Times Union photo illustration by Jeff Boyer.

The attempt by Republican lawmakers in Texas to rig the 2026 congressional elections in their favor is an assault on our republic. And make no mistake about it: This rare mid-decade gerrymander is part of an ongoing effort by President Donald J. Trump, with the full cooperation of the GOP, to effectively turn the United States into a one-party, authoritarian regime.

In the face of those enormous stakes, some Democratic leaders, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, invoke the rhetoric of war and call for fighting fire with fire. Ms. Hochul and Democratic leaders in the Assembly and Senate are suggesting the state respond to Texas Republicans’ power grab with a gerrymander of their own.

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We understand, and share, their grave concerns. We recognize that Mr. Trump’s apparent ambitions pose an existential threat to democracy, and that the Texas gambit is part of an insidious unraveling of America’s constitutional fabric.

Yet we implore New York leaders — and those in other states, such as California, who are considering similar moves — not to meet one attack on our democracy with another that’s just as bad.

If one state suppressed a certain group’s voting rights (as was done in Southern states in the Jim Crow era), we would never suggest that another state respond tit for tat by suppressing the votes of a different group. And that’s what gerrymandering is: disenfranchisement of the minority. It takes away the rights of some voters to choose their representatives. It must be opposed at every turn.

No question: Both parties have done their share of drawing legislative and congressional districts to their advantage over the years. But the Republicans who........

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