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Yahoo
a minute ago
- Yahoo
Texas Republicans propose new congressional maps
New congressional maps were proposed by Republican state legislators in Texas on Wednesday, following a push by President Donald Trump for maps more favorable to Republicans to help the GOP keep the majority in the U.S. House in 2026. The maps come as Texas lawmakers continue meeting for a special legislative session called for by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, who set an agenda that included considering congressional district redistricting "in light of Constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice." Trump has said he wants Republicans to pick up five new seats in Texas and others elsewhere; Democrats have decried the maneuver and said it risks hurting minority voters. Blue-state governors have said they're considering mid-decade redistricting in response. MORE: First to ABC: DNC ramps up anti-redistricting efforts in Texas with calls to 'persuadable' GOP votersMORE: Texas Democrats escalate fight against Republican-led redistricting efforts with Pritzker, Newsom meetings The state legislative bill that contains the maps, filed by Republican Texas state Rep. Todd Hunter on Wednesday morning, says it would supersede "all previous enactments or orders adopting congressional districts for the State of Texas" and would take effect first in the 2026 primary and general elections – meaning that if adopted successfully, it would impact the 2026 midterms. The new map could net Republicans between three and five seats if enacted, analysts told ABC News. David Wasserman, senior editor and elections analyst for The Cook Political Report, told ABC News that three of the seats in the map, he said, have been fully redrawn to favor Republicans, while two in south Texas that are currently held by Democratic Representatives Henry Cuellar and Vincente Gonzalez may still be feasible for Democrats to hold onto. More broadly, Wasserman pointed to how Republicans made inroads among Hispanic voters in 2024 and that the map reflects how they likely assume those changes will be durable. "Republicans have very little to lose here, because this map doesn't really weaken any of their own incumbents," he said. Republicans won a narrow three-seat majority last November and currently hold 219 seats to Democrats' 212. Currently, four are vacant. The Texas congressional delegation currently has 25 Republican House members and 12 Democratic House members. (One seat, formerly held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner, has been vacant since he died in March.) While any details of the bill and map plan could change in committee meetings, state House floor debate, or after future litigation, the current proposal shows that multiple Democratic members could be made more vulnerable. Some of those are among five sets of members from opposing parties being redistricted into the same district; and two Democrats – U.S. Reps. Greg Casar and Rep. Lloyd Doggett – would be redistricted into the same district. (These members could run in different districts, retire from the House, or run for a different office – there's no guarantee they'll face each other if the map goes through.) There is no set timing for specifically when the bill needs to go through the motions in the legislature, but the special legislative session, which began July 21st, can only last 30 days and thus ends August 20. Gov. Greg Abbott could call for further special sessions. Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of the Texas legislature, as well as on both the House and Senate special session redistricting committees. One major Republican voice appears to be giving support to the endeavor. Vice President JD Vance, in a since-deleted tweet, criticized how most of the districts in Democratic-dominated California are not Republican even though four-tenths of voters in the state vote Republican. (Trump received almost 40% of the vote in California in 2024.) "Every GOP-controlled state should be following the Texas example," he added. In a subsequent tweet, Vance removed the reference to Texas and simply wrote after discussing the Republican vote in California, "How can this possibly be allowed?" Legislative Democrats have said they're keeping their options open as to how they might respond to any new maps. Multiple Texas state Democrats have said they would consider walking out of the special session or helping break quorum to delay or stymie efforts by legislative Republicans, but they would need 51 Democrats to break quorum and would accrue financial penalties. Some of the members of Congress potentially affected by the new map slammed it as a power grab by Republicans. U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, criticizing how the state's 35th and 37th congressional districts effectively get merged in the new map, wrote, "By merging our Central Texas districts, Trump wants to commit yet another crime -- this time, against Texas voters and against Martin Luther King's Voting Rights Act of 1965. United, we will fight back with everything we've got." In a statement to ABC News, former Attorney General Eric Holder slammed efforts to redistrict in Texas, and says he doesn't oppose Democratic efforts to fight back. Holder runs the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. "In this moment steps must be taken to respond to the authoritarian measures being considered in certain states and now so brazenly taken in Texas," said Holder.
Gizmodo
2 minutes ago
- Gizmodo
Elon Musk Is So Unpopular, He May Be Hurting the Entire EV Industry
Elon Musk's increasingly controversial reputation among U.S. liberals has become so polarizing that it's turning some away not just from Tesla, but from electric vehicles altogether. A new study published this week in the journal Nature examined whether perceptions of Musk have made Teslas more polarizing than other EVs. The researchers conducted a series of surveys starting in November 2023 up until March 2025. In each, participants were asked whether they would consider purchasing either a Tesla or an unspecified EV. 'Liberals showed declining intentions to purchase Teslas compared with other EVs, and, to a lesser extent, declining intentions to purchase EVs in general,' the researchers wrote. They added that the effect is connected to negative perceptions of Musk, particularly as he's embraced a more conservative public persona. The study spans the period before and after Elon Musk went all-in on U.S. politics, starting before he publicly endorsed Donald Trump and continuing through his brief role in the Trump administration. Musk first backed Trump on July 13, the same day as Trump's assassination attempt. 'I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,' Musk wrote on X. He ended up spending $277 million to support Trump and other Republican candidates. His America PAC also ran a controversial canvassing operation, with reports of harsh working conditions and impossible to meet quotas. Following Trump's win in November 2024, Musk was tapped to lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Under Musk's leadership, DOGE slashed funding and eliminated jobs at multiple federal agencies, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Some global health experts estimate that cuts to USAID's anti-HIV/AIDS programs have resulted in more than 90,000 deaths worldwide. Musk eventually had a high-profile falling-out with Trump and stepped down from DOGE, but damage to his reputation, especially among liberals, was already done. His current attempts to launch a new political party have yet to gain any real traction. And probably most troubling for Musk, Tesla sales continue to drop. The study pointed out that conservatives still aren't that into EVs, which means there aren't enough new buyers to make up for the liberals who are walking away. Earlier this month, Tesla reported that its car sales fell 13% year-over-year in the second quarter. And in Europe, Tesla has stopped taking new orders for its Model S and Model X vehicles, according to Electrek. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Gizmodo. The study researchers noted that in the later surveys, liberal participants were noticeably less supportive of EVs than they were in earlier iterations, especially when they held negative views of Musk. This 'Tesla backlash effect,' combined with conservatives' consistent dislike of EVs, suggests that a polarizing CEO can hurt not just their own brand, but an entire industry.
Fox News
3 minutes ago
- Fox News
Michigan congressional candidate wants to cut taxes for first responders
Fox News Digital spoke with Amir Hassan about his Republican campaign for Michigan's 8th congressional district and his ambitious policy proposal.
