Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photo: Getty Images It’s highly unusual for states to redraw their Congressional maps mid-decade, rather than after the decennial census. But when President Trump all but ordered Texas to maximize Republicans’ advantage in the 2026 midterms, state Republicans complied . Texas’s new maps, passed over the vociferous objections of Democrats — who fled the state for two weeks in protest — are thought to guarantee up to five more seats for Republicans in the race