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Don't necessarily agree with this title. I think it should be: What are Dems gonna do about GOP redistricting?
Last edited Fri Jul 25, 2025, 05:40 PM - Edit history (1)
Are Dems Gonna Wimp Out on Redistricting?
DEMOCRATS IN WASHINGTON, D.C. are insistent that they will aggressively fight Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to redraw his state’s congressional maps in favor of Republicans during a special legislative session this summer.
Lawmaker after lawmaker has said that they won’t be caught bringing a “knife to a gun fight.” Legal challenges are being planned. PR campaigns are being envisioned. If the Lone Star Republicans complete the mid-decade redistricting, thereby putting at least four currently blue districts within reach of the GOP, the Democratic party is pledging to invest resources into keeping some of those seats. There is talk of countering Abbott’s move by pursuing mid-decade redistricting in Democratic bastions like California, New York, and Illinois—or in some cases, even preemptively, before the Texas special session concludes.
But beneath the surface, there are already signs that the party may not be up for the fight, that the tough talk is bluster, that the gun they may bring to the fight is filled with blanks. And in private conversations, there is a clear element of anxiety that the party could be outmaneuvered by Republicans, worsening their prospects for flipping the House in the midterms.
A clear distillation of this dynamic came Tuesday, as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, one of the party’s most vocal Trump critics, took questions from reporters in Chicago’s Union Station. The Democrat was asked whether his state should redraw its map to give the party a bigger footprint.
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/are-dems-gonna-wimp-out-on-redistricting-texas-abbott-pritzker-illinois-newsom-california-congressional-census-districts
DEMOCRATS IN WASHINGTON, D.C. are insistent that they will aggressively fight Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to redraw his state’s congressional maps in favor of Republicans during a special legislative session this summer.
Lawmaker after lawmaker has said that they won’t be caught bringing a “knife to a gun fight.” Legal challenges are being planned. PR campaigns are being envisioned. If the Lone Star Republicans complete the mid-decade redistricting, thereby putting at least four currently blue districts within reach of the GOP, the Democratic party is pledging to invest resources into keeping some of those seats. There is talk of countering Abbott’s move by pursuing mid-decade redistricting in Democratic bastions like California, New York, and Illinois—or in some cases, even preemptively, before the Texas special session concludes.
But beneath the surface, there are already signs that the party may not be up for the fight, that the tough talk is bluster, that the gun they may bring to the fight is filled with blanks. And in private conversations, there is a clear element of anxiety that the party could be outmaneuvered by Republicans, worsening their prospects for flipping the House in the midterms.
A clear distillation of this dynamic came Tuesday, as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, one of the party’s most vocal Trump critics, took questions from reporters in Chicago’s Union Station. The Democrat was asked whether his state should redraw its map to give the party a bigger footprint.
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/are-dems-gonna-wimp-out-on-redistricting-texas-abbott-pritzker-illinois-newsom-california-congressional-census-districts
Apparently, after Texas many red states are going to to redistrict.
Sadly, many blue states have independent redistricting commissions, which complicates this.
Most on DU cheered the formation of these commissions, including me.
But now the messaging is "Fuck or get fucked".
So do we now become the party of "Fuck you"?
Do we abandon our reform minded platforms?
Can they get temporarily suspend the commissions prior to midterms?
Can they get rid of the commissions prior to midterms?
Illinois can redistrict to get rid of it's only two blue seats, but would it? And apparently, it would hurt Democratic incumbents.
I think California is the best option. They have quite a few red seats. If they can get a referendum on their commission, then I think that's the way to go. Illinois may not work because it's "blued out".
Even Texas is going to hurt incumbent GOP members. Their districts will shift. Another Republican can replace them. None of them want redistricting. Texas can get redder because it has numerous blue districts under the Voting Rights Act. Since Trump wants the VRA tossed out, Texas is attempting to eliminate those seats during their special session. Trump's DOJ literally sent a letter to Texas telling them that Sheila Jackson Lee's former district is illegal.