Democrats in the Texas House left the state this week to prevent Republicans there from voting on a new Congressional map that would likely give the GOP five more seats in the House in 2026. The battle has sparked threats of arrest from Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and threats of retaliation from blue states like New York.
At a press conference on Monday, Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul said she was ready to “fight fire with fire” and pursue early redistricting in New York to improve Democrats’ odds there.
“I’m tired of fighting this fight with my hands tied behind my back," said Hochul. "With all due respect to the good government groups, politics is a political process.”
New York and Texas aren’t the only states battling over Congressional district maps ahead of next year’s midterms: Missouri, Ohio, Florida, Indiana, California and Maryland are all at least considering it. The 2026 elections will determine which party controls the House. If Democrats flip it, President Trump will face much more opposition in Congress as he tries to push through his agenda.
While Hochul says Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins are both on board, New York’s Congresspeople appear reluctant to join in. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a Republican from the 21st District who is herself considering a run for governor, called Hochul the “Worst Governor in America” in a statement.
Republican Congressman Mike Lawler criticized gerrymandering across the board in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper Tuesday night. He says he plans to introduce legislation that would ban it.
“I think it’s wrong, what Texas is doing. I don’t support it," he adds. "We have to actually have neutral districts across this country. It would serve the country better.”
Congressman Paul Tonko, a Democrat from the 20th District, says the House already passed a voting law in 2021, called “H.R. 1” or the “For the People Act,” that would have required states to use independent redistricting commissions to draw Congressional maps. It languished in the Senate.
“Here they’re not only ignoring that — all 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," Tonko tells WAMC.
Texas Democrats have noted that the five districts impacted by the proposed gerrymander are comprised heavily of voters of color.
Like Hochul, Tonko met with six of the Texas Democrats this week and praised their decision to break quorum. But he refrained from endorsing Hochul’s call to “fight fire with fire” with early redistricting in New York. Nor did he call it hypocritical: he says it’s time for Congress to step in.
“We believe in H.R. 1," he says. "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.”
If Hochul moves forward with redistricting, she faces significant legal hurdles. The New York Constitution was amended to have the Independent Redistricting Commission draw maps once a decade, in line with the U.S. Census. Changing that would require two consecutive state legislative sessions to pass an amendment, which would then need to be approved by voters. The earliest that could happen is 2027.
Rachael Fuss, a senior policy advisor for the government watchdog Reinvent Albany, notes an amendment was already introduced last month. It would allow the state legislature to bypass the Independent Redistricting Commission and redraw maps mid-decade whenever another state does so.
Still, she says “fighting fire with fire” is a “race to the bottom.”
“We’re talking about people’s enfranchisement; we’re talking about democratic principles and people’s rights," she says. "If the goal is to work for the voters of New York state, gerrymandering is never going to be the solution.”
Heastie, a Democrat, described the idea Monday as a way to deter bullies, and that he “hopes not to have to use” any law that would change New York’s redistricting rules. If the response by Congress is to take action on gerrymandering across the board, then he may just get his way.
“Sometimes the best way to get a bully to stop being a bully is to remind them that they can also be bullied," says Heastie.
