Latest news with #gerrymandering
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Congressional Candidate, 27, Forcibly Removed from Hearing and Arrested After Criticizing Texas Republicans: 'I'm Not Finished!'
Isaiah Martin, who spent a day in jail, later confirmed the charges were dropped and said he'd 'do it again for the people of Texas" A congressional candidate was forcibly removed from a hearing at the Texas State Capitol and arrested this week, after going over an apparent two-minute time limit to speak as he delivered a statement in opposition to Texas Republicans' redistricting efforts. Congressional District 18 candidate Isaiah Martin, 27, attended a hearing held by the Texas House Congressional Redistricting Committee on Thursday, July 24, when he offered his thoughts on the redistricting efforts in question, calling it 'illegal gerrymandering." According to Austin ABC affiliate KVUE, Gov. Greg Abbott added discussion of a proposed redrawing of congressional districts to the agenda following pressure from the Trump administration. Per The Hill, the redrawing of the state's maps could give the GOP an advantage in the 2026 midterms, as KVUE reported the state's constitution allows the maps to be redrawn at the discretion of both the governor and the Legislature — although it is rare to be done mid-decade. "Many of you that are Republicans, and I'm looking at you, you understand the game. You gotta get Trump's endorsement," Martin said at the beginning of his remarks, before his arrest. "That's the name of the game to be a Republican nowadays. And you know very clearly that Trump told every single one of you that he needs five seats." After he continued past an apparent allotted two-minute speaking time, Rep. Cody Vasut asked the sergeant-at-arms to remove Martin from the hearing. Footage from the scene, which was later shared by Martin's campaign on X, shows the candidate telling Republicans they have "no shame" as his microphone is removed from him. Martin then told the committee that "history might not remember you at all," as two men began to pull him out of the state capitol — with one man appearing to restrain Martin by lying on top of him. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) later confirmed, per KVUE and CBS Austin, that Martin was charged with disrupting a meeting, resisting arrest and criminal trespassing. His arrest took place around 7 p.m. local time, and he was later booked in Travis County Jail. His charges were dropped, per CBS Austin and an update that was shared on Martin's social media. A DPS spokesperson told KVUE that the arrest took place after Martin "refused to obey requests from committee members and subsequent orders from DPS to leave a committee hearing at the Texas State Capitol." The DPS did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for confirmation on July 25. Per KVUE, Martin spent over 24 hours in jail. Martin's brother confirmed in a statement on X that "all charges" against him had been dropped, before Martin shared in a message of his own hours later that he was put in custody for a day because Republicans "were mad I had the AUDACITY to call them cowards to their faces." "They did this because I had the audacity to speak up, and you know what? I'm gonna continue to have that audacity," he said. "Because strongly worded letters won't get us out of this mess. It takes speaking truth to power no matter what the consequences are." Speaking with CBS Austin following his release, Martin reiterated that he would "do it again for the people of Texas." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas Democrats meet with Newsom to stop Trump's push to 'rig' the 2026 election
Gov. Gavin Newsom stood alongside six Democrats from the Texas Legislature on Friday and joined them in accusing President Trump and Republicans of trying to "rig" elections to hold onto congressional seats next year. "They play by a different set of rules and we could sit back and act as if we have some moral authority and watch this 249-, 250-year-old experiment be washed away," Newsom said of the nation's history. "We are not going to allow that to happen." The Texas lawmakers and the governor spoke with reporters after meeting privately at the Governor's Mansion in Sacramento to discuss a national political fight over electoral maps that could alter the outcome of the midterm elections and balance of power in Congress. At the urging of President Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called his state Legislature into a special session this week that includes a call to redistrict the Lone Star State to help Republicans pick up seats in Congress. The move is part of a gerrymandering effort pushed by Trump to prevent the GOP from losing control of the House of Representatives next year. If Democrats take the House, they could derail the president's agenda, which has so far included a crackdown on undocumented immigrants, tariffs on imports, rescinding efforts to combat climate change and undercutting state protections for the LGTBQ+ community, among other policy priorities. Newsom has threatened to mirror Trump's tactics and said he's in talks with leaders of the California Legislature to redraw the state's congressional districts to favor electing more Democrats and fewer Republicans. Texas Democrats, who said they traveled to California to meet with the governor and explain the state of play in Texas, pledged do everything in their power to push back against Trump's