The legal fight over the state’s new Congressional maps could be decided in the next week or two. On Monday, a three-judge panel will continue holding a hearing that will determine whether the newly drawn districts will be allowed to be implemented for the upcoming March 2026 primary. Texas Republicans want the new maps and districts to be in place while Democrats and dozens of plaintiffs who are suing the state are hoping judges will instead keep the current Congressional maps in place while continuing to figure out if they violate section two of the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution.
On Friday, LULAC, the largest and oldest Latino advocacy organization in the U.S. was among those who held a news conference outside the courthouse in El Paso. The group is among the dozens of plaintiffs suing the state of Texas over the new Congressional maps. Republicans have insisted they did not consider race at all and only focused on partisan politics — something upheld by the courts. The plaintiffs, including Democrats, accuse Texas Republicans of racial discrimination while drawing the new districts. Ray Mancera, LULAC National VP, Southwest United States said, “It is not about partisan politics. It is about fairness. When communities are cracked and packed, their power to elect candidates of choice are deliberately diminished.”
In an interview with CBS News Texas, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the Texas Legislature did the right thing by redrawing the state’s Congressional maps, as President Trump requested. “President Trump got 56% of the vote in the last election, and yet, a very large chunk of the Congressional delegation is Democrat, and so what the legislature did is redraw the map to elect likely five more Republicans. The result of that is you’ll have a Congressional delegation that better reflects the values of the people of Texas, of the voters of Texas. I think that is right and good.”
U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, told CBS News Texas that the new Congressional maps do not reflect the fact that most of the growth in the state’s population is in the Latino, Black, and Asian communities. “It is hard to believe that you could be this meticulous to the extent that you have a majority-minority state, but somehow approximately a little over 70% of the seats are going to be Anglo seats. That has to be intentional. There is no other way to make that make sense. You had to intentionally, specifically go around people of color, pack them and crack them, and that’s exactly what they did in these maps.”
The hearing is set to continue through October 10, but could end earlier. The judges are expected to rule shortly after that. Timing is important because the candidates can begin filing their campaign paperwork with the State of Texas as early as November 8th.
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