The Texas Legislature’s prolonged reign of terror ended on an acrimonious note this year as Republicans rammed through new redistricting maps.
Like a political etch-a-sketch, Texas’ new maps shook away the geographic, demographic, and partisan sorting that successfully secured GOP majorities through the 2010s and drew a new political landscape that Republicans expect will get them through the 2020s. Red seats were drawn redder, blue seats bluer. Competitive districts were all but eliminated.
Soon after the Legislature ended its final special session this fall, a game of musical chairs ensued. Dozens of state legislators announced retirements or runs for higher office, leaving behind around 30 open seats—most of them in Republican-leaning districts. Now, Republican candidates are lining up to fill them in a race to the hard-right.
