Democrats are ready to fight dirty over Texas
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 5 August 2025
⏱️ 21 minutes
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Summary
President Donald Trump is asking for five more Republicans in the House of Representatives, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is trying to give them to him. Last week, Republicans in the state’s legislature demanded they redraw Texas’ 38 congressional districts in a way that would effectively create five more safely red seats. If passed, the new map could give Republicans a major advantage in maintaining control of the House of Representatives in 2026.
But in a stunning move, Democrats in the state legislature fled Texas and temporarily foiled the Republican plot. Now, Democrats across the country are openly asking whether they should emulate Texas Republicans and politically alter their own congressional districts to boost Democratic strength in Congress.
Today on “Post Reports,” Colby Itkowitz sits down with Patrick Marley, who covers voting issues for The Post, to discuss why the standoff in Texas could mark a fierce new era in American politics.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | A political battle is erupting right now over Texas and its congressional map. |
| 0:07.0 | This is not the Democratic Party of your grandfather, which would bring a pencil to the knife fight. |
| 0:14.0 | This is a new Democratic Party. We're bringing a knife to a knife fight, and we are going to fight fire with fire. |
| 0:24.2 | That was Ken Martin, the head of the National Democratic Party. |
| 0:28.8 | He was flanked by Democratic members of the Texas legislature at a press conference outside Chicago on Tuesday. |
| 0:30.8 | Martin accused Republicans of trying to cheat in the next midterm election. |
| 0:34.4 | They've decided to cheat, and we're going to respond in kind. |
| 0:38.8 | And listen, listen, none of us wanted to be here. Make no mistake about it. The Democratic Party didn't start this fight, |
| 0:44.5 | but we're not going to roll over. They want to fight. We're going to give it to them and we're |
| 0:48.0 | going to put every option on the table. Texas Republicans are trying to redraw their state's congressional districts. |
| 0:56.2 | The new map would make it easier for Republicans to stay in power in Washington after the 2026 midterms. |
| 1:02.2 | They are acting on the wishes of President Donald Trump, who told CNBC on Tuesday he wants more Republican seats. |
| 1:09.0 | We have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats. |
| 1:11.6 | We have a really good governor and we have good people in Texas. |
| 1:14.6 | And I won Texas. |
| 1:15.6 | I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know. |
| 1:20.6 | And we are entitled to five more seats. |
| 1:23.6 | Over the weekend, dozens of Texas Democratic lawmakers |
| 1:26.6 | literally fled their state to try and stop these Republican efforts. |
| 1:32.3 | From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. |
| 1:36.1 | I'm Kolbeikowitz. It's Tuesday, August 5th. |
| 1:39.7 | Today, we take a look at how this fight over the congressional map of Texas is threatening |
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