Trump’s Plot to Rig 2026 Is Falling Apart, and Boy Is He Mad About It | The New Republic
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Trump’s Plot to Rig 2026 Is Falling Apart, and Boy Is He Mad About It

As the Trump-GOP scheme to gerrymander the midterms suddenly faces big new setbacks, a Democratic operative who’s leading in these fights explains why the battle isn’t over—and what must happen now.

Donald Trump stares and grimaces while talking
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Suddenly, President Trump’s effort to rig the 2026 midterms with corrupt gerrymanders appears in trouble. A panel of judges just blocked the GOP gerrymander in Texas, which had added five seats. In Indiana, Republicans currently lack the votes to redraw their congressional map. Trump is angry about all this. He lashed out at Indiana Republicans, threatening primaries and calling one opponent “weak” and “pathetic.” So is the scheme dead? No. Several aspects of it still remain unresolved. The Texas seats are in doubt, but that’s being appealed, and Republicans have added four other seats. Meanwhile, Democrats are adding 5 in California and one in Utah. Now what? We talked to Heather Williams, who’s been fighting against the GOP schemes as president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. She explains the hurdles that lie ahead, how it could all turn out relatively well for Democrats, and why rank-and-file voters need to take state-level contests way more seriously. Listen to this episode here.