Republicans are eyeing potential redistricting opportunities in Ohio and Texas as they seek extra cushion to protect their thin majority in the House next year.

In Ohio, redistricting laws mandate a redraw ahead of 2026 because the last map passed without bipartisan support. And in Texas, redistricting could be added to an upcoming special session agenda as the White House reportedly pushes the Lone Star State to consider redrawing to protect the party’s numbers.

Defending a narrow 220-212 majority, Republicans are bracing for a competitive election cycle as they look to defy traditional headwinds typically associated with the president’s party in midterm years.

“I think the Speaker and party leadership look at even a handful of districts as really important, particularly if the natural trend — given the president's popularity at this point and given historic midterm conditions — means that the Republican Party starts out assuming they're going to lose a couple districts right off the bat,” said Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University who founded the database “All About Redistricting.”

“Ohio is going to have to redraw, one way or the other. Texas is mulling whether to redraw. And there are a lot of competing pressures.”

Each state redraws its maps once a decade, after the U.S. Census. But in Ohio, the lines used for the last four years are up for a redraw under a wonky state law that effectively sped up the expiration date because they didn’t earn bipartisan support.

Should Republicans decide to make the maps more competitive, Ohio Democratic Reps. Marcy Kaptur and Emilia Sykes, who represent Ohio’s 9th and 13th Congressional Districts respectively, would likely be impacted.

President Trump won Kaptur’s district, which includes Toledo, by close to 7 points, while Sykes’s seat, which includes Akron, was essentially tied by Trump and former Vice President Harris in 2024, according to The Downballot.........

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