Besides flood relief, eliminating the STAAR test, and regulating hemp products, legislators today take up redistricting once again.
Mid-Decade Partisan Redistricting
Redistricting is customarily a once-a-decade process after the national census. But in 2002 the GOP redistricted a second time, after the redistricting in 2001. Almost overnight, the Texas congressional delegation went from majority Democratic to majority Republican.
Mid-decade redistricting is a tactic used by the party in power to further solidify power between censuses. It is usually done at the expense of the minority party. But it can also impact the majority party’s primary elections
Partisan redistricting (usually referred to as gerrymandering) is done by packing or diluting a district. You either pack a district with your supporters, or dilute your opponents district by moving your supporters into it.
Why Redistrict Now?
Political experts say the goal is to keep the House of Representatives in Republican hands after the 2026 mid-term election.
Historically, the party in the White House tends to lose seats in Congress during the mid-term elections.
This happens so frequently that it is almost a permanent feature and expectation of the ruling political class.
The GOP’s margins in both houses of Congress are as thin as toilet paper. Conventional wisdom holds that the Democratic Party will likely regain control of one or both houses of Congress. That is unless the Republicans do something drastic, like redistrict again.
Will This Impact West Texas?
The short answer is yes, and in some pretty significant ways.
If the redistricting were limited to a few Democratic congressional seats, the impact would hardly be felt here.
But, the legislature cannot alter those Democratic seats without redrawing the entire map. Changing one district has a butterfly effect, on every other district, rippling across the state.
The potential impact of the new map on the West Texas congressional districts will be a shock to the system.
Here is a map of the proposed plan released last week.
Proposed New Congressional Districts Map
Compare this map to the current district map below.
Existing Congressional Districts Map
The proposed plan dramatically alters West Texas Districts 11, 19, and 23
District 11 Changes
District 11, currently represented by August Pfluger (R-San Angelo) comprises the counties of Bell, Brown, Coke, Coleman, Concho, Ector, Glasscock, Irion, Kimble, Lampasas, Llano, Mason, McCulloch, Menard, Midland, Mills, Runnels, San Saba, Sterling, and Tom Green.
The counties to be included in the new proposed District 11 are: Bandera, Bexar (portion), Ector, Edwards, Glasscock, Irion, Midland. Sterling, Schleicher, Sutton, Tom Green, and Real.
That is a 45-percent drop in counties, from 20 to 11, with the proposed district now including a portion of Bexar County, just outside of San Antonio.
Of course, districts are supposed to be drawn based on population.
Each congressional district should have a population of 766,987. This is why predominately rural districts in Texas consist of so many counties.
It takes 20 rural counties to total 766,987, but once you throw a heavily-urban county — or even part of one — like Bexar County (San Antonio), the number of counties you need drops significantly.
District 19 Changes
District 19, currently held by Jody Arrington (R-Lubbock) comprises the counties of Andrews, Bailey, Borden, Callahan, Castro, Cochran, Crosby, Dawson, Fisher, Floyd, Gaines, Garza, Hale, Haskell, Hockley, Howard, Jones, Kent, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Martin, Mitchell, Nolan, Parmer, Scurry, Shackelford, Stonewall, Swisher, Taylor, Terry, Throckmorton and Yoakum.
A total of 31 counties.
The new District 19 is proposed to include: Bexar (portion), Borden, Coke, Concho, Dawson, Howard, Lubbock, Lynn, Kerr, Kimble, Kendall, Martin, Menard Mitchell, Nolan and Runnels.
This is 15 counties with a portion of San Antonio, and a span of 426 miles, from Hale Center.
District 23 Changes
District 23, currently held by Tony Gonzalez (R-San Antonio), comprises the counties of Bexar (portion), Brewster, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Dimmit, Edwards, El Paso (portion), Frio, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kinney, La Salle, Loving, Maverick, Medina, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Schleicher, Sutton, Terrell, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Ward, Winkler, Zavala.
This totals 26 counties and a rural part of El Paso County and San Antonio.
The new District 23 looks like it is made up of half of Texas.
It will consist of the counties of Andrews, Bailey, Brewster, Castro, Cochran, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Deaf Smith, Dimmit, El Paso (portion), Gaines, Hockley, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kinney, Lamb, Loving, Maverick, Parmer, Pecos, Presidio, Randall, Reagan, Reeves, Terrell, Terry, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Zavala, Ward, Webb (portion), Winkler, and Yoakum.
This totals 33 counties with portions of El Paso and Webb (Laredo).
Significantly, District 23 will no longer include part of San Antonio.
San Antonio is where almost all of the recent representatives have lived.
It also has several Democratic controlled counties in the southwest.
The plan adds counties all the way up to Amarillo to offset the loss of North San Antonio.
This district will now run from El Paso to Laredo to Amarillo.
What Does This Mean For West Texas?
It is hard to say at this early stage.
The proposed maps are likely to change during the session. The map is primarily a starting point for discussions.
But if Trump wants them enacted, it is very likely it will happen with the current state leadership.
If something similar is passed, it will also undoubtedly change the political calculus in the Republican primary. At the very least Tony Gonzalez will have to choose which District he wants to run in. Will he filed against another sitting Republican or choose to move out of San Antonio?
Pfluger and Arrington will not be redistricted out of their seats under the proposed map. But if those districts include part of San Antonio, that may dramatically shift the demographics and politics of the district. San Angelo and the Permian Basin may become less important politically — except as a base for raising money. Their vote totals are likely to be dominated by San Antonio.
This also could pose risks in a Republican primary. Pfluger’s strategy of being in lock step with Trump may pay off in the short-term. He might avoid a primary challenge from San Antonio this time.
But when Trump is no longer in power it could become a liability in a primary, and the general election. San Antonio votes will likely drown out the rest of the district beyond the Trump era.
