First to ABC: DNC ramps up anti-redistricting efforts in Texas with calls to 'persuadable' GOP voters
The national Democratic Party is ramping up its offensive against potential mid-decade redistricting in Texas with a new organizing effort launching Monday, according to plans shared first with ABC News.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) says it will deploy 30,000 volunteers to make calls to "persuadable Republican Texas voters" in Republican-held districts to discuss the push by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas state legislators -- and rubber-stamped by President Donald Trump -- to consider redrawing Texas' congressional map, which the DNC claims in a statement is an attempt to "rig the Texas maps at the behest of Donald Trump."
The group will also have volunteer organizers contact state representatives, share public comments, and organize both in person and virtually.
This endeavor from the Democrats comes as Texas lawmakers convene for a special legislative session called by Abbott, who set an agenda that included considering congressional district redistricting "in light of constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice."
In a letter earlier this month, the Department of Justice told Texas that four majority-minority districts represented by Democrats needed to be redrawn, arguing they were "unconstitutional racial gerrymanders."
The Texas legislature is also set to tackle flood relief after the devastating flash flooding that killed more than 130 people earlier this month, taxes, and standardized testing during the session, which can last a maximum of 30 days.
Trump told reporters recently he wants his party to pick up five seats if Texas redraws its congressional map, and has suggested that other Republican-led states could follow suit.
Democrats claim that the efforts to redistrict is meant to give Republicans an advantage ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The DNC says it has already sent text messages to recruit Texans to go to field hearings and to share stories through public comments about how redrawing the districts could impact them. DNC Chair Ken Martin traveled to the state last week to strategize with state leaders.
"The DNC is all hands on deck to hold Donald Trump and Greg Abbott accountable for their scheme to use the tragic Texas floods as cover to redraw the Texas maps in a last-ditch effort to save the Republican majority," Martin told ABC News in a statement.
"Republicans know that the only way they hold onto the majority is by rigging the system but it won't work. Democrats will hold Republicans across the country accountable for their vote to rip away health care and food access and that starts with organizing from the ground up," he added.
Texas state Rep. Gene Wu, the Texas Democratic House Caucus Leader, wrote in a statement thanking the DNC shared with ABC News, "Their new initiative to contact persuadable Republican voters across the state and deploy organizers directly against Republican state reps is exactly the type of partnership Texas Democrats need."
Monday's effort comes ahead of the third in a series of field hearings about redistricting being held in different areas of Texas, and as some Democratic governors including California Gov. Gavin Newsom say they are keeping options open for possibly redrawing their state's own Congressional districts, but many would face logistical and legal hurdles to redraw their maps mid-cycle.
In a statement earlier this month responding to Democratic claims about the redistricting effort, Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Abbott, wrote, "While partisan activists focus solely on political issues, Governor Abbott is dedicated to delivering results on issues important to Texans, such as flood relief, property tax cuts, and the elimination of the STAAR [standardized] test. The Governor looks forward to the legislature addressing these topics, along with other critical issues, during this special session."
The Texas Republican Party, meanwhile, has praised the inclusion of redistricting in the special session as "an essential step to preserving GOP control in Congress and advancing the President Trump's America First agenda."
