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Texas recently redrew its federal congressional districts mid-decade, kicking off what has become a national redistricting war. Now there are some calls for Texas Republicans to do the same thing with state House and Senate districts.
In theory, the same major population shifts that necessitated the redrawing of federal districts also apply at the state level. Fort Bend County GOP Chair Dr. Bobby Eberle explained: “Whenever you have such an influx, it’s appropriate to say, ‘Let’s make sure each state senator and each state representative is representing the same group.’”
There is, of course, a major bonus for Republicans as well. Just like at the federal level, this presents an opportunity for the GOP to increase their margins in the State House. “You get more conservatives in there that aren’t concerned about tenure, but going in and doing the job, pushing issues and truly representing their constituents.”
Eberle went on to say that the legal pathway has already been cleared by both last year’s federal redistricting lawsuits as well as local redistricting lawsuits in Fort Bend and Galveston Counties. So the only real hurdle Republicans would have to overcome to achieve this would be the likely antics of Texas Democrats.