Democrats, GOP are both guilty of gerrymandering. Texas' scheme exposes the problem.
The debate surrounding the Texas decision to draw new House district boundaries in advance of the 2026 midterm elections has escalated into a national conversation surrounding gerrymandering, with Republicans and Democrats accusing each other of being the problem.
The truth is that both Republicans and Democrats are flagrant offenders in the arena of districting. Nobody has their hands clean when it comes to gerrymandering.
Even so, by deciding to redraw their boundaries mid-decade, Texas has kicked off a potential arms race ahead of the midterms. Republicans started this new fight.
Opinion: Texas Democrats look bad in redistricting fight. Republicans look even worse.
Democrats and Republicans both gerrymander
Gerrymandering is the term for an old practice in which those drawing the borders of electoral districts strategically design them to favor their own electoral chances. They can do so by packing voters of the opposing party into a few sacrificial districts or by spreading them out across many districts.
The result is states like Illinois, in which only 3 of 17 House Seats are held by Republicans, despite 43.8% of voters breaking for President Donald Trump in 2024.
So, as much as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wants to bash Texas Republicans, he signed into law his state's heavily slanted map.
Opinion: Supreme Court could end race-based voting districts. Good. They're antiquated.
Of the states given a failing grade by Princeton's nonpartisan Gerrymandering Project, nine have a partisan advantage toward Republicans and four toward Democrats.
Texas hasn't made it worse.
Texas scheme escalates the problem – and rallies Democrats
What Texas Republicans are doing is new, in a sense. Redistricting typically occurs in response to significant demographic changes, often highlighted by the census at the beginning of every decade.
Texas has decided to redraw its boundaries midway through the decade, with President Donald Trump's endorsement. Texas' new map aims to add five additional GOP-leaning seats, giving Republicans an additional cushion ahead of what could be a challenging midterm election for them.
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Texas' decision to redraw its boundaries has nationalized the conversation around districting and opened the doors for similar attempts from Democratic states. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has threatened to fight fire with fire and match Texas' actions in his own state, as has Pritzker in Illinois.
Democrats are framing this as a pure response to Republican actions, but the reality is that they've been gerrymandering themselves for years. Regardless, Texas' actions worsen the matter because they are the first shot in this particular battle. Both sides have their hands dirty, but Texans will be the ones bearing the blame for what unfolds next.
Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.
You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.
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