State Rep. Chris Turner also tells Inside Texas Politics that all options are on the table for Democrats, including leaving the state.
Author: Michael McCardel
Published: 1:42 PM CDT July 25, 2025
TEXAS, USA — While the Republican redistricting effort is underway in Texas, the fight is on nationally. So, too, is the wait, as political observers – and anxious politicians – hold on for the new map.
State Rep. Chris Turner (D-Arlington) is a member of the Texas House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting.
The Arlington Democrat accuses Republicans of hiding the ball because no map has been released after the first week of the special session.
“I believe there is a map out there somewhere. I think it’s been drawn in the White House or by DC political operatives. And it’s probably been sent to the Governor,” Rep. Turner told us on Inside Texas Politics. “But we haven’t seen it. So, they’re hiding the ball from not only the Legislature, but from the public, from Texans. And that’s wrong.”
President Donald Trump says he wants five new Republican-held Congressional seats in Texas, and it can be done by simply redrawing the state’s political map, part of an overall effort by Republicans to maintain their slim majority in the U.S. House. Republican strategists we’ve talked to say three or four are more realistic.
Rep. Turner told Inside Texas Politics he doesn’t know what to expect. But he suspects Republicans have delayed releasing the map because they don’t want the public to see it before all scheduled public hearings conclude. The final hearing will be held Monday, July 28 inside Turner’s district in Arlington.
Turner was chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus the last time Democrats broke quorum in 2021, when that party stalled, but did not stop, the controversial voting rights bill.
While ultimately unsuccessful, Rep. Turner says their departure did succeed by buying time and raising the issue. And he says Democrats may do the same during the redistricting fight.
“And so, I think this process that we’re in currently is very fluid. The immediate focus is on these public hearings,” Turner said. “But going forward from that, I think Democrats in the House and the Senate are going to consider all options to be on the table.”
