Could GOP Texas redistricting wipe out a Democrat in Fort Worth? Never say never | Opinion
Could Texas and local Republicans draw Democrats completely out of state or local office?
Of course they could.
Would Republicans want to?
Absolutely.
That’s plain in the words of the Tarrant County party chairman, Bo French.
In March, he spelled out Republicans’ goal in a post on X.com: “completely routing Democrats from our community.”
Republicans have already taken another step in that direction. GOP county commissioners approved a county precinct map to eliminate the current Democratic county commissioner in predominantly Democratic Arlington.
Yes, even though that had been a Republican seat for 34 of the last 40 years.
Step two might come later this summer.
According to reports out of Washington, the White House wants the Texas Legislature to redraw congressional districts in a mid-decade strategy to pick up more vital U.S. House votes for President Donald Trump.
If Republicans in both Washington and Austin go along — how can they not? — one guess is that Democratic U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey’s district will have to move east out of Fort Worth.
To eliminate another Democrat, mapmakers in Austin might have to combine Veasey’s district with that of Democratic U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson of Richardson.
That move might shift Democrats in south and east Fort Worth — once represented faithfully by House Speaker Jim Wright and House Democratic Caucus Chair Martin Frost — into Republican districts.
Would the Texas Legislature really do that?
We have learned the answer: Never say “never.”
Tarrant County commissioners wanted to make sure the court stays conservative, just in case an anti-Trump backlash costs firebrand County Judge Tim O’Hare the 2026 election.
But Republicans didn’t need to make such drastic changes. The GOP could have won the seat with a different candidate or a tweak in the Arlington precinct lines, not a fruit-basket turnover that punished Fort Worth and Arlington.
In the same way, the White House would like to increase Trump’s edge in the U.S. House, and will go to any length.
Already, the Texas delegation is more than two-to-one Republicans, 25-12. One Democratic seat in Houston is awaiting a special election.
Based on Trump’s 14-point Texas victory in 2024, a new map could swing Republicans’ edge to 30-8.
Pending the outcome of certain lawsuits, Republicans could pick up five seats in Congress and eliminate five Democrats. That counts two in South Texas, where U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and Vicente Gonzalez, D-Corpus Christi, won by razor-thin margins last fall in districts that swung for Trump.
Other targets could include U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston, or U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin.
But Republicans also risk carving so many Democrats into GOP districts that the party might lose current a House member, perhaps Houston-area U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw or local U.S. Rep. Jake Ellzey.
That may be why Texas’ Republicans in Congress seemed nonplussed at the idea after a meeting Monday night.
Ellzey’s reaction to reporters: “I have no comment on this.”
U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, a Woodville Republican from Southeast Texas, said, “We’re still kind of cogitating.”
He said Republicans are concerned about losing the House: “Who wants to go into the minority? I don’t.”
Republicans can pretty much have their way in Texas. Democrats started the 2024 election in a weak position and came out weaker.
Trump won the state by 14 points. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz won re-election by 8 points.
But Democrats have announced a yet another multi-million-dollar “Turn Texas Blue” campaign funded by New York megadonor George Soros.
More than ever, they are up against Republicans who regard redistricting as an evangelical mandate to lead more Texans to Jesus Christ.
State Rep. Nate Schatzline of Fort Worth hasn’t specifically talked about redistricting. But he often describes politics as a “spiritual battle” and the need to literally “TAKE TERRITORY for faith, family and freedom.”
French, the county chairman, says Fort Worth should be a “conservative city on a hill” under “the golden age of Republican rule.”
That’s only a few maps away.
This story was originally published June 12, 2025 at 10:25 AM.
