MRT 8/20/25 (free): TX House Passes New Congressional Map 88-52 // El Paso Judge Blocks Paxton as he Targets Beto // New Poll: Paxton 44, Cornyn 39 // Davis, Zerwas Approved to Lead UT-Austin, UT System

MustReadTexas.com – @MustReadTexas
BY: @MattMackowiak 

WEDNESDAY | 8/20/205

Good Wednesday evening.
Thank you for reading as a FREE subscriber.

» Become a PAID subscriber for $7/mo or $70/yr here and you will SAVE TIME and be BETTER INFORMED.

AUSTIN NEWSLETTER LAUNCHED

Are you one of the 100,000+ subscribers to ATX Pulse, a newsletter that delivers EVERYTHING you NEED TO KNOW about Austin?

Subscriptions are $5/mo, $50/yr or $199/lifetime here: ATXpulsepremium.com.

> Read the most recent FREE subscriber email here.
> Become a PAID subscriber for $5/mo or $50/yr here.

• TOP NEWS  

“Texas House approves GOP congressional map after two-week delay from Democrats’ walkout,” Texas Tribune's Kayla Guo and Alejandro Serrano -- "​The Republican-led Texas House on Wednesday approved a new congressional map crafted to hand five additional U.S. House seats to the GOP over fierce opposition from Democrats, who cast the plan as a racially discriminatory attempt by President Donald Trump to stack the deck in next year’s midterm election.

The House adopted the map, 88 to 52, along party lines. A Senate panel advanced a similar map Sunday, and the full chamber was expected to send the new lines to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk later this week.

» BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER: $7/mo

Republican lawmakers are pursuing the unusual mid-decade redistricting plan, which has set off a national map-drawing war, amid pressure from Trump to protect the GOP’s slim majority in Congress. The effort comes just four years after the Legislature last overhauled the state’s congressional map following the 2020 Census.

Democrats in the Texas House staged a two-week walkout over the plan in a bid to stall the map’s passage and rally a national response among blue states, where lawmakers could launch their own retaliatory redistricting efforts. The roughly two dozen Texas Democrats who returned to Austin on Monday said they were starting the next phase of their fight: putting the screws on their Republican colleagues and establishing a record that could be used in a legal challenge to the map.

» BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER: $70/yr

Republicans have said the new districts were drawn purely to maximize their partisan advantage, arguing that the GOP’s margins of victory in 2024 supported new lines that entrenched their hold on power. They have also framed the effort as a response to Democratic gerrymandering elsewhere.

Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi and the map’s sponsor, emphasized in laying out House Bill 4 that Republicans were legally permitted to pursue redistricting in the middle of the decade and to maximize partisan gain.

“Redistricting can be done at any point in time,” he said. “The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward: improve Republican political performance.”

To create up to five Republican pickup opportunities, the map dismantles Democratic strongholds around Austin, Dallas and Houston and makes Democrat-held seats in South Texas redder — all without seriously jeopardizing any of the 25 districts Republicans already control. The proposed map also would push a handful of Democratic members of Congress into seats already represented by other Democrats, setting up possible primary battles between long-serving members of the Texas delegation and younger newcomers.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that states can draw electoral maps on partisan grounds. But under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the map cannot diminish the voting power of people of color." Texas Tribune

“El Paso judge blocks Ken Paxton from taking legal action against Beto O’Rourke’s political group,” Texas Tribune's Alejandro Serrano -- "​An El Paso judge this week temporarily stopped Attorney General Ken Paxton from prosecuting former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s political group, Powered by People, after Paxton moved to block the organization from financially supporting Texas Democrats who left the state.

Judge Annabell Perez of the 41st Judicial District Court issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday barring Paxton from prosecuting O’Rourke’s nonprofit or otherwise initiating or filing legal proceedings aimed at revoking Powered by People’s charter.

The group has been fundraising for Texas Democrats who decamped to Illinois and other states in protest of a proposed GOP congressional map that would net Republicans up to five more seats in the U.S. House.

Powered by People already donated $1 million to the Democrats, whose two-week absence denied the Texas House the minimum number of present members needed to conduct business. Many of those Democrats have since returned to the state, and Gov. Greg Abbott called a subsequent overtime legislative session after the first one ended last week.

Paxton previously secured a temporary injunction blocking O’Rourke from fundraising for the Democrats or spending money to cover their expenses. He then sought to jail O’Rourke, arguing that the El Paso Democrat had violated the court order, which O’Rourke’s attorneys have disputed.

O’Rourke responded by filing his own lawsuit alleging that Paxton was engaging in a “fishing expedition, constitutional rights be damned,” by targeting Powered by People.

The group was a top funder covering the costs of Democrats’ travel out of the state. The absconding members were on the hook for lodging, meals, travel and the $500-per-day fines accrued each day of the session they missed." Texas Tribune

FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS HAVE ENDED: As of July 11, 2022, we have moved to a paywall for free subscribers. Free subscribers will only receive the top story in their morning email. Free subscribers will need to become paid subscribers to receive full story summaries.

