REDISTRICTING PROPOSAL WOULD PLACE WASHINGTON CO. IN NEW CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Washington County could see a change in who represents the area in U.S. Congress, under a newly proposed redistricting map unveiled by state lawmakers on Wednesday.
plan would move Washington County and several
surrounding counties out of District 10 and into
District 27.
(courtesy capitol.texas.gov)
The first draft proposal would take Washington County out of District 10, led by Republican Congressman Michael McCaul, and move it into District 27, represented by Republican Congressman Michael Cloud.
Washington County would also have some new neighbors in the district. Currently, District 10 stretches west into a portion of Travis County, as far north and east as Madison County, and south into Colorado County. If Washington County moves into District 27, it would join Bastrop County as the northern-most counties in the realigned district, which would extend west into roughly half of Hays County and a small piece of Travis County. The proposed district travels to the coastline, as far east as Matagorda County and as far south as Nueces County.
Meanwhile, the new District 10 would keep most of the western portion of Travis County, and Lee County would be the furthest south that the district runs. It would retain Burleson, Brazos and Grimes counties while moving further into East Texas, with its new northern and eastern boundaries being Leon and Polk counties, respectively. However, along with Washington County, the new district would lose Austin, Colorado and Fayette counties to District 27 and Waller County to a reshaped District 8 that includes pieces of Harris, Montgomery and Walker counties.
The state typically performs the redistricting process every ten years, following the release of U.S. Census data. Click here to view the current congressional map. The Texas Legislature is taking up another redistricting effort after the most recent one in 2021, in order to boost the Republican majority in Congress ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The draft map will go through public hearings before any votes by lawmakers. The first hearing with the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting will be tomorrow (Friday) at 10 a.m. at the Texas Capitol.
Information on how to view the hearing, testify or submit comments can be found here.