Redistricting typically occurs once per decade in each state following the census. But Texas Republicans broke that tradition last week by proposing a new map mid-decade after Trump pushed them to redraw the state’s congressional districts so that the GOP would be more likely to win more seats in the midterm elections next year.

Texas Democrats are fleeing the state to block a redistricting vote that could give Republicans five new U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterm elections cycle, the AP reported Sunday.

President Donald Trump said Republicans deserve to redraw the Texas electoral map. “I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know. And we are entitled to five more seats,” he said Tuesday in an interview with CNBC.