Vance Discusses Gerrymandering and Political Map Changes

On Sunday, Vice President JD Vance spoke with “Press the Press” host Kristen Welker about the reasoning behind Republicans seeking more legislative seats, considering President Donald Trump’s agenda is already quite popular among Americans.

Vance revealed that he approved a new Congressional district map on Saturday after Texas House Democrats ended their “quorum” on August 18. He noted that several Democrat-led states had fled, suggesting that Texas Democrats have engaged in gerrymandering for decades.

“First of all, Kristen has to ask herself why Democrats have actively gerrymandered their state over the last 10 to 20 years,” Vance commented. “If you look at the popular vote in places like Massachusetts, only 32% vote for Republicans, yet they have no Republican federal representatives.”

“Honestly, all we’re trying to do is level the playing field nationally,” he added. “The Democrats have really pushed hard on gerrymandering in their states, and I think we are simply seizing the chance to counter that.”

Welker also asked about a Wall Street Journal report indicating that Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reconsidering his plans for a third political party. Meanwhile, California Democrat Gavin Newsom labeled the new map the “Election Rigging Response Act,” advocating for a Congressional map that would be approved by voters. This map aims to try and eliminate the five seats currently held by Republicans and heighten political contentiousness nationwide.

“I’ll wake up, America. I’ll wake up. Even if he wins this election, there will be no country left. There will be a president serving a third term,” it was stated amidst the discussion.

The makeup of California’s representation will consist of 43 Democrats and nine Republicans after the 2024 election, a shift from 40 Democrats and 12 Republicans in the previous medium-term elections, according to Ballotpedia.

In Illinois, the map enacted before the 2022 midterms resulted in the loss of two Republican seats. Notably, one of those seats was held by Adam Kinzinger, who has been critical of Trump since the January 6 Capitol riot. Following the 2020 census, Illinois went from 14 Democrats and three Republicans to 11 Democrats and seven Republicans after the midterms.

While Republicans Mitt Romney and Charlie Baker secured the governor election and Scott Brown won a special election in Massachusetts, they were not voted into the Republican House of Representatives back in 1996, according to Ballotpedia.

New York altered its Congressional district map after the 2022 midterms, increasing vulnerability for some Republicans; of the 11 initially elected, six faced risk. After the 2024 elections, Democrats were estimated to hold seven seats, while Republicans had six, based on information from Ballotpedia.