Redistricting efforts blow up in Republicans' faces amid historic House losses

Republicans' gambit to stave off election losses by changing congressional maps backfired in most of the country on Tuesday night.

Democrats swept both battleground House seats and areas considered safe GOP territory in an unprecedented midterm election performance, despite the best efforts by Republican-led states to redistrict in multiple states to give their party an edge.

"It was definitely the wrong move," one House Republican told Fox News Digital. "One of the truisms in politics is never to overreach. We did and that was part of the reason for the backlash."

DEMOCRAT SEIZE HOUSE CONTROL IN STUNNING BLUE TSUNAMI, VOW RETRIBUTION AGAINST TRUMP ADMIN

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott arrives during a press conference for Eli Lilly and Company in Houston on Sept. 23, 2025. (Antranik Tavitian/Reuters)

Republicans in states that were particularly affected by redistricting had been warning their governors for months that it could be a bad idea, another person told Fox News Digital.

"It's a bridge too far, and clearly the bridge blew up behind them," that person said.

In Texas, where the GOP-led state government altered the congressional map to give Republicans an advantage in five districts, Democrats are projected to win at least three.

Reps. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, and Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, managed to hold onto their seats despite Republicans' efforts, and Democrats also won the newly redrawn 35th Congressional District. The remaining two have not been called.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, during a House Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies hearing in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2026. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

AMERICA SAW THE BLUE WAVE COMING — BUT DRASTICALLY UNDERESTIMATED THE EXTENT OF THE DEM TSUNAMI

Florida Republicans are on pace to lose all four House seats they drew to favor their party. Incumbent Reps. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., are projected to win their respective altered districts, along with political newcomer Pia Dandiya in her red-leaning seat.

Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., who was expected to be hardest-hit by Sunshine State Republicans' efforts, is narrowly leading in a race that's still too close to call.

Overall, however, it's worth noting that Florida was a bright spot for the GOP overall on Tuesday night. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., won the race for governor and all Republican incumbents kept their seats.

Meanwhile, a push in Ohio to make districts held by Reps. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, and Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, more favorable to Republicans also failed.

And in Alabama, Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala., won another term despite his seat also being altered to favor Republicans.

Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a press conference at the State Emergency Operations Center regarding Hurricane Isaias on Oct. 8, 2026. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters)

The process of redistricting is traditionally done after a national census, to account for population shifts in each state.

Changing congressional maps mid-decade is a controversial move that saw bipartisan pushback — though both sides ultimately took part.

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On the left, California Gov. Gavin Newsom led his state through a referendum where voters chose to give the legislature the ability to change its own congressional map to give Democrats an edge where, it appears so far, they have one.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com