About 250 North Texans rallied in Arlington against the state Legislature’s unusual mid-decade redistricting efforts.
Protesters, many from outside of Tarrant County, sat through 98-degree heat for the Fight the Trump Takeover rally on July 28 as Democratic lawmakers spoke out ahead of a Texas House redistricting committee’s public hearing at the University of Texas at Arlington.
The hearing is the last of three held across Texas as state legislators consider redrawing a new congressional district map. The last time the state redistricted was in 2021, following the 2020 census.
“I understand redistricting for things like population change, but you don’t do it in the wrong way,” Arlington resident and UT-Arlington grad Darryl Owens said. “They’re trying to do the wrong thing.”
The rally was organized by numerous Texas-based groups and drew crowds from across the Fort Worth-Dallas area.
One lawmaker in attendance was U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, whose District 33 includes parts of Fort Worth and Arlington. That district is among four cited in a U.S. Department of Justice letter stating that they were created along racial lines to include a majority of nonwhite voters.
In the July 7 letter to Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Harmeet Dhillon wrote the current districts “constitute unconstitutional racial gerrymanders.” Dhillon serves as the assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
Dhillon wrote that should the state fail to “rectify the racial gerrymandering,” it would open itself to legal action.
President Donald Trump later told reporters he hoped the redistricting would result in five new Republican-held seats in the House.
“The one thing that keeps Trump up at night is losing the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Veasey said during the rally. “He has made this his priority, and it starts in Texas.”
In a Fox 4 interview, Abbott said the redistricting was not focused on securing more Republican seats in the House.
“We’re focused on making sure that we draw maps in the state of Texas that will maximize the ability of Texas residents across the state to be able to vote for their candidate of choice,” Abbott told Fox 4.
Redistricting is one of 18 agenda items for a special session called by Abbott following the 89th regular session.
The Legislature’s special session began on July 21. Lawmakers can stay in session for up to 30 days.
As for how the redistricting process will affect Tarrant County specifically, Owens said he was unsure because a draft of the new map has not been released. Either way, something about the process feels off, he said.
“It’s amazing because the maps were OK a couple of weeks ago,” Owens said. “Now the president said he wants five more seats out of Texas, and now it’s not OK. So let’s go ahead and take their math and go to the bank.”
Those who wish to watch the hearing live may watch it here. An archived video of the hearing will be available here.
Chris Moss is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@fortworthreport.org.
The Arlington Report’s Texas legislative coverage is supported by Kelly Hart.
At the Arlington Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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