Politics
Texas House Flips to Democratic Control as GOP Redistricting Gamble Backfires
Democrats will hold 83 of 120 Texas House seats when the new session begins in January, a stunning reversal after Republicans pushed a mid-decade redistricting map aimed at expanding their majority. The GOP's statewide gerrymander instead produced a blue wave that also swept a Democrat into the lieutenant governor's office.
Texas Democrats have won control of the state House for the first time in more than two decades, capturing 83 of the chamber's 120 seats in this month's midterm elections, according to results certified by county canvassing boards. Republicans, who had hoped their mid-decade redistricting map would expand their majority to 30 of the state's 38 congressional seats, instead saw their advantage in the lower chamber evaporate.
The flip marks a dramatic reversal for a state that has been a Republican stronghold at every level of government since the 1990s. When the new legislative session convenes in January, Democrats will hold an 83-67 majority in the Texas House, ending nearly 24 years of GOP control.
"I am elated and stunned," said state Rep. Christina Morales, who chairs the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee. "Voters sent a clear message that they are tired of politicians picking their districts and ignoring the issues that matter to working families."
The results follow an aggressive redistricting push by Republican leaders earlier this year. The map, approved in a special session, was designed to shore up vulnerable incumbents and create new opportunities for the GOP in fast-growing suburban districts. Instead, the plan appears to have energized Democratic turnout and alienated independent voters, particularly in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston suburbs.
"This was an anti-all-Republican situation," said Ed O'Keefe, CBS News' senior White House and political correspondent, in an interview with CBS News Texas. He pointed to the "historic unlikability" of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was on the ballot, and a shift among undecided Latino voters as key factors in the Democratic sweep.
Democrats also won the lieutenant governor's race, giving the party control of the Senate gavel and the power to set the upper chamber's agenda. Republican state Sen. Bob Hall of Edgewood, who won re-election, said he expects to work across the aisle. "I think that most folks on both sides of the aisle are working in the best interest of the people," Hall said. "Just have a little different opinion of what the best interest of the people is. But I have not had any problem in the past working with folks across the aisle."
Incoming Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa, a Democrat, has promised to overhaul public education, including replacing the Texas Education Agency commissioner. The new House majority is expected to push for expanded Medicaid, stricter environmental rules and a rollback of the state's near-total abortion ban.
The Republican caucus, meanwhile, is regrouping after a cycle that saw the party lose not only the House but also a newly drawn congressional district. Congressman-elect Jace Yarbrough, a Republican who won in the 32nd District, said he withstood the blue wave by focusing on local issues. "We ran a campaign that talked to voters about what matters to them," he said.
Joshua Blank, research director at the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, said the redistricting effort may have backfired by making the GOP appear more focused on protecting power than governing. "The map was drawn to maximize Republican seats, but it also created a lot of competitive districts where Democrats could compete," Blank said. "And the national environment was already tough for Republicans."
The new legislative session begins Jan. 13. Democrats say they plan to move quickly on a progressive agenda, while Republicans are vowing to regroup ahead of the 2028 elections.