'This is bad': WSJ editorial board warns GOP stunt poised to backfire
The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board issued a warning on Monday to Texas Republicans seeking to advance a new gerrymandered election map.
Texas Republicans called a special session to redraw the state's electoral map following the devastating floods in the state's Hill Country that killed more than 130 people and displaced hundreds more. Republicans have defended the move as legal while Democrats contend they are simply trying to rig the 2026 midterm election.
Democrats have fled Texas in protest of the GOP's efforts. The move prevents the state legislature from achieving a quorum, and therefore, they cannot vote on the new maps until Democrats return.
The WSJ editorial board suggested the situation is a race to the bottom because Democrats in states like California and New York will surely retaliate.
"This practice is bad for political competition, since each party draws itself 'safe' seats where voters reward loud, loyal partisans," the editorial board wrote in a recent op-ed.
While gerrymandering may seem like good politics now, the editorial board warned it could backfire. It could force Congress to intercede and take away some of the rights that states are using to redraw their maps in the first place.
"But telling states they can only redistrict once per decade might de-escalate the gerrymander wars, and it would mainly ratify the status quo of recent years. Both parties could benefit from this kind of disarmament treaty, and voters most of all," the editorial reads.