Turning Texas RED by Any Means Necessary

By Jeffrey L. Boney
Forward Times
https://www.forwardtimes.com/

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott signs controversial racially drawn redistricting bill into law that significantly changes majority-Black districts

Forward Times has been consistently reporting on President Donald Trump’s demands that Texas create five new seats he believes would be more favorable to Republicans, and now that demand has become a reality.

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed the controversial redistricting bill, which many have argued was racially drawn, into law on Friday, August 29. The signing of House Bill 4 creates a new congressional map intended to give Texas Republicans more seats in the U.S. Congress and completely decimates and reconfigures four districts currently held by Democrats.

As an ode to President Trump, Gov. Abbott took to the X social media platform, shared a video of him signing House Bill 4 into law, and posted the following caption:

“Today, I signed the One Big Beautiful Map into law. This map ensures fairer representation in Congress. Texas will be more RED in Congress.”

The controversial bill brings major changes to historically Democratic congressional districts, with majority-minority districts and their residents suffering the most.

Here in Houston, House Bill 4 has reconfigured four traditionally Democratic districts, including the historic 18th Congressional District and the 9th Congressional District.

The 18th Congressional District has been without representation since the untimely death of the late Sylvester Turner in January, and the 9th Congressional District is currently represented by U.S. Congressman Al Green.

Under the new congressional maps, the 9th Congressional District would no longer cover southern Harris County, but would instead cover the eastern part of Harris County. Congressman Green’s residence has now been moved to the 18th Congressional District, creating a significant quandary for Democrats currently running to finish out the unexpired term of Congressman Turner this November.

Congressman Green took to social media, where he released a statement after Gov. Abbott signed House Bill 4, saying:

“A few moments ago, Governor Abbott signed the illegal and discriminatory redistricting maps into law. He has officially tried to write our community out of existence. He has officially tried to silence your voice in Congress. We will not mourn—we will organize. We will not despair—we will fight. We will put up our best legal defense to these maps that are an unconstitutional, racially motivated political attack designed to dilute minority voting power in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The road ahead is long and difficult. The State of Texas will throw endless resources at defending this injustice.”

The filing deadline for the Democratic primary is December 8, 2025, so it will be interesting to see if Congressman Green will file to run for the 18th Congressional District seat by then.

The City of Missouri City and Fort Bend Houston have also been affected by the signing of House Bill 4, as they will no longer be in the 9th Congressional District but will be represented by the elected representative from the 18th Congressional District. This change is significant, as the City of Missouri City and Fort Bend Houston play major roles in all elections.

The signing of House Bill 4 also makes notable changes in North Texas, as Democrat Congressman Marc Veasey’s 33rd Congressional District has been moved from Tarrant to Dallas County. In addition, Democrat Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett’s 30th Congressional District remains only one of two majority-Black districts in the entire state of Texas.

Prior to the bill being signed into law, Texas State Senator Borris Miles, one of the most vocal opponents of the congressional redistricting push, shared the following remarks:

“This redistricting map is a slap in the face to Black, Latino and any voter who calls Texas home. We’ve witnessed an unrelenting and massive assault on our voting rights, aimed at silencing the voices of Black, Brown and marginalized communities—unlike anything we’ve seen since the Jim Crow Era. This mid-decade RIG-DISTRICTING is just Jim Crow in a new Cadillac …The President wanted 5 more seats and, through the Department of Justice, he put out a hit list on congressional districts that are majority-minority; three of these historically majority-minority districts are located in Senate District 13. The Republican leadership of this state then yielded to his demands and rammed racially motivated redistricting maps through this chamber. The redistricting map, which is already gerrymandered, re-gerrymandered them, packing and cracking minority communities to the point that they resemble Humpty Dumpty …This battle is not yet over; there is more to come. Republicans may have the numbers, but we have the spirit. I have not given up. I will continue to fight and serve my constituents. I will continue to fight for their right to choose their representative. I will do this by any means necessary.”

Currently, Texas Republicans hold control of 25 of the state’s 38 congressional districts, so this change would be a significant boost for their party, assuming they are successful in maintaining their current congressional seats and securing the five newly reconfigured congressional seats.

Forward Times will continue to follow the aftermath of this congressional redistricting bill and keep our readers abreast of the latest developments.