Texas Republicans have redrawn their US House map five years early, aiming to flip up to five Democratic seats in next year’s election. The move ignited a nationwide “high-stakes showdown” over gerrymandering, one that now stretches to California’s ballot this November.

In response to the Texas GOP’s redistricting push, Democrats from the state traveled to California and Illinois to plan a response with governors Gavin Newsom and J. B. Pritzker, respectively, who threatened retaliation with gerrymandered districts of their own. Newsom called it fighting fire with fire, warning once again that America’s so-called democracy was at stake.

The dust has settled in Texas. Donald Trump, Gov. Greg Abbott, and the Republicans got what they wanted: a perfectly legal chance to gain more seats in 2026. But gerrymandering is far from just a Texas problem. It reflects a nationwide structural flaw in our winner-takes-all, single-member district system.