Texas lawmakers meet again Friday, when the Republican majority in the Senate could give final approval to their map.

It all amounts to the opening salvo in what is likely to become a national showdown to grasp power through gerrymandering.

The Texas redistricting battle is entering a new front as the fight turns to the courts, where Democrats and civil rights groups are expected to challenge the newly passed maps. Texas House Democrats who had fled the state to stall the maps said that they were returning “to the House floor and to the courthouse” this

Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives returned to Austin on Aug. 18, 2025, but their protest of redistricting efforts continues.