Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas claimed Monday that Democratic-controlled states practiced “nonpartisan” redistricting that was “fair” during an appearance on CNN, ignoring gerrymandered maps in some of those states.
The Texas Legislature approved new congressional district maps after Texas House Democrats completed a “break quorum” on August 18. Doggett expressed concern about the effects of a potential Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana’s redistricting case, saying it would make maps in Republican states less fair and force Democrats to dispense with so-called “nonpartisan” methods.
“What this will destroy is the ability of people from all communities to be heard at every level of government,” Doggett claimed. “I think the ramifications would be much more serious for the local school board, city council, and county government, but yes, it could have an impact on Democrats in Congress as well.” (RELATED: Eric Holder says Democrats should make Supreme Court packing and gerrymandering part of 2028 platform)
“That’s why it’s so important that the California referendum scheduled to be approved in two weeks and for everyone to continue to resist Trump’s efforts to do elsewhere what he did in Texas,” Doggett continued. “I hope our court invalidates those maps and I will be able to continue to serve, but the most important thing is that our democracy continues to serve all communities and this court decision could really be a setback.”
Doggett expressed hope that Democrats could win some of the newly drawn districts, but said he would retire if the maps were upheld.
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“I would like to see every state in the country — and have backed this with legislation — do nonpartisan redistricting, but fair, nonpartisan redistricting can only happen in Democratic states and be ignored by extreme gerrymandering as has happened here in Texas,” Doggett claimed. “When Trump said he wanted five more Republicans, Texas Republicans said, ‘How quickly can we get them to you?’ I still think we can win some of those seats where they tied narrowly, but we have to go all out.”
Maryland Democrats may try to redraw district lines to force out Republican Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, the only Republican in the state’s congressional delegation, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore said in an appearance on “Face the Nation” in August. While the Democrats beat Seven of the eight seats in the US House of Representatives in the 2024 elections, according to Ballotpedia, are President Donald Trump Believer 34.1% of the vote and former Republican Governor Larry Hogan, the Republican Party’s candidate for the Senate seat vacated by Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, receive 42.8% of the votes.
The Illinois map enacted before the 2022 midterm elections eliminates two Republican seats. The blue state, which lost a U.S. House seat in the 2020 census, went from 13 Democrats and five Republicans after the 2020 election to 14 Democrats and three Republicans in the state’s House delegation after the 2022 midterm elections. According to To Ballotpedia.
Although Republicans Mitt Romney and Charlie Baker won gubernatorial elections, and Scott Brown won a special election in Massachusetts since 2000, no Republican has been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives since 1996, when then-Republican Reps. Peter Plaut and Peter Torkildsen lost their re-election bids. According to To Ballotpedia. (RELATED: J.B. Pritzker ducks when pressed about hypocrisy of gerrymandering in Illinois)
New York redrew its congressional districts after the 2022 midterm elections, creating a map that put at risk as many as six of the 11 Republicans initially elected to the state’s House delegation. Democrats had 19 seats to Republicans’ seven when votes were counted after the 2024 election, a significant gain from the 15 seats they gained after the 2022 midterm elections. According to To Ballotpedia.
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