U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) testified Friday that she is at serious risk of losing her seat if the Texas legislature finalizes its proposed congressional map—a move that now appears imminent.
Democratic lawmakers, activists, and other opponents of the plan voiced their concerns in Austin as a legislative committee voted to advance the new map. The proposal, which would eliminate five Democrat-leaning districts, passed along party lines and is expected to come before the full legislature as early as Tuesday.
Crockett, who represents a solidly Democratic district in the Houston area, testified that the proposed map contains several “red flags” that could jeopardize her chances of re-election.
“I know that this legislature did ask us as members of Congress to confirm our addresses. I don’t know how many of us actually still reside in the districts that we represent. I do not currently reside in my district based upon the plan that has been drawn,” she said. “Which is another red flag, in addition to courts consistently looking at how many people have been moved.”
“They are supposed to take that into consideration, and these are some of the things that the court will look at when they’re trying to determine whether or not there were problems with creating the maps,” said Crockett. “It’s really awful.”
The proposed map from Texas Republicans would create three new reliably Republican districts and shift two others into solid GOP territory. This would be achieved by eliminating one Democratic-leaning seat in each of the state’s major metro areas—Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Houston. The move comes as the Justice Department has warned that the current congressional map in Texas may violate the Constitution.
The plan primarily operates by diluting majority-Hispanic districts—a tactic that could be accelerated and broadened if the U.S. Supreme Court decides to ban intentionally race-based congressional districts. The court has signaled interest in such a shift and announced Friday that it will hear arguments in a new Voting Rights Act case that could significantly reshape redistricting nationwide.
