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Ongoing story / Texas

The 2025-26 mid-decade redistricting fight: Texas, California and Virginia

Overview · reviewed November 5, 2026

In 2025, at President Donald Trump's urging, Texas Republicans redrew the state's congressional map in the middle of the decade to win up to five more House seats, setting off a race among states to redraw their maps before the 2026 midterms.[1][2] California voters answered by approving Proposition 50, which let Democrats redraw their map, and the Supreme Court allowed both new maps to be used.[3][4][5] In Virginia, voters approved a Democratic map in April 2026, but the state's Supreme Court struck it down and the US Supreme Court refused to restore it.[6][7][8] By September the redistricting had changed the congressional districts of one in ten Americans, the AP found.[9]

Read the timeline

Follow this story to see new developments when you return.

California voters answered by approving Proposition 50, which let Democrats redraw their map, and the Supreme Court allowed both new maps to be used.[3][4][5] In Virginia, voters approved a Democratic map in April 2026, but the state's Supreme Court struck it down and the US Supreme Court refused to restore it.[6][7][8] By September the redistricting had changed the congressional districts of one in ten Americans, the AP found.[9]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-07-07 (UTC): 3%, 5 of 191 tracked outlets (1 left, 2 center, 2 right)Week of 2025-07-14 (UTC): 4%, 7 of 184 tracked outlets (2 left, 3 center, 2 right)Week of 2025-07-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-28 (UTC): 19%, 35 of 187 tracked outlets (11 left, 15 center, 9 right)Week of 2025-08-04 (UTC): 24%, 46 of 194 tracked outlets (17 left, 20 center, 9 right)Week of 2025-08-11 (UTC): 22%, 39 of 181 tracked outlets (9 left, 17 center, 13 right)Week of 2025-08-18 (UTC): 33%, 63 of 191 tracked outlets (24 left, 25 center, 14 right)Week of 2025-08-25 (UTC): 9%, 17 of 199 tracked outlets (4 left, 8 center, 5 right)Week of 2025-09-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-29 (UTC): 2%, 5 of 202 tracked outlets (1 left, 2 center, 2 right)Week of 2025-10-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-27 (UTC): 3%, 6 of 174 tracked outlets (4 left, 1 center, 1 right)Week of 2025-11-03 (UTC): 20%, 41 of 209 tracked outlets (11 left, 16 center, 14 right)Week of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): 23%, 44 of 189 tracked outlets (14 left, 22 center, 8 right)Week of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): 24%, 43 of 177 tracked outlets (12 left, 17 center, 14 right)Week of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): 7%, 13 of 189 tracked outlets (3 left, 3 center, 7 right)Week of 2026-02-02 (UTC): 14%, 25 of 177 tracked outlets (7 left, 14 center, 4 right)Week of 2026-02-09 (UTC): 4%, 8 of 180 tracked outlets (4 left, 1 center, 3 right)Week of 2026-02-16 (UTC): 3%, 6 of 178 tracked outlets (1 left, 3 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): 1%, 2 of 156 tracked outlets (0 left, 0 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-04-20 (UTC): 32%, 50 of 157 tracked outlets (20 left, 17 center, 13 right)Week of 2026-04-27 (UTC): 4%, 7 of 160 tracked outlets (2 left, 4 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-05-04 (UTC): 22%, 39 of 175 tracked outlets (10 left, 13 center, 16 right)Week of 2026-05-11 (UTC): 11%, 20 of 176 tracked outlets (3 left, 9 center, 8 right)Week of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): 3%, 14 of 480 tracked outlets (5 left, 7 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): 2%, 10 of 471 tracked outlets (4 left, 5 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 6 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (23 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Nov 2, 202645110 of 4712%
Sep 14, 202657214 of 4803%
May 11, 202639820 of 17611%
May 4, 202610131639 of 17522%
Apr 27, 20262417 of 1604%
Apr 20, 202620171350 of 15732%
Apr 13, 20260022 of 1561%
Feb 16, 20261326 of 1783%
Feb 9, 20264138 of 1804%
Feb 2, 2026714425 of 17714%
Jan 26, 202633713 of 1897%
Dec 1, 202512171443 of 17724%
Nov 17, 20251422844 of 18923%
Nov 3, 202511161441 of 20920%
Oct 27, 20254116 of 1743%
Sep 29, 20251225 of 2022%
Aug 25, 202548517 of 1999%
Aug 18, 202524251463 of 19133%
Aug 11, 20259171339 of 18122%
Aug 4, 20251720946 of 19424%
Jul 28, 20251115935 of 18719%
Jul 14, 20252327 of 1844%
Jul 7, 20251225 of 1913%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 2, 2026 · first reported · Headline from The Hill

