Austin Democrats brace for redistricting efforts in 2027

Austin’s current delegation to the state House expects tough battles ahead in the next legislative session, which starts in January.

Speaking at the inaugural KUT Festival, state Reps. John Bucy, Sheryl Cole, Lulu Flores and Donna Howard — all Democrats — defined their party as one largely playing defense during the 2025 session.

“I think the Democrats, as the minority party, have done a fairly good job as we’ve seen Texas move more and more like Washington politics of holding on to a voice for the minority party in the Texas House,” said Bucy, who represents District 136 in northwest Travis County.

Among the top concerns from the delegation was how to move forward following the successful push from Texas Republicans to pass new congressional maps — and the potential that the state GOP may look to further redraw those maps in the next session.

That prospect had representatives stressing the importance of the upcoming midterms, particularly following a recent ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that weakened a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.

The SCOTUS decision makes it so future challenges to a new congressional map must provide stronger proof that a state or county intentionally discriminated against voters of color in redrawing their political maps.

“So we’re looking at redistricting, so it really is a crucial session for us to pick up some seats,” said Cole, who represents District 46.

But while the delegation’s assessment of the previous session was one of resignation, the representatives did highlight a few initiatives passed that they said would benefit their Austin-area districts.

Among those were two new municipal utility districts, or MUDs, in Creedmoor and Mustang Ridge, judicial pay raises, defending Austin’s light rail Project Connect initiative, and the passage of what Howard defined as “survivor-centered” affirmative consent legislation impacting sexual assault survivors.

“I think that’s a huge win for the state, but also for those survivors here in Austin,” Howard said.

Still, Austin Democrats are eyeing the upcoming 90th legislative session as one that will likely still see them fighting against numerous bills — including those targeting the capital city itself.

“Sometimes you’re just plain old laying your body across the train tracks and hoping to stop that train,” Flores said.