Republicans are so desperate in Texas they drew a 'terrible' congressional map to maintain power: strategist

Texas has been a reliably Republican state since 1994, when Democrats won several state-wide offices. The state hasn't voted for a Democratic president, however, since President Jimmy Carter in 1976. Democratic groups have argued that Texas is at a tipping point where investment and effort can flip things for the Democrats.

While many have poo-pooed the idea, Republicans appear to have bought into the shift, if their congressional gerrymandering and voter suppression laws are any indications.

Sunday evening, "Last Week Tonight" host John Oliver explained the desperate attempts Republicans made trying to restrict voting access for people of color. In Harris County, 56 percent of people of color voted using drop boxes. In 2020, 53 percent also voted from the safety of their cars, with election officials bringing them the ballots and accepting them when finished. Republicans moved to ban both of those things.

Now, the congressional maps are coming out from the Texas Republicans who are so desperate to hold onto power. They have isolated one Democratic district that will now run from the Mexico border to just south of Austin, Texas. The district would then flip to a Republican, Axios reported.

"Texas is now a Hispanic-plurality state, and this map doesn't include any additional Hispanic-majority districts," said Democratic strategist Abhi Rahman in an interview with Axios.

He said that such a "terrible" map would likely lead to litigation.

"The congressional map confirms what we knew Texas Republicans would do: decrease the number of competitive seats, ignore the growth and influence of communities of color and gerrymander for power," said National Democratic Redistricting Committee President Kelly Ward Burton.

This isn't the first time Republicans have done this. John Oliver went viral when he did an expose that outed some of the most egregious GOP districts drawn in the United States.

Read the full report from Axios and see the Oliver video below:

Gerrymandering: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)www.youtube.com