JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Today, Republicans in Texas proposed a redistricting plan that could give the party five additional congressional seats in the state. President Trump has been calling for the new map to help his party keep control of the House in next year's midterm elections. Here with more is Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider. Hi there.
ANDREW SCHNEIDER, BYLINE: Hello.
SUMMERS: Andrew, for starters, just tell us about this map.
SCHNEIDER: Well, this map targets a number of districts currently held by Democrats. They include two that stretch into the Rio Grande Valley in the south of the state and two in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Another two Democratic incumbents in Central Texas may be forced to run against each other. There's also been some shuffling of the lines in the Houston area here, which would force some Democratic incumbents to run an unfamiliar territory. But the bottom line from political observers is this could achieve Trump's goal of five more Republican seats. Right now, the GOP has 25 of the state's 38 seats. This map could make it 30.
SUMMERS: Which, of course, could be pretty big in determining who controls the House. Andrew, though, this is a proposal. Is this the map that Texas Republicans definitively are going to move forward with?
SCHNEIDER: It's tough to say. There could be more proposals. And this map itself could change as a result of hearings, particularly given the widespread vocal opposition to the process. We're in a special legislative session called by Governor Greg Abbott. This session has a packed agenda, including flood relief following the deadly floods in the Hill Country earlier this month. But then Abbott, who's a Trump ally, added redistricting as well. And he seems determined to push this through. Abbott says the new map would respond to concerns from the Justice Department about the current congressional map, but Republicans have also been explicit that this is about partisanship.
SUMMERS: This redistricting effort, though, it's controversial. What have critics had to say?
SCHNEIDER: Well, a redraw like this is not unprecedented. Republicans did it about 20 years ago when Tom DeLay was the majority leader. But Democrats have been very critical. I was out at a hearing at a redistricting effort last weekend here in Houston. More than 700 people signed up to speak, and almost everyone who spoke up was against it. Obviously, this is a Democratic stronghold. It's a blue dot in a red sea. But it shows the depth of the opposition.
SUMMERS: Just on a practical level, though, what if anything can Democrats actually do to stop this from moving forward?
SCHNEIDER: They really don't have the numbers. Republicans outnumber Democrats in both chambers by significant margins. There's been some chatter about them leaving the state, denying the Republicans a quorum to halt the special session. But Abbott can call as many special sessions as he wants, so at best that means slowing the process down, not stopping it.
If the map is enacted, Democrats are pledging to file lawsuits, and if those are unsuccessful, they want to compete in the seats and make Republicans regret the new map. National Democrats have said they plan to spend big contesting those seats. And then some other states that are led by Democrats say they may explore redrawing their own maps. Some of those places, like California, face legal hurdles. But it just shows the partisan escalation kicked off by this move here in Texas is likely to have spread beyond its borders.
SUMMERS: Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider. Thank you.
SCHNEIDER: You're welcome.
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