plan. "We're going to use every tool at our disposal in the state of Texas to confront this very illegal redistricting process that is going to be done on the backs of historic African American and Latino districts," said Texas state Rep. Rafael Anchía. Another group of Texas lawmakers are expected to meet with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker in Chicago. Read more: California Democrats may target GOP congressional districts to counter Texas Changing the maps to benefit Democrats is a massive departure from California's work over the last decade to remove political partisanship from the redistricting process. California voters in 2010 gave an independent Citizens Redistricting Commission the power to determine the boundaries of voting districts for the U.S. House of Representatives instead of leaving that authority with the state Legislature. To redistrict before the midterms, the most legally sound option is for state lawmakers to send a constitutional amendment to voters that seeks to allow changes to the voter map outside the boundaries of California's independent redistricting process. The vote would need to happen in a special election before the June primary. Newsom has said he's also exploring a potential legal loophole that could allow the California Legislature to redraw the congressional maps themselves with a two-thirds vote. The governor's office said state law charges the redistricting commission with crafting new maps after a census, which is conducted about every 10 years. But they say the law is silent on everything that happens in between that time period. Newsom's lawyers believe it could be possible for the Legislature to redistrict congressional seats mid-decade on its own without going to the ballot. Read more: Texas Republicans aim to redraw House districts at Trump's urging, but there's a risk The governor's call to fight Trump using his own gerrymandering tactics has drawn a mixed response. Newsom argues that Democrats will continue to lose if they remain the only party that plays by the rules. But others worry about the integrity of electoral outcomes across the nation if political parties in every state resort to naked political gamesmanship to gain control. Texas Republicans have long been accused of crafting political maps to dilute the power of Black and Latino voters, which led to an ongoing lawsuit from 2021. Newsom's effort in California would effectively seek to increase the share of Democrats in Republican-held districts. Redistricting experts in California say redrawing the maps in the Golden State could create the potential for Democrats to flip at least five of the seats held by GOP incumbents. Democrats may have the potential for greater gains from gerrymandering, particularly in places such as California that have attempted to practice nonpartisan redistricting, compared to states such as Texas, where maps are already drawn in favor of Republicans. "It should be no surprise to anybody who covers Texas that every decade since 1970 Texas has been found to discriminate against people of color in its redistricting process," Anchía said. "In trying to do this, it is going to create great harm, not only to the people we represent, to the voters of the state of Texas, but also potentially to all Americans," he said about Trump's plan. It's common for the party in control of the White House to lose seats nationally in the first election after a presidential contest. Republicans hold majorities in the Senate and the House, and losing power to Democrats could be detrimental to Trump's presidency. Trump's job approval rating dropped to a second-term low of 37% in a Gallup poll conducted earlier this month. The dip is just above his lowest approval rating ever of 34% at the end of his first term. Trump has said publicly that he thinks it's possible for Republicans to redistrict and pick up five seats in Texas, with the potential for gains in other states that redraw their maps. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Wall Street Journal
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Democrats Vow to Retaliate as Texas Moves to Draw a New U.S. House Map
Donald Trump says the GOP could pick up five House seats in the 2026 midterms by redistricting the Texas political map. That could double Speaker Mike Johnson's current majority, but Democrats promise to respond, and Gov. Gavin Newsom suggests further gerrymandering California. Is this simply the way the political game is played, or could Congress put limits on it? Photo: Gerry Broome/Associated Press
Bloomberg
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
How Political Parties Use Gerrymandering for Their Own Gain
Gerrymandering is almost as old as the US republic itself. It's the process of drawing electoral district lines in sometimes absurd ways to fortify one political party at the expense of another. Good-government groups say that gerrymandering lets politicians choose their constituents, rather than the other way around. A new controversy over gerrymandering took shape in mid-July when a special session of the Republican-dominated Texas legislature met to consider, among other things, a proposal backed by President Donald Trump to redraw the state's congressional districts. The aim is to strengthen the Republican Party's prospects ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The plan provoked threats by Democratic leaders to retaliate in kind in states where their party controls government.
