TEXAS HOLD'EM

Trump’s Plot to Cheat Voters Blows Up in His Face

The president started a redistricting arms race, but it doesn’t seem to be working.

Donald Trump is returning to Texas on Tuesday to help embattled Republicans in a state where his contentious strategy to game the 2026 midterms is threatening to blow up in his face.

Last year, the president pushed Texas Republicans to redraw their congressional map in a highly controversial bid to squeeze out as many as five additional Republican seats.

The plan was part of a broader effort to help Republicans hold on to their congressional majority and make it harder for Democrats to win—a move that many viewed as yet another attempt by Trump to cheat the system.

It also started a redistricting arms race, with California immediately “fighting fire with fire” by announcing a similar plan to mitigate the losses for Democrats.

“California Democrats will not allow Trump’s Republican Party to rig the system and take permanent control of the U.S. House of Representatives,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said at the time.

Now, Trump’s rally in Corpus Christi on Tuesday comes as his redistricting strategy faces a potential setback in the Texas city itself, where Republicans redrew congressional boundaries to help oust Democratic incumbent Vicente Gonzalez.

Recent polls now show him leading his Republican challenger Eric Flores by seven points.

The political landscape has also shifted elsewhere in Texas, such as the 15th Congressional District, where Republican Monica De La Cruz faces a challenge from Tejano music star Bobby Pulido.

Despite Trump winning the district by nearly 18 points in 2024, a Reuters analysis says the race has become a toss-up.

Texas’s 28th Congressional District, held by Democrat Henry Cuellar, was also changed to include more Republican-leaning territory.

But recent polls—including an August Texas Southern University poll and a Democratic-aligned poll conducted in October—put Cuellar ahead of his GOP rival, Tano Tijerina.

Trump’s visit to Texas is one of many rallies he’s had in the Lone Star state, where the Senate race between his embattled GOP pick Ken Paxton and Democratic candidate James Talarico is one of the most closely watched contests this cycle.

The president will rally in Corpus Christi on Tuesday afternoon, then head to Lubbock for an evening event.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also join him on the campaign trail, and the pair will flaunt an oil tanker filled with Venezuelan crude bound for Texas refineries, according to officials familiar with the plans.

The stunt comes amid growing discontent over gas and oil prices, thanks to Trump’s war in Iran.

Former college football stars Johnny Manziel and Colt McCoy, along with two-time Super Bowl champion Danny Amendola, will also join the push to mobilize the lower-propensity voters who helped return Trump to the White House in 2024 but who may be less inclined to vote when he isn’t on the ballot.

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Farrah Tomazin

“President Trump knows that if his voters turn out, then Republicans are going to win and I think the president deserves a lot of credit for the work he’s putting in on the campaign trail,” former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said ahead of the trip.

“Most incumbent presidents just throw in the towel and throw their party under the bus for the latter two years of their presidency, but that is not President Trump’s style. I obviously know him and know he’s going to fight until every last ballot is cast.”

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Farrah TomazinPolitical Correspondent

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