Redistricting desperation is going viral ahead of 2026

Look anywhere right now, and politicians are joining the calls to rig the 2026 midterms in their party's favor.Why it matters: Republicans started it. But both parties are behaving as if winning the House majority next year is an existential fight.What's at stake: If Dems take the House, they can end President Trump's partisan budget cuts, gain control of the House's oversight powers and ... very likely ... impeach the president.Neither House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) nor House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is in control of redistricting, which is a state-by-state issue.But Jeffries said Thursday that Democrats can't "unilaterally disarm," and Johnson has spoken positively about the push in Texas.In just the last 23 days:July 15: Trump pushed Texas Republicans for a mid-decade redistricting explicitly to add five GOP seats. Just three weeks ago, this was considered an extraordinary gambit.July 16: Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened to retaliate by adding five Democratic seats, despite California's state Constitution forbidding mid-decade redraws. He'll likely try to change the Constitution in November by calling a special election.Sunday: Texas Democrats fled the state to deny quorum for a special session that would include a vote on redistricting.Monday: Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul teased a constitutional amendment to bypass the redistricting commission in New York after the midterms.Tuesday: Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) asked the FBI to help track down the Texas Democrats.Thursday: Trump called for a new census that wouldn't count undocumented immigrants. This seems extremely unlikely. The Supreme Court blocked Trump from not counting undocumented people in the 2020 census.Thursday: Cornyn said the FBI has agreed to help track down the Texas Democrats.Thursday: Florida's Republican House Speaker Daniel Perez said he'll create a select committee to explore redistricting the state's congressional maps. If the state Legislature acts, it could add three or more GOP seats.The bottom line: The past three weeks have upended decades of efforts to limit partisan politics' influence on redistricting.

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