A couple weeks ago my column talked about the kickoff meeting of the 2025 New Mexico Redistricting Task Force. I got some criticism – at home and online. I stood my stubborn ground that letting lawmakers draw maps to choose their voters is simply wrong.
Since that column posted, the Redistricting Task Force has had a bit of a shakeup as the two Democratic legislative members resigned on Aug. 18. Rep. Cristina Parajón (D-25) and Sen. Howard Pope (D-23) both cited Republican-led mid-decade partisan redistricting in Texas and Ohio as their reason for resigning.
I've observed that the most common refrain I hear from my Republican friends when I comment on some shady/inappropriate/openly illegal behavior on the part of a GOP politician, I can count on the next three words I hear being, "But the Democrats!" followed by a litany of misdeeds that generally starts with Hunter Biden and ends with Vince Foster.
I don't disagree that those are shady and smarmy scandals. However, that doesn't open the door for the opposition party to hop onboard the sleaze train just because other politicians or family members of politicians are on the take/cheating on their taxes/accepting gold bars from foreign countries.
Yet when it comes to disenfranchising voters, everything's fair again. Redistricting Task Force Co-Chair Rod Kennedy noted that while Parajón and Pope cited in their resignation letters Republican-led redistricting as their reason for abandoning independent redistricting reform in New Mexico, they were silent on the active Democratic-led efforts in California and New York.
"But the Republicans!"
It should be noted that the Task Force is not looking to impact redistricting maps ahead of the next census. Because the goal is a change to the state constitution to establish an independent redistricting committee to draw the Congressional and Legislature district maps every ten years, the measure will have to go to voters. It's important to get the issue vetted through a cross-partisan expert panel to shape the legislation which will have to pass to create the ballot initiative. To accomplish this before 2030 will take some time.
Don't get me wrong. The 119th Congress of the United States is hardly distinguishing itself for legislative brilliance or bipartisan negotiation. One might even call it a quisling assembly. I get it. Were the 120th Congress to be more of the same it would be unhelpful for important policy issues and the fundamental principle of separation of powers.
I looked to one of my favorite data aggregators, The Silver Bulletin, natesilver.net , to check their analysis of the Texas maps. The Silver Bulletin shows two of the five potential Texas seats potentially in play for Democrats, all depending on the powerful Hispanic vote. A July poll shows Hispanic voters, who were a key constituency in Republican victories in 2024, are souring on the GOP some 210 days into the new administration.
The Silver Bulletin is modeling that if 53% of Texas Hispanics vote Democrat in 2026, TX-28 and TX-34 will stay blue. These districts are in far south Texas, along the border with Mexico. 87% of the voters in District 28 are Hispanic; 72% of the voters in District 34 are Hispanic. Both districts went for Biden in 2020 and for Trump in 2024. Under the redrawn maps, both districts get redder but are just as Hispanic.
Equis Research shows that a third of Hispanics who voted for the President in 2024 do not plan on voting for a Republican in 2026. The overall Presidential approval rating among Hispanics stands at 35% approval, and 63% disapproval. These numbers are showing a steady decline as the year progresses.
The Silver Bulletin also crunches the numbers weekly from the top six national U.S. polls. Presidential approval ratings have held steady since late July: underwater by -7.8. Currently, 52.2% of Americans disapprove of the President's performance, while 44.3 approve.
A few points here. First, Texas and California and Ohio and New York are going to do what they are going to do. Second, that doesn't mean every targeted seat will flip (Case in point: the 2022 Democratic gerrymander in New Mexico. GOP State Reps. Rebecca Dow and Gail Armstrong found themselves in the same district after the maps were redrawn. Yet, here they are today, in office and on the Redistricting Task Force.). Finally, the GOP has a heavy lift nationwide for midterms, and the redistricting ask from the White House shows that they know it.
New Mexico's Redistricting Task Force is looking at a plan that wouldn't affect elections until 2032. Abandoning independent redistricting – the right thing to do in all cases – because of four other states making choices to impact the 2026 elections is simply bowing to partisan pressure.
Is the Task Force tilting at windmills? Perhaps. Only nine states have fully independent redistricting commissions (Interestingly, these include California and New York). Gerrymandering is something many Americans take for granted because it's all we know. In a politically polarized America, we just want the maps drawn in favor of our team.
I'll keep picking fights at home over cocktails, and I always welcome reader emails that challenge me. But some hills are worth dying on: I firmly believe voters should pick their representatives, not the other way around.
Merritt Hamilton Allen is a PR executive and former Navy officer. She appeared regularly as a panelist on NM PBS and is a frequent guest on News Radio KKOB. A Republican for 36 years, she became an independent upon reading the 2024 Republican platform. She lives amicably with her Democratic husband north of I-40 where they run one head of dog, and one of cat. She can be reached at
