Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) backed redistricting in Democratic states to counter an initiative led by President Donald Trump in Texas.
Speaking to press this week, the lawmaker said that Democrats in Texas are "organizing against this assault on voting rights in the U.S."
AOC says Dems should play by Republican rules and redistrict Republicans in blue States.
— Winter Politics🖤 (@WinterPolitics1) July 17, 2025
"We shouldn't have one set of rules for one and one for the other". pic.twitter.com/KivoJOSEM1
"If Republicans want to play by these rules, we shouldn't have one set of rules for one and one for another. We need an even board but ideally what happens is that Texas preserves their lines as they voted," she added.
AOC is not the only Democrat discussing the idea. Also this week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom floated the possibility. "Well, two can play that game," the Democrat wrote on X.
In an interview with Pod Save America, the governor also voiced his frustrations with the gerrymandering practice, which he says is a tactic used by both parties to hoard power. However, he said, if Republicans decide to shift congressional maps for their own benefit, California would react with the same strategy.
"We may have a higher moral ground, but the ground is shifting from underneath us, and I think we have to wake up to that reality," Newsom said.
He went on to suggest that his administration could use different tactics to retaliate to Trump's agenda, including calling special sessions, special elections, ballot initiatives and creating new laws.
Newsom had also echoed the message by AOC saying that Republicans are "playing by a totally different set of rules" and suggesting his state might need to rethink its own "fair play" approach, adding that the California Legislature— which has a Democratic supermajority in both chambers— could "gerrymander like no other state," if leaders stop "playing fair."
Newsom's reactions came after President Trump said he would push Texas to re-draw its congressional districts to benefit his own party ahead of the midterm elections. The Texas GOP-controlled legislature is scheduled to begin a special session next week during which it will consider new congressional maps to further marginalize Democrats in the state.
"Texas will be the biggest one. And that'll be five," Trump said after he was asked about the possibility of adding GOP-friendly districts around the country.
Trump's allusion to "other states" likely includes Ohio, which is required by law to draw congressional maps this year and could give Republicans up to three more seats. It is unclear which other states he sees as opportunities for midterm pickups, Politico reports.
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