AUSTIN, Texas — The two most populous US states, California and Texas, are grappling for political advantage ahead of the 2026 elections as Democrats and Republicans vie for control of Congress in the latter half of Donald Trump's second presidency.

Texas Democrats on Tuesday again delayed their state's House of Representatives from moving forward with a redrawn congressional map sought by Trump to shore up Republicans' midterm prospects. For a second day, Democrats forced a quick adjournment by denying the GOP majority the required attendance to take votes.

In California, Democrats encouraged by Governor Gavin Newsom are considering new political maps that could slash Republican-held House seats in the left-leaning state while bolstering Democratic incumbents in battleground districts. The move is intended to counter any GOP gains in Texas — though California Democrats could face even more complex legal and logistical hurdles.

Under existing maps, Democrats are within three seats of reclaiming the US House majority.

For years, the two behemoth states have set competing political and cultural curves, dueling over jobs, innovation, prestige and ideology. Now, the rivalry is at the center of the two major parties' scramble to win an edge in 2026.

"We are entitled to five more seats" in Texas, Trump insisted on Tuesday in a CNBC interview. He pointed to California's existing maps, which are drawn by an independent commission unlike the Texas maps drawn by a partisan legislature: "They did it to us."

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said Trump and compliant Republicans are "subverting democracy out of fear" given the president's lagging approval ratings and voter angst over the massive tax and policy bill he signed last month.

"Republicans are running scared that voting for this monstrosity will make them lose their majority, and it certainly will," Martin said in Illinois, where multiple Texas Democrats have settled temporarily to deny their Republican colleagues a quorum in Austin.

Spillover effects

Though the two states are seeking similar outcomes, Texas is in the final stages of its effort while California is just embarking on a path riddled with obstacles. Both states are likely to face well-funded legal challenges should they move ahead with new maps. The fight could spill over to other statehouses.

After dozens of Democrats left Texas, the Republican-dominated House remains unable to establish the quorum of lawmakers required to do business.

The House issued civil arrest warrants for absent Democrats and Republican Governor Greg Abbott ordered state troopers to find and arrest them, but lawmakers physically outside Texas are beyond state authorities' jurisdiction. Democrats retort that Abbott is blustering about legal authority he does not have.

Trump said on Tuesday that the FBI "may have to" help arrest and bring back more than 50 Texas Democratic lawmakers who are staying out of the state to deny the quorum.

Earlier on Tuesday, Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas called on the FBI to help locate and arrest these absent Democrats. Asked by reporters on this issue, Trump said, "They may have to."

House Speaker Representative Dustin Burrows said on Tuesday that Texas officers are continuing efforts to corral lawmakers but offered no details.

Abbott, for his part, has derided absent Democrats as "un-Texan".

The practice of partisan redistricting has a long tradition in the United States, but the advent of powerful software and sophisticated voter data has allowed mapmakers to drill down to individual streets and neighborhoods.

Redistricting typically occurs every 10 years to incorporate the US Census count. Trump has broken with that convention by openly pushing Texas Republicans to pursue a rare mid-decade redistricting for partisan gain, even though the existing map, which Republicans drew just four years ago, resulted in the party winning 25 of the state's 38 seats. The Texas House will convene again on Friday.

Agencies - Xinhua