Republicans are brazenly rigging the 2026 midterms

America can survive the Trump regime—but only if we stop pretending like this is politics as usual. It’s authoritarianism in motion.

In Alabama, a panel of federal judges found that Republican legislators intentionally weakened Black voting power.

Donald Trump’s Department of Justice just stepped in—on the side of Alabama.

It’s a clear signal to Republican politicians across the country: Gerrymander at will. We won’t stop you.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was first to respond to Trump’s signal, throwing his support behind a new bill from U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). Her bill— cooked up with Trump—would force a new Census that excludes noncitizens and then redraws every congressional district in the country.

This would result in a shift of power toward whiter, Republican-leaning states by stripping representation from diverse communities, despite the 14th Amendment’s guarantee that everyone counts. It wouldn’t just cost blue states congressional seats—it would also drain funding for schools, hospitals, and public services in places with large immigrant populations.

DeSantis is on board. He claims Florida was “gypped” out of a seat under the current map and supports redrawing Florida’s districts.

Texas is also planning to redraw its congressional districts and, like MTG’s bill, the idea came from the White House, where officials have been pressuring Republican leaders behind the scenes.

Gov. Greg Abbott announced a redistricting-focused special legislative session—citing a letter from Trump’s DOJ that claimed the current map was “racially gerrymandered” as his basis. But under oath, the Republican lawmaker who drew the map admitted race wasn’t considered.

Now, the strategy has snapped into focus: Trump told Texas Republicans the goal was five new seats—then told reporters he wants a “very simple redraw” to make it happen. It’s just one part of the GOP voter suppression scheme unfolding across the country.

In Georgia, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is canceling the voter registrations of nearly 500,000 people—one of the largest voter purges in U.S. history. An analysis by the voting rights organization Fair Fight shows the list includes more than 2,300 residents of military bases and disproportionately targets Black and brown voters.

In Washington, Trump-connected election-denier groups are trying to force the SAVE Act through the U.S. Senate. It’s a sweeping voter suppression bill that would block millions of eligible Americans from registering by effectively banning mail, online, and third-party voter registration—and forcing voters to present costly government documents in person.

The SAVE Act passed the House but is stalled in the Senate. Now, election deniers are ramping up a coordinated pressure campaign to force a floor vote.

This isn’t chaos—it’s choreography.

The Heritage Foundation took credit for Georgia's SB 202 and Texas’s SB 7 – both anti-voter laws passed after Trump’s 2020 loss to make it harder to vote. Texas lawmakers even included the phrase “purity of the ballot box” in SB 7—which traces back to Jim Crow. Heritage was lead on Project 2025, a plan to lock in authoritarian power.

Trump’s Department of Justice is following the script. Attorney General Pam Bondi has gutted the DOJ’s voting rights section: firing career attorneys, stepping away from voting rights cases, requesting voter data from at least nine states, and pressing local election officials to inspect their voting machines. They’re even exploring prosecutions of election officials—straight from Project 2025.

Now the DOJ is manufacturing flimsy legal reasoning to justify a statewide redistricting in Texas—helping Republicans to grab up to five more House seats.

The aim is simple: Control who votes and where those votes count. With the SAVE Act, they block the voters they fear. With redistricting, they pick the voters they want. It’s all about cementing the Republican Party’s grip on power—no matter the cost to democracy.

Why now? Because Republicans know they’re losing the people. They’ve timed the harmful and unpopular cuts in Trump’s big budget bill to take effect after the 2026 midterm elections, hiding a ticking time bomb from voters.

They’ve failed to lower costs or improve daily life. They push false claims about the economy, promise peace while flirting with war, vow to “drain the swamp” and then enrich themselves, help the wealthy at the expense of working people and unleash Immigration and Customs Enforcement on citizens and immigrants with no criminal record.

If the 2026 midterms are fair, Republicans will likely lose the House – and with it, much of their ability to sabotage our future.

The House is the most winnable chamber, the most representative of the country, and the most powerful check we’ve got. If Democrats win it back, they can launch investigations, control appropriations, and safeguard the electoral count from GOP attacks in 2028. Remember, after the House Jan. 6 Committee spread the truth about the insurrection, election deniers were crushed in the 2022 midterms. In a fair fight, Democrats can win.

America can survive the Trump regime—but only if we stop pretending like this is politics as usual. It’s authoritarianism in motion.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has suggested he’ll fight fire with fire—moving forward with a redraw of California’s maps in response to Texas’s power grab. House Democrats, led by Hakeem Jeffries, are exploring redraws in five states, California, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Washington, to counter the GOP’s power grab.

It’s a recognition that the other side plays to win. But New York Democrats have shown little appetite to do the same—even as Republicans move full speed ahead. If Democrats won’t defend the people’s rights with equal resolve, the game is already over.

Republicans have used every tool at their disposal to rig the rules—from stealing a Supreme Court seat to trying to corrupt the Census with a citizenship question. Democrats have often hesitated, wary of being called ruthless. As Beto O’Rourke put it, “We have to be absolutely ruthless about getting back in power.” This is a moment for moral clarity.

Call your senator at (202) 224-3121 and tell them to vote no on the SAVE Act. Support groups on the front lines in Texas: MALDEF, ACLU of Texas, and the Texas Democratic Party. Don’t just post about these issues; share verified information directly. Drop it in group chats and direct messages. Bypass the algorithm. Make sure your people see it.

We still have time to fight like hell—before it’s too late.

Max Flugrath is the communications director at Fair Fight and a political strategist who has worked on statewide campaigns in Georgia and Florida, including a successful statewide race.

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