Judges Block Texas GOP’s New Map; Abbott Says It Was Only Meant to “Gently Enhance” the Number of Republican Seats

AUSTIN — Governor Greg Abbott defended Texas’ now-blocked congressional map on Tuesday, insisting it was “never meant to cause any controversy whatsoever,” except for the part where it quietly added up to five new GOP seats. “It was a minor adjustment,” Abbott said. “Barely noticeable, unless you can count.”

The ruling arrives at an inconvenient moment for Texas, after its own redistricting push set off a wave of efforts in other states. California responded with a redraw of its own, which voters later approved under Prop 50.

Governor Gavin Newsom offered a brief response from Sacramento. “Texas made the first move,” he said. “We joined in—and we remembered to ask voters, which I hear is popular.”

Republican lawmakers in Austin rejected the judges’ criticism that they had “toyed with election laws,” calling the description exaggerated. “We didn’t toy,” one legislator said. “We took decisive action in a narrow window. In hindsight, the window may have been… narrower than ideal.”

Abbott immediately vowed to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. Republican strategists, speaking privately, worried the entire effort may collapse into what one described as “a textbook self-own.”

“We tried to get ahead,” the strategist said. “We didn’t. And now California’s going to bring this up for a decade…”