How redistricting became the burning hot center of Democratic politics

It was once an issue that made voters’ eyes glaze over.

But in the last several weeks, the once-arcane subject of redistricting — underpinned by Texas Democrats’ extraordinary exodus from their state to block Republican plans to redraw maps — has transformed into the burning hot center of Democratic politics.

Potential 2028 White House candidates have sought to put themselves at the center of the fight against what they call a GOP power grab in Texas. So, too, have a bevy of Democratic governors, members of Congress and candidates for office across the country.

Far from the days of old for a party mocked for sending “strongly worded letters” while Republicans steamrolled them, Democrats are now firing their own flamethrowers.

It’s precisely what the rank and file want to see from a party they’re fed up with and disappointed in, Democrats say.

“There are not that many moments when politics break through to normal people. This is breaking through … because of how ruthless people are seeing Republicans be, and they want to see their Democratic leaders fight just as hard,” said Josh Marcus-Blank, a Democratic consultant who has worked on senatorial and presidential campaigns. “Any [Democratic] voter thinking about 2028 is mad right now, and they really want Democrats to stand up and fight back.”

President Donald Trump elevated the issue to the national stage when he said he wanted Texas to carve up its congressional map to create up to five more Republican districts to protect the party’s narrow House majority in the 2026 midterms.

While both parties have gerrymandered their states’ congressional districts in the past, the move in Texas stands out because it seeks to rip up the state’s map mid-decade, rather than after the new census every 10 years. Democrats left the state to deny a quorum in the Texas House and prevent the GOP’s plan from moving forward. The move ultimately may only delay the action, as Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to repeatedly call special sessions until he can push through the new map.

But as Abbott moved forward, the heavy hitters of the left moved to get in on the action.

Democrats have already gerrymandered his state to the hilt, but Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, used another route into the spotlight. In June, he quietly discussed a way for Texas Democrats to take refuge in his state on the eve of a legislative special session.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has threatened to pursue a redraw of his state’s congressional maps if Republicans move forward with their plans in Texas. Newsom, however, would need to circumvent an independent commission that controls the redistricting process in California.

“They want to change the game,” Newsom said of Republicans. “We can act holier than thou. We could sit on the sidelines, talk about the way the world should be, or we can recognize the existential nature that is this moment.”

In another escalation on the issue, Newsom declared Tuesday night that Trump had missed a deadline and so California would be “historic” and “end the Trump presidency,” he said in a social media post that mockingly emulated the kind of statement Trump would make.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, declaring, “We are at war,” also said she would look at ways to counter Texas’ plans. Any new map in her state wouldn’t take effect until after next year’s midterms.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a possible presidential contender, held a live social media forum and posted a video about the issue.

“What it shows is that Republicans believe that they will lose Congress unless they change the maps before the next election,” Buttigieg said.

After Texas Republicans first publicly considered redrawing the map mid-decade, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Hawaii Gov. Josh Green took turns teeing off on the issue from the sidelines of the National Governors Association meeting in Colorado in late July.

“My party can’t stand by and watch it happen and have the Congress taken away from the people’s will, whatever that is. It’s completely unethical for Texas to do this — to redistrict. It’s an obvious attempt to steal elections,” Green said in an interview. “If the courts won’t stop it, then you’re going to have to fight fire with fire.”

In Illinois, where a competitive race is underway to replace retiring longtime Sen. Dick Durbin, the leading candidates appeared alongside Texas Democrats at news events. One day, Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi vowed to build a wall against Trump’s efforts, and the next, it was Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton.

“Now is our time to stand up and fight. President Trump and Gov. Abbott, we are watching you. In Illinois, we don’t sit on the sidelines. In Illinois, we don’t take kindly to threats, and in Illinois, we fight back,” Stratton said before a splay of TV cameras last week. “If Trump and Texas Republicans won’t play by the rules, we will look at every option available to stop their extreme power grab, and nothing will be off the table.”

Andrew O’Neill, the national advocacy director for the progressive grassroots group Indivisible, referred to some of the Democrats’ remarks and actions as “productive ambition.”

“Democratic leadership amongst Democratic voters — it’s in the toilet right now. The Democratic base is furious with the state of their party,” O’Neill said.

He added that any Democrats hoping to draw attention on the national stage must show the base they know how to take off the gloves.

“If you take the sort of quiet-adult-in-the-room, ‘we’re just going to be responsible’ approach, nobody pays attention to you, and nobody hears your message,” O’Neill said. “So it’s all well and good that you put out a boring press release that says you believe in democracy and fair maps, but if you’re not actually taking the fight to Republicans and drawing that strategic conflict, in the attention economy we currently live with, nobody’s going to hear you.”

Hosting Texas Democratic lawmakers in Illinois has given Pritzker a platform to play protector-in-chief, vowing to stand in the way of Trump and Texas officials who authorized civil arrest warrants.

“There’s no federal law that would allow the FBI to arrest anybody that’s here visiting our state,” Pritzker said Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” “So it’s a lot of grandstanding. That’s what this is all about.”

Meanwhile, Newsom and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker, stood with a half-dozen Texas lawmakers Friday in Sacramento, where Newsom declared California would “nullify” Texas Republicans’ map if they moved forward.

There are some signs Democrats’ actions are gaining traction. For instance, a new Siena College poll found that Hochul’s job approval and favorability ratings have ticked up since June as she has been front and center in the redistricting debate.

Texas state Rep. Ramon Romero Jr., who leads the Democratic Hispanic Caucus and is among those in Illinois sitting out the special session, said he has been emboldened by the public’s response.

“People have reached out to me that I’ve never heard from,” he said.

Romero relayed feedback his brother, a schoolteacher, has received.

“Every day, he says, ‘Man, you know, everybody’s coming up to me, telling me how proud they are of you and for the fact that they didn’t even know what redistricting was and now they know,’” Romero said.

He continued: “If we would have just rolled over, nobody would have paid attention. But they know now.”