Right now, Texas Republicans are hard at work trying to steal the 2026 mid-term election.

That’s not hyperbole, that’s fact. 

Chances are, you’ve heard a lot about the re-districting battle being waged right now. But here’s what you need to know. 

President Donald Trump, facing cratering approval numbers, has asked Texas Republicans – who control the Texas Legislature and the governor’s mansion – to gerrymander their state to give him five more safe Republican seats in Congress next year. He even went so far as to say that Republicans are “entitled” to those seats.

Why? Because whichever party controls the House of Representatives in 2027 will likely do so with a small majority. Every seat matters, and a Texas gerrymander could not only guarantee five more Republican seats in Congress, that edge would come at the expense of five seats held by, or competitive for, Democrats. 

This attempt is not only unprecedented – Texas already re-drew its congressional lines after the 2020 Census – but it’s undemocratic. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has made it clear that if Texas moves forward with its gerrymander, California – the nation’s most populous state with the most congressional seats at stake – will do likewise. 

This will not be easy. California law requires that congressional districts be drawn by an independent redistricting body, and it would take the approval of voters to change that. 

But the simple fact is that if Democrats do not act to counter Texas, Republicans will have cheated their way to a nearly unassailable majority in Congress. 

Never forget: This is an arms race that Republicans started. 

So what happens next?

Well, that depends on Texas. Texas House Democrats have fled the state in a bid to deny the quorum required for a vote to pass the mid-decade gerrymander. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has threatened to arrest these brave lawmakers or have their seats vacated. 

Since Texas Republicans are determined to rig the 2026 election for their party – Gov. Abbott has vowed to call special session after special session until he gets his way – it falls to states like California to fight back. 

And that’s where we come in. 

This week, California Labor announced its unanimous support for a special election to re-draw congressional lines in order to block the Republican attempt to gerrymander their way to a win next year. 

When state lawmakers return from their summer recess, they will vote on whether to call a special election this Nov. 4 to do so. 

Our 2.3 million union members are ready to fight to get that redistricting effort approved.  

Texas started this fight, but California will finish it. Because when we fight, we win. 

In Solidarity, 

Lorena Gonzalez