Texas Republicans succeeded in pushing through the mid-decade redistricting championed by President Donald Trump, carving out five additional GOP-leaning congressional seats, one of them in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex<\/a>.<\/p>\n County Judge Tim O\u2019Hare said while there is strength in numbers, which Tarrant is losing, he\u2019s overall glad Texas did the redistricting since it will result in more Republicans in D.C.<\/p>\n \u201cI 100% believe that Republicans do a better job of running government entities and agencies,\u201d he said. \u201cSo the more we have, I think the better off everyone will be.\u201d<\/p>\n That new political landscape is coming up fast with election filings starting Nov. 8 and poised to shift the makeup of Tarrant County\u2019s congressional delegation from five Republicans and two Democrats<\/a> to four Republicans and one Democrat. However, the new map faces a legal challenge by Democrats. A three-judge panel in El Paso is expected to hold a hearing Oct.1.<\/p>\n Having more lawmakers representing Tarrant County isn\u2019t always better, notes Pete Geren, a former Democratic U.S. House member from Fort Worth who is now president of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, redrawing District 33 out of the county is a significant loss, Geren said. That district \u2014 currently held by Democrat Marc Veasey \u2014 is split about evenly between Tarrant and Dallas counties. The new boundaries put it entirely in Dallas County.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf we lose Marc, we\u2019ve lost a great champion for the community,\u201d Geren said. \u201cHis seniority is important, but his focus on Fort Worth is extremely important.\u201d<\/p>\n Veasey, a Fort Worth native, is a member of the energy and commerce committee, one of the most powerful committees in the House. He has often talked about his responsibility to represent the interests of Fort Worth and Dallas, pushing past the historic rivalry between the cities.<\/p>\n Veasey has said he is holding back on any reelection announcement until after the legal challenge to the redistricting map is heard. Some are urging Veasey to run for Tarrant County judge against O\u2019Hare or other local offices, The Dallas Morning News<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n Under the redrawn boundaries, District 33 is Democratic-leaning but perhaps better positioned for another representative \u2014 Julie Johnson, D-Dallas \u2014 whose own District 32 now favors a Republican candidate. Parts of the new District 33 include much of Johnson\u2019s current Dallas County district.<\/p>\n To Ben Barnes, a former Democratic lieutenant governor of Texas who heads a powerhouse lobbying business in Austin, it\u2019s not just about who\u2019s looking out for Tarrant County, it\u2019s the loss of seniority. <\/strong>He pointed to both Veasey and the now retired Republican Kay Granger<\/a>, who did not seek reelection after 28 years in Congress.<\/p>\n \u201cKay Granger is going to be sorely missed,\u201d Barnes said. \u201cShe was one of the most powerful members of the House \u2014 to Tarrant County\u2019s benefit. Everybody\u2019s talking about Fort Worth, where there\u2019s a great investment opportunity, and Granger gets a lot of credit for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Granger was a longtime member of the appropriations committee, which directed federal monies to local projects. Her successor in District 12, freshman U.S. Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, is a member of the energy and commerce committee.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing against the members who represent Tarrant County now, but it takes a long time to build seniority,\u201d Barnes said. \u201cVeasey was building up seniority and became an important leader. His influence will be sorely missed in Tarrant County.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Willow Park, has also built seniority and influence. Williams, whose District 25 reaches more into Fort Worth under the new map, and Veasey were both first elected to Congress in 2012.\u00a0<\/p>\n Williams, a well-known figure in Fort Worth and Tarrant County because of his family\u2019s car dealership and long political activity, leads an important committee on small business. He\u2019s been rising in the House power structure \u2014 even running for speaker \u2014 and will have an even stronger GOP electorate under the new map.\u00a0<\/p>\n Geren, who is friends with Williams, said, \u201cRoger will be a champion for Fort Worth. His roots are there. He loves Fort Worth.\u201d<\/p>\n Veasey built seniority on the powerful energy and commerce committee, worked closely with Williams and Granger on defense issues, especially funding for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics\u2019 fighter jet the F-35, built in Fort Worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cVeasey has six terms under his belt, so that could be a loss of clout,\u201d said J. Miles Coleman, redistricting expert at the University of Virginia\u2019s Center for Politics.