to the tune of $5 trillion. They're denying nutrition programs and all sorts of activity that addresses essentials for the American families out there. And so, this is a risky situation for our democracy, and it's important that we not tie our hands behind our back, and that we go forward with equal strength in order to protect our democracy.
Now, even if Texas does move through its redistricting plan and other states like Ohio and Missouri that are considering it follow suit, and not to mention some Democratic states like California, do you think that the Supreme Court will, as it stands right now, strike down these new districts or let them stand?
You know, it's hard to say, because these courts have been stacked, in many cases, in political format. And so, you know, it seems as though there's complicit behavior with the people I serve with in the House. You know, I think you're denying your power constantly, and I don't mean that in a personal way. I mean in an institutional way. We have the power of the purse in the House of Representatives, and it's abandoned. That power is abandoned. That power available to the American public is abandoned by my colleagues when they are complicit to this president and wants all the forces, all the all the power concentrated in one individual, himself. And so, I think it's important for us to, you know, have the court see this for what it is. And I'm concerned. I don't know if, it depends on to which courts these end up being reviewed. But you know, it could again be a situation that is complicit with this president.
Now, how confident are you in Democrats’ chances in the upcoming 2026 midterms, and even if these redistricting pushes go through in states like Texas and other states that we just mentioned, do you think that Democrats still will be able to more than make up the difference to retake the House majority?
Well, you know, I've done town halls in several locations, and some of them in my district, some with…beyond and going into the North Country. I'm convinced that wherever you take these town halls, there are record numbers of people appearing. They want to know more about the budget bill that was passed, the big, beautiful bill, according to the President. That big betrayal bill denies millions healthcare, it denies nutrition programs. It has an impact on our school systems, withholding money from the individual component schools. There's a lot of damage coming down with this activity in Washington. I think it is setting the table for what will be a Democratic wave, and I think it's also inspiring, encouraging the activity of Republicans around the country to do everything to rig the election, including redistricting the seats mid-decade in Texas so as to hold on to a majority, if not grow that majority. But, I think the people are really tuned in to the…issues of affordability, of essentials and to the integrity of the process, which is often denied by this administration.
Will you be holding any additional town halls? You recently traveled to Vermont, and then I also know you were in the North Country with Representative Ocasio-Cortez.
Right, and that that was a really exciting outcome. I mean, we've been having a number of people coming out to these events, and I believe in Plattsburgh, there were nearly 2,000 that showed an interest in the program. And we packed the historic theater in downtown Plattsburgh, and many stood on the outside for live streaming, even in the pouring rain. So, I think there is deep, deep interest and encouragement that's coming from these town halls, that really, the polling shows that where people understand what's in the big betrayal bill, the big beautiful bill, whatever you want to call it, the more people know about it, the less popular that bill is.