• TOP NEWS

“Regents vote to name Jim Davis as UT Austin president, John Zerwas as chancellor” AAS ($)

• #TXLEGE  

“Texas can’t put the Ten Commandments in certain school districts’ classrooms, judge says” AP

“Texas Democrat abruptly leaves DNC call after being warned she’s committing felony” The Hill

• STATE GOVERNMENT  

“Gov. Greg Abbott asks for new penalties for lawmakers who flee to halt legislative sessions” Texas Tribune

• LOCAL GOVERNMENT  

“Mayor Jones crashes pro-Project Marvel rally ahead of decisive meeting” SAEN ($)

Editorial: “Spurs arena downtown should be a slam dunk for City Council, voters” SAEN ($)

• 2026  

“Paxton’s lead over Cornyn nearly cut in half: Poll” The Hill

• BUSINESS NEWS  

“Southwest, San Antonio await ruling in airport battle” SAEN ($)

• NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE 

> DMN: "Texas’ abortion ban has created a standard of fear, jeopardizing care for pregnant Texans" DMN

> TX TRIB: "From Fort Worth to McAllen, Texans could lose clout in Washington if GOP changes political lines" TX TRIB

> TX TRIB: "How Texas' “bathroom bills” have evolved over a decade" TX TRIB

> FWST: "Paxton vs. Beto? O’Rourke leads by 20 for Democratic nod in Senate race" FWST

> HOU CHRON: "How Beto O’Rourke just got the better of Ken Paxton" HOU CHRON

> THE TEXAN: "Texas Bill Would Hold Judges Liable for Harm Done by Violent Offenders on PR Bonds" THE TEXAN

> DMN: "Texas Dems join Rep. Nicole Collier to protest police involvement in redistricting fight" DMN

> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Liberty Hill ISD calls for tax-rate election in November following $10M budget cuts, deficit" COMMUNITY IMPACT

> AP: "Police escort Texas Democrats to prevent new redistricting walkout as California moves to retaliate" AP

> SA REPORT: "Complying with new Texas law, Harlandale ISD moves public meetings to Wednesdays" SA REPORT

> SA REPORT: "State Rep. Philip Cortez, who skipped Democrats’ quorum break, draws primary challenger" SA REPORT

> KXAN: "Protests Tuesday in support of lawmaker who rejected DPS monitoring" KXAN

> THE TEXAN: "Cornyn Trails Paxton by Five Points in 2026 Senate Primary Poll, O'Rourke Leads Democratic Pack" THE TEXAN

> THE TEXAN: "Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Again Confirms 2026 Re-election Bid" THE TEXAN

> SAEN: "One of Hurricane Katrina’s most important lessons isn’t about storm preparations – it’s about injustice" SAEN

> KXAN: "Texas State Capitol grounds closed after threat posted ahead of protest" KXAN

> SAEN: "Alert: Trump administration revokes security clearances of 37 officials, alleging they weaponized intelligence, AP sources say" SAEN

> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "McKinney council assess panhandling, illegal camping ordinances following community feedback" COMMUNITY IMPACT

> THE TEXAN: "Tarrant County Adopts Smaller List of Early Voting and Election Day Polling Locations" THE TEXAN

> KXAN: "Former Austin mayoral candidate sues over TRE ballot language" KXAN

> DMN: "Irving-based Nexstar to buy rival Tegna for $3.54 billion in big local-TV deal" DMN

> DMN: "Dallas man who sold fatal fentanyl to teen sentenced to over 24 years in prison" DMN

> FWST: "North Texas man sentenced for teen’s fentanyl death has ‘no sympathy’ for victim" FWST

> FWST: "Hungry kids lead officers to their parents’ bodies inside home, Texas cops say" FWST

> MY RGV: "Scathing filing details murder investigation into Starr woman over abortion" MY RGV

> FWST: "ClaimNotify.org Launches to Help Californians Reclaim Millions in Unclaimed Assets" FWST

> FWST: "Fort Worth singer accused of fatally shooting man he thought was following him" FWST

• EXTRA POINTS 

Last night's Texas sports scores:
> MLB: Detroit 1, Houston 0
> MLB: Kansas City 5, Texas 2

Tonight's Texas sports schedule:
> 12:10pm: MLB: Houston at Detroit
> 6:40pm: MLB: Texas at Kansas City
> 9pm: WNBA: Dallas at Los Angeles

Tomorrow's Texas sports schedule:
> 1:10pm: MLB: Texas at Kansas City
> 6:35pm: MLB: Houston at Baltimore

HOUSTON ASTROS: "Gleyber Torres draws game-ending walk as Detroit Tigers beat Houston Astros 1-0 in 10 innings" AP

TEXAS RANGERS: "Pasquantino and Witt back Lugo’s stellar start, powering Royals to 5-2 win over Rangers" AP

TEXAS RANGERS: "Corey Seager knows Rangers have what it takes to compete: ‘This team’s been here before’" DMN ($)

DALLAS COWBOYS: "Micah Parsons is still a spectator at Cowboys practice as he awaits a contract extension" AP

TEXAS FOOTBALL: "No. 3 Ohio State’s secondary faces internal challenges before opener against top-ranked Texas" AP

DALLAS MAVERICKS: "Dallas hired firm to find, recommend new sites for new Mavericks arena" DMN ($)

NASCAR: "NASCAR will return to Circuit of the Americas for 2026 race" AAS ($)

DALLAS BAPTIST BASEBALL: "Dallas Baptist expected to join the Pac-12 in baseball, report says" DMN ($)