Redistricting Drama Presents ‘Chaos’ for Congressional Hopefuls, Dallas Democrats

A federal court decision overturning the congressional map drawn and approved by Republicans over the summer couldn’t have come at a better time for the Dallas-area Democrats hoping to run for another term next fall. 

The filing period for the 2026 election ends in only 19 days, but North Texas incumbents Marc Veasey, Jasmine Crockett and Julie Johnson have all held off from filing in hopes that a court would strike down the map that sliced and diced their historically blue districts. That hope was realized Tuesday, when a three-judge panel ruled that the congressional maps — redrawn at the behest of President Donald Trump to secure Republicans an additional five seats in Congress after the midterm elections — were illegally racially gerrymandered. 

The map approved by Republicans would have combined the Democratic constituencies from Johnson’s district, CD-32, with those from Veasey’s district, CD-33, pitting the two incumbents against each other while flipping CD-32 red. When the map was being debated in the state House, Democrat Rep. Cassandra Garcia Hernandez remarked that CD-32  — which includes parts of Plano, Richardson and Balch Springs under the map approved in 2021 —  had been turned into a “175-mile fajita strip” that stretched from Richardson to (nearly) the Louisiana border. 

It was a judge appointed by Trump who ultimately ruled that next year’s election “shall proceed under the map that the Texas Legislature enacted in 2021” in an opinion that Congresswoman Johnson believes was “unequivocal, strong and convincing.” 

“I’m really happy to see the court render such a strong opinion,” Johnson told the Observer. “Those of us in the Democratic delegation, we’ve been remarkably hopeful that the court was going to come to this conclusion. … I think that’s why you see only Al Green [has] actually filed ahead of time in a different district. The rest of us were waiting on the court to rule because we were confident that these maps were going to get overturned.”

Now that a federal court has maintained that Johnson’s district will remain in North Texas, she said she plans to file for reelection in search of a second term in Congress. 

In an interview with the Texas Tribune, Veasey offered a similar sentiment to Johnson, stating that he’d urged his colleagues to “stay calm” because the situation “felt exactly like 2011” when a panel of judges overturned the Texas Legislature’s maps, ultimately leading to the drawing of Veasey’s district. 

Crockett, on the other hand, declined to say whether she will run for reelection. Although the redrawn map actually strengthened the Democratic support in her district, CD-30, there has been speculation that she will run for Senate instead. Crockett told the Tribune that she “still has some evaluations to make” before filing for either seat.

‘Chaos and Uncertainty’

As Democrats celebrate Tuesday’s ruling, uncertainty still lingers. Luke Warford, founder of the Agave Democratic Infrastructure Fund political action committee, lamented that while the redistricting back-and-forth has been confusing for potential candidates, it’s likely been even more confusing for the voters who have found themselves yanked between congressional districts. 

“Just imagine how you’d feel if you worked for Julie’s [campaign], and you work real hard and you block walked and phone banked and then, boop, now you’re in Keith Self’s [district],” Darrel Evans, a communications chair with the Collin County Democratic Party, told the Observer back in July. “You just feel so disenfranchised.”

With just over two weeks left for candidates to file for the November 2026 election, Warford said some politicians have found themselves in the position of running a race “based on the assumption that these maps were going to hold.” Now, those districts no longer exist; as long as the federal court’s ruling isn’t overturned, that is. 

One politician who finds himself in limbo is state Representative Briscoe Cain, a Republican from Harris County, who filed to run for the redrawn CD-9 seat. On X yesterday afternoon, Cain announced that his campaign would move “full speed ahead” with the expectation that the maps would be reinstated. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has already announced that his office will appeal the case to the United States Supreme Court. 

Johnson said there is “no doubt” that the court could intervene, but that she believes past precedent suggests that the trial court’s opinion would be allowed to stand through the upcoming election cycle. Warford, though, isn’t ruling anything out. 

“[This is] chaos and uncertainty that has been created on the Republican side,” said Warford. “It’s not clear how this all shakes out. It’s possible that the Supreme Court overturns the decision made yesterday, it’s possible that the primary gets moved. It’s just an incredible amount of uncertainty.” 

There is a chance this whole thing backfires even further on the Republican coalition in Congress. After Texas approved its redrawn maps, California passed its own proposition to redraw congressional lines. The ballot measure could see Democrats gain up to five seats in the state, and Warford suggested that because the proposition was approved by voters instead of being pushed through the state legislature, it may be allowed to stand. 

If nothing else, Warford says the redistricting confusion has shortened what is already a quick election period. Campaigns for districts in flux haven’t been able to fundraise or hire the campaign staff that would typically be expected 11 months out from voting. 

“You can’t really fundraise if you’re calling someone and saying, ‘Hey, I don’t really know what district I’m running in, but will you support me for either this, or that, or maybe this other thing?’” Warford said. “All these things don’t work, and I think it’s going to result in shortening the election period.”