    Maryland approves amendment making it easier to redistrict House map

Background

In July 2025, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott added redistricting to a special legislative session,[10] a move Trump urged as a way to keep the Republican House majority.[1] The Republican plan aimed to pick up five seats.[11] In August, Texas Democratic lawmakers left the state to deny the quorum needed for a vote;[12][13] Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton moved to remove them from office.[14][15] The Democrats eventually returned,[16] the House approved the map,[17] and Abbott signed it on August 29.[2] A panel of federal judges weighed whether Texas could use it,[18] and on December 4 the Supreme Court allowed it.[4]

Read the full background (2 more paragraphs)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed redrawing his state's districts to counter Texas,[19][20] a plan former President Barack Obama endorsed.[21] On November 4, 2025, California voters approved Proposition 50, a constitutional amendment that temporarily lets the legislature redraw the congressional districts,[3] and in February 2026 the Supreme Court allowed the new map.[5] Missouri's Trump-backed map is followed in its own arc.

Virginia Democrats pursued a constitutional amendment to redraw their map, which a judge first ruled illegal.[22][23] They released a proposal that could let the party win all but one of the state's districts,[24] and after the state Supreme Court allowed an April 21 referendum,[25] voters approved it.[6] Trump called the vote "rigged."[26] On May 8 the Virginia Supreme Court invalidated the amendment and the map,[7][27] and the US Supreme Court rejected Democrats' bid to restore it.[8] On November 3, Maryland voters approved a constitutional amendment that would make it easier for Democrats there to pass a more favorable House map, according to a Decision Desk HQ projection.[28]

Supporting stories (28)
  1. Texas Republicans aim to redraw House districts at Trump's urging, but there's a risk
  2. Texas governor signs new voting maps pushed by Trump to gain five GOP seats in Congress in 2026
  3. Prop 50 passes: California voters approve redistricting measure that could shift US House power
  4. Supreme Court allows Texas to use a congressional map favorable to Republicans in 2026
  5. Supreme Court allows new California congressional districts that favor Democrats
  6. Virginia voters approve redistricting plan that could boost Democrats’ seats in Congress
  7. Virginia supreme court strikes down new congressional maps in win for Republicans
  8. Supreme Court rejects Virginia's bid to restore congressional map favoring Democrats
  9. Fight over congressional maps put nearly 35 million people into new House districts: Report
  10. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott orders lawmakers to consider redistricting as GOP seeks midterm advantage
  11. Texas House committee advances redrawn congressional map
  12. Texas Republicans push ahead with redistricting after Democrats flee state
  13. Newsom urges Trump to abandon redistricting fight as Texas Republicans remain stymied on new maps
  14. Texas governor threatens to remove Democrats who left state over Trump-backed redistricting
  15. Texas AG Ken Paxton Casts Doubt On Prosecution Of Dems Blocking Republicans' Redistricting Push
  16. Texas House Democrats announce return, ending walkout over redistricting plan
  17. Texas lawmakers give final approval to redrawn congressional map favoring GOP
  18. Texas' redrawn US House map that boosts GOP begins a key court test
  19. Gov. Newsom expected to announce CA redistricting plans, setting up standoff with opposition
  20. See how new voting maps in Texas and California would shift the political landscape
  21. Gov. Newsom signs legislation advancing special election on California redistricting
  22. Judge finds Virginia Democrats’ redistricting resolution illegal; new Maryland map advances
  23. Virginia court blocks Democratic redistricting effort
  24. Virginia Democrats share proposed US House map despite court ruling against redistricting push
  25. Virginia Supreme Court allows redistricting special election to move forward
  26. Trump calls Virginia election ‘rigged’ after redistricting referendum
  27. Virginia Supreme Court strikes down Democrats' redistricting plan
  28. Maryland election results: Governor’s and House races, congressional redistricting amendment

