The Republican-controlled Texas Senate officially passed a new congressional redistricting map today.

Despite nine of the 11 Senate Democrats walking out before the vote, leaving the floor nearly empty, the Republican majority pressed ahead.

The map, passed 19–2 along party lines, is designed to create up to five new Republican?drawn U.S. House seats in anticipation of the 2026 midterm elections.

"This mid-decade redistricting isn't about fair representation—it's about politicians picking their voters instead of voters choosing their leaders," the Senate Democrat Caucus said in a statement. "And it doesn't stop here. If they can gerrymander now, they can and will do it before every election."