Assessing Redistricting Claims from Texas, New York Governors
Facts And Fact Checking,Redistricting,Texas,New York
In the battle over Texas’ redistricting plan to pick up Republican House seats, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have made competing claims.
Hochul, a Democrat, said at an Aug. 4 briefing, “Congressional districts are never redrawn mid-decade as they are, but here they are, flagrantly breaking the rules so they can hold on to power.” Districts have been redrawn mid-decade many times, but that’s usually due to legal challenges — making Texas’ mid-decade redistricting without court action rare.
Abbott, a Republican, said in an Aug. 5 appearance on Fox News, “There are no states more gerrymandered than California and Illinois and New York. … I don’t think those states can gerrymander any more than they have.” Illinois is among the most skewed states for partisan congressional maps, but California and New York get favorable marks in analyses from nonpartisan organizations.