New York Times
22-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Texas Lawmakers Will Debate Flood Response, Redistricting and Other Issues
A special legislative session in Texas, set to begin on Monday in the wake of the flood in Texas Hill Country, is shaping up to be an emotionally raw diversion into what Democrats say is the gerrymandering the state's House districts. Lawmakers will also take up questions about the handling of the devastating July 4 floods, which killed more than 130 people, including at least 37 children. Nearly 100 Texans remain missing. But that bipartisan imperative will be complicated by a hard-edge partisan agenda for the session, dominated by President Trump's push for the Legislature to redraw the state's congressional district maps to be more favorable for Republicans. He wants his party to gain five seats in Texas in the 2026 midterm elections to help retain control of the U.S. House. Gov. Greg Abbott has asked lawmakers to also consider a dozen other items during the 30-day special session, including new hard-line conservative proposals to ban mail-order abortion pills, lower property taxes and regulate intoxicating hemp. And he wants lawmakers to consider a state constitutional amendment that would empower the state attorney general to prosecute election crimes. 'It's a wild situation,' said State Representative Jon Rosenthal, a Houston-area Democrat. 'The past sessions I've been a part of have been of a very limited scope.' Most Texans' attention will probably lie with the July 4 flood and what can be done to improve warning systems, such as placing outdoor sirens along flood-prone waterways like the Guadalupe River, where most of the deaths occurred. Image The special session of the Texas State Legislature that is scheduled to convene on July 21 will be 'a wild situation,' said State Representative Jon Rosenthal, Democrat of Houston. Credit... Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle, via Getty Images 'That's the most obvious thing that can be done,' said Sid Miller, the state's Republican agriculture commissioner. The redistricting fight, though, will have national implications and headline-grabbing potential. Democrats in the Legislature are considering walking out to try to thwart the effort by denying Republicans a quorum. Redistricting is 'an inside-baseball thing,' Mr. Miller said, noting that while he supported Republican efforts to win more seats, 'most Texans are not too concerned about that.' That dismissive shrug is probably not how it will play out more widely. 'Democrats must keep all options on the table,' said State Representative John Bucy III, an Austin-area Democrat gearing up for a fight on the issue. As recently as a few weeks ago, many people in Austin felt that a special session this year was unlikely. During the regular legislative session, the governor had finally accomplished his signature agenda item, a publicly funded private-school voucher program — an achievement that had eluded his Republican predecessors, George W. Bush and Rick Perry. But Mr. Abbott had unfinished business driving him toward an extra session. Then came orders from Washington: The president wanted Texas lawmakers to redraw the state's congressional map, because of worries about the slim Republican House majority surviving the midterm elections, which almost always favor the party out of power. And then the floods hit the Hill Country. Last week, just before Mr. Trump visited the flood-damaged area, Mr. Abbott added flood response legislation to the special session agenda, along with redistricting. Image President Trump spoke alongside Governor Abbott at a meeting with emergency response personnel and local officials in Kerrville, Texas. Credit... Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times It remained unclear in what order the State Legislature would take up the two high-profile issues. Some lobbyists and legislative aides suggested that redistricting appeared likely to be handled first, because Democrats might be less likely to stage a walkout to stop the map-drawing effort if it meant blocking action on flooding as well. But going forward with a partisan redistricting plan before taking any steps to address one of the state's worst natural disasters in generations could present political problems for Republicans, who control all levels of state government. 'The one thing that is mandatory is the flood — that's essential,' said Bill Miller, a veteran Austin lobbyist and longtime Texas political observer. 'If they don't do that, it will hurt them politically. And you'd better do it first.' Flood Response Mr. Abbott listed four matters related to flooding that he called on lawmakers to consider in the session: improvements to warning systems, relief funding for counties hit by the July floods, better emergency communications and cutting regulations surrounding disaster preparation and recovery. 'We must ensure better preparation for such events in the future,' Mr. Abbott said. Lawmakers are expected to hold at least two public hearings on the flooding, on July 23 at the Capitol in Austin and then on July 31 in Kerrville, Texas, the epicenter of the flooding in the Hill Country. 