\u00a0<\/p>\n Democrats see the new map as more than a loss of influence in Washington, D.C. They see the dilution of Veasey\u2019s district as an attack on the Voting Rights Act, with the half of his current district in Tarrant County made up of communities of color divided among three GOP-leaving districts.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis map is an open assault on Tarrant County,\u201d said Matt Angle, founder\/director of the Lone Star Project, a Democratic political action committee based in Fort Worth. \u201cIt\u2019s an even more dramatic assault on Fort Worth, where no member of Congress will need Fort Worth to get elected.\u201d<\/p>\n The other GOP members who represent portions of Tarrant County and would be strengthened under the new map are U.S. Reps. Jake Ellzey of Waxahachie and Beth Van Duyne of Irving.<\/p>\n Ellzey, first elected in a special election in 2021 after the death of U.S. GOP Rep. Ronald Wright, is an up-and-comer who has the confidence of leadership, according to Republican staffers, and is one of the handful of members trusted to preside over the House when it is in session.<\/p>\n Van Duyne, a former Irving mayor, has been making her mark on the Hill, moving up since her 2020 election to join the ways and means committee. She is also on the small business committee.<\/p>\n District 26 \u2014 represented by U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Flower Mound \u2014 will no longer reach into the northern edge of Tarrant County.<\/p>\n Gill, a freshman conservative close to Trump, succeeded former U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, whose district previously covered portions of Tarrant County<\/a>, reaching into Fort Worth. Burgess, who served in Congress from 2003 to 2025, was strongly aligned with other Tarrant County lawmakers. Mayor Mattie Parker previously credited him for his support of Fort Worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gill, in office for less than a year, has focused on Trump\u2019s budget priorities, although he did make a splash with a bill to put the president on the $100 bill<\/a> \u2014 a move that would impact the Bureau of Engraving and Printing\u2019s Western Currency Plant in Fort Worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump wants the additional GOP seats from Texas to strengthen his hand in the U.S. House where Republicans hold a slim majority.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are four Republicans who care about Tarrant County\u201d under the new map, Rice University political expert Mark Jones said. \u201cWhat if it boomerangs and Democrats take control of the House? There\u2019s only one Democrat in there. The risk for Tarrant County is that their portfolio can\u2019t be distributed across the county. If the Democrats take control, there\u2019s not a Democrat to work with a single focus on Tarrant County.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Dallas Democrat Jasmine Crockett<\/a> has portions of Arlington and Grand Prairie in her District 30, which primarily is in Dallas County. However, her home is now in the new District 33, according to the new map.<\/p>\n While that is not a requirement for a congressional member, she wants to see how her constituents feel about it since she told The Dallas Morning News she does not have the resources for another \u201ccrib.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That could make the new District 30 a possibility for Veasey.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, local officials say they must work with whoever is in Congress to further priorities for the area.<\/p>\n Fort Worth City Council member Michael Crain said there have long been good coalitions at the state and federal level that have in mind \u201cwhat\u2019s best for Fort Worth and Tarrant County.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s hopeful that, after the redistricting, the focus will be the same as city leaders have been able to work with politicians from both political parties.<\/p>\n \u201cI will do my job of ensuring that we impress upon them what the citizens, residents of Fort Worth, are telling us they need,\u201d Crain said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m hoping that we have a good \u2014 whatever the map looks like or members are put in those seats \u2014 have a good working relationship with the city to continue to deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n Disclosure: The Sid W. Richardson Foundation is a financial supporter of Fort Worth.<\/p>\n Reporter Drew Shaw contributed to this report.<\/p>\n Maria Recio is a freelance reporter based in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/F-16Reveal_May30_Camilo-Diaz378.jpg\")
Former U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, of Fort Worth, seen here with her flight jacket in front of a restored YF-16 during an event, retired from Congress recently. (File photo | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
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