The push to draw fewer Democratic districts in Texas appears to have created problems for Republicans, CNN said on Thursday.

During a panel discussion, host Dana Bash pointed to three Texas districts that were redrawn to favor Republicans but now appear to be places where a Democrat could win. Bash also noted that Speaker Mike Johnson is in South Texas to help campaign for Republicans there, underscoring how the redistricting fight has become tied to this year’s campaign strategy. The districts in question were won by Trump by 10 points or more in 2024.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Washington Bureau Chief Tia Mitchell called it the "limitations of trying to draw your way into a majority, but it also shows the limitations of some of Trump's policies that really play to, you know, your white MAGA base, honestly."

Mitchell said some Latino voters who supported Trump in 2024 have been turned off by his mass deportations and the detention of non-criminal immigrants.

"Which is why you see those border districts or South Texas districts, in particular, being targeted, where Democrats say, hey, we think the Democrats are — the demographics are now in our favor with a lot of those Latino voters who once supported Trump now saying, 'Hey, I'm regretting that a little bit,'" Mitchell said.

She added that Republicans are trying to stay loyal to Trump even when that position is politically damaging.

"They are being forced to either not read the room or ignore what the room is telling them," Mitchell said. "And especially when it comes to certain voters that, again, are swingy. And yes, Trump had them on his side in 2024. But that momentum has turned significantly because of his the economy, the foreign wars and his immigration policy."

CNN senior reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere said the data used to redraw the Texas districts came from the 2024 election, a reminder of how quickly a map built around one cycle can become less secure in the next.

In the Texas 15th District, Trump won by 18 points in 2024. In the current race, Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R) is at 45 percent, while Democratic challenger and Latin Grammy-winning Tejano singer Bobby Pulido is at 50 percent.

In the Texas 28th District, which Trump won by 10 points in 2024, Rep. Henry Cuellar's (D) newly drawn district still shows him leading at 45 percent. His Republican challenger, Tano Tijerina, is at 34 percent.

In the Texas 34th District, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D) is defending his seat at 45 percent against former Rep. Mayra Flores (R), who won the seat in a special election before losing it in 2024. Flores is now seeking a rematch in the redrawn district, where Trump won by 10 percent in 2024.

"That's what seems to have come back to bite them," Dovere said of the redistricting effort.

The concern echoed one raised by Indiana Republicans who opposed redistricting in their state as part of the Trump administration's plan. State Sen. Spencer Deery, a Republican, voted against redistricting, agreeing that redrawing lines could spread Republican voters too thin.

Under that approach, mapmakers would move Republican voters out of very safe districts and into districts that are closer and less secure. That can backfire if the political environment shifts toward Democrats, and CNN said that is what happened in 2026. Trump voters who were eager to back the president in 2024 are now abandoning him in large numbers. As a result, Democrats could make gains in Texas, while they are less likely to do so in Indiana's congressional districts.