'With only 30 days to act, we must make every moment count,' the speaker of the Texas House, Dustin Burrows, said in a statement announcing the creation of a select committee on disaster preparedness and flooding. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the State Senate, has called for the construction of sirens along the Guadalupe River. Image More than 130 people were killed in flash flooding in Central Texas earlier this month. Credit... Jordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times But he also suggested that some of the issues raised by the flooding, like previous government inaction on warning systems, may not be addressed in the special session. He promised that officials would gather the facts and answer the many questions raised after the flooding 'in the coming year, and into the next regular legislative session' in 2027. U.S. House Redistricting Few Republican lawmakers, in Austin and in Washington, have expressed enthusiasm for Mr. Trump's aggressive redistricting demand. 'I think we'll get five,' Mr. Trump said on Tuesday when asked how many seats he hoped Republicans would gain from the effort. Texas has 38 congressional districts, with 25 currently held by Republicans and 12 held by Democrats. One seat, representing a heavily Democratic district in Houston, is vacant; it will be filled in a special election in November. Maps are supposed to be redrawn around the beginning of each decade, using data from the latest census, which reapportions House seats among the states based on population changes. Mid-decade redistricting is rare, and almost always contentious. The Trump administration has argued that several districts in Houston and Dallas that are held by Black and Hispanic Democrats are 'unconstitutional racial gerrymanders' and need to be redrawn. That is a charge that Texas Republicans have long rejected when their maps have been challenged by Democrats and minority groups. In addition, Republicans have been looking at their recent growth in support among Hispanic voters, particularly in the Rio Grande Valley, as an avenue for drawing new district maps that would favor their candidates. Image A long list of agenda items awaits the Texas Legislature when it convenes for the special session. Credit... Jordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times Democrats have been strategizing about how to respond, including the question of whether to walk out of the special session to prevent a quorum. To do that in the 150-member Texas House, 51 of the 62 Democrats would have to join in. A walkout could come at a heavy cost for the participants. After the tactic was used in 2021, Texas Republicans have tried to deter future walkouts by adopting rules in the State House that include $500-a-day fines for each lawmaker who stays away. Beyond Texas, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, a Democrat, is threatening to have his state's House district lines redrawn to favor his party if Texas Republicans succeed in redrawing theirs. (For now, that might be bluster, since California's laws and state constitution make such a move a much taller order than it is in Texas.) The clock is working against Republicans. The Dec. 8 deadline for filing to get on the March 2026 primary ballot is fast approaching, and any new maps adopted during the special session would probably be challenged in court. That could complicate whether they would take effect in time for the midterm elections in 2026. The Governor's Other Desires Mr. Abbott put a long list of other items in his call for the special session, most of them measures that failed to become law during the regular session. The most contentious of them is a bill to regulate the industry that produces intoxicating hemp products like gummies, drinks and other consumable items that deliver a high similar to that from marijuana. Mr. Patrick, the state's powerful lieutenant governor, muscled a total ban on such products through the Legislature late in the regular session, only to see Mr. Abbott veto the measure. The governor said that lawmakers should consider regulating the products instead of banning them, and should make it a crime to sell hemp intoxicants to people under the age of 21. Currently there are no age restrictions on the products in Texas. Image Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick defending the THC ban at news conference in May. Credit... Ilana Panich-Linsman for The New York Times Mr. Abbott also wants the Legislature to take up measures favored by activist Republicans, including a proposed ban on local governments hiring lobbyists to advocate for their interests at the State Capitol; a bill to give the state attorney general new powers to prosecute violations of election law; and new legislation restricting abortion, in a state that already has a near-total ban. Anti-abortion activists urged lawmakers to pass a bill that would try to stop mail-order abortion pills from being used in Texas. 'They only have 30 days to do it,' said John Seago, the president of Texas Right to Life.
