A first draft of a new congressional map shows Austin in line to get a new congressional district.
Republican leaders crafted the map with protecting their incumbents in mind.
“As Houston has become the most diverse city in America, Fort Bend has become the most diverse county in America," Republican strategist Vlad Daviduik told KHOU 11. "So it makes sense for that district to not only encompass those changes but to reflect them in the way it’s drawn."
Daviduik also spoke of how he wanted the process to be non-partisan.
“We need to try as best we can across the board to make this a non-partisan discussion of where we’ve seen population growth; are those areas being sufficiently met with the resources and the government that they need in order to thrive?” Daviduik told KHOU 11.
KHOU 11 political expert Bob Stein also spoke of how the new maps could impact Democratic incumbent Lizzie Fletcher.
"She's only been in for two terms, then yes – you increase the chance that that could be a pick-up," Stein told KHOU 11. “The districts now cover multiple – not only counties – but cut across a lot of communities."
The map is believed to strengthen the GOP's overall position. Austin would also get a new congressional district under the new map. The map is likely to change Texas's political landscape for the next decade once approved.
The racial demographics of various congressional districts are also anticipated to be altered, according to a report by KHOU 11. Black and Hispanic voters in Texas voted at a record rate in 2020. Another issue is that some districts overlap with each other, creating multiple incumbents, including two Democrats in Houston, Al Green and Sheila Jackson Lee.
Texas has become increasingly competitive politically in recent years, with neither presidential candidate receiving more than 60% of the vote in any congressional district in 2020 and Democrats holding 13 out of 36 congressional seats, according to a report from KHOU 11.