Texas Republicans‘ redrawn congressional maps will split up the district of the only out LGBTQ+ representative from the South. 

Julie Johnson, an out lesbian elected to the state’s 32nd congressional district last year, condemned the GOP’s plans to pick up five seats in the U.S. House of Representatives by gerrymandering Democratic districts. She said the proposal, approved by the state House of Representatives Wednesday, would “decimate TX32, splitting my constituents into 8 different districts spreading all the way to the Oklahoma border and East Texas.”

“Today, Texas Republicans and Governor Abbott rammed through the Texas House a set of rigged and racist congressional maps that dismantle fair representation and silence the voices of millions of Texans,” Johnson said in a statement. “This is not democracy, it is a corrupt power grab designed to protect Donald Trump and his failed policies while ensuring Republican control for another decade. These maps were drawn behind closed doors with one goal in mind, to keep power in the hands of a New York felon while denying fair representation to Texans. It is an insult to every voter who believes their voices matter in our democracy.”

The new maps would go into effect in 2026, when every member of the U.S. House is up for reelection, severely limiting the possibility of Johnson maintaining her seat. She was first elected to the U.S. House in 2024 after serving in the Texas House for six years, becoming the first out LGBTQ+ person elected to Congress from the South.

In response to Texas Republicans’ plan, California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for a special election in November for voters to approve a plan that would also redistrict the state, adding five Democratic seats in the U.S. House and nullifying Texas’ gains. 

Texas’ new districts must still be approved by the Republican-controlled state Senate and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. Johnson said that she and other Democrats aren’t giving up, and that they intend to “fight back in the courts.”

“[Republicans] have diluted the voices of hundreds of thousands that call Dallas County home,” she continued. “This was a targeted attack on my district and every other congressional district represented by a Democrat in Texas. But let me be clear: this is a national fight and it is not over. Democrats refuse to be silenced. We will continue to fight back in the courts, in Congress, and in other states to offset the cheating that has occurred in Texas.”