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 42 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Maryland election results: Governor’s and House races, congressional redistricting amendmentHeadline from WTOP Washington DC · 10 outlets

September 2026

  1. Fight over congressional maps put nearly 35 million people into new House districts: ReportHeadline from ABC 27 Harrisburg · 15 outlets

May 2026

  1. Supreme Court rejects bid to restore Virginia's redistricting map favoring DemocratsHeadline from FOX 5 DC · 3 outlets
  2. Supreme Court rejects Virginia's bid to restore congressional map favoring DemocratsHeadline from NBC4 Washington · 17 outlets
  3. Virginia Democrats ask Supreme Court to reinstate congressional map struck down by state high courtHeadline from CBS News · 6 outlets
  4. Virginia supreme court strikes down new congressional maps in win for RepublicansHeadline from The Guardian · 6 outlets
  5. Virginia Supreme Court strikes down Democrats' redistricting planHeadline from KTVU San Francisco · 35 outlets

April 2026

  1. Virginia Supreme Court considers whether to block voter-approved US House map favoring DemocratsHeadline from Kokomo Tribune · 8 outlets
  2. Virginia redistricting update: Judge blocks certification of new congressional mapsHeadline from KTVU San Francisco · 13 outlets
  3. Trump calls Virginia election ‘rigged’ after redistricting referendumHeadline from Al Jazeera · 4 outlets
  4. Virginia voters approve redistricting plan that could boost Democrats’ seats in CongressHeadline from WTOP Washington DC · 42 outlets
  5. Trump's redistricting push backfires as virginia voters rebuke GOPHeadline from Newsweek · 7 outlets

February 2026

  1. Virginia judge blocks Democrats’ referendum, a blow to redistricting effort over 4 U.S. House seatsHeadline from WTOP Washington DC · 6 outlets
  2. Virginia Supreme Court allows redistricting special election to move forwardHeadline from NBC News · 8 outlets
  3. Virginia Democrats share proposed US House map despite court ruling against redistricting pushHeadline from MyNorthwest · 5 outlets
  4. Supreme Court allows new California congressional districts that favor DemocratsHeadline from WMUR · 26 outlets

January 2026

  1. Virginia court blocks Democratic redistricting effortHeadline from NBC News · 8 outlets
  2. Judge finds Virginia Democrats’ redistricting resolution illegal; new Maryland map advancesHeadline from WTOP Washington DC · 5 outlets

December 2025

  1. Supreme Court allows Texas to use a congressional map favorable to Republicans in 2026Headline from ABC 7 Los Angeles · 45 outlets

November 2025

  1. Supreme Court blocks order that found Texas congressional map is likely racially biasedHeadline from KCEN Waco · 29 outlets
  2. Federal judges block Texas from using its new U.S. House map in the 2026 midtermsHeadline from The Columbian · 33 outlets

October 2025

  1. California Voters Approve Redistricting to Counter GOP MovesHeadline from Time · 16 outlets
  2. Prop 50 passes: California voters approve redistricting measure that could shift US House powerHeadline from Foxla · 33 outlets

September 2025

  1. Texas' redrawn US House map that boosts GOP begins a key court testHeadline from WHEC Rochester · 5 outlets

August 2025

  1. Texas governor signs new voting maps pushed by Trump to gain five GOP seats in Congress in 2026Headline from Bangor Daily News · 19 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →