Jasmine Crockett says 60% of Texas congressional districts must be majority 'people of color'

Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett criticized redistricting efforts in her state during a heated hearing Friday, arguing that congressional districts in the state should be drawn with race as a determining factor.

Crockett testified at a Texas House of Representatives hearing on redistricting on Friday, where she told members that 60 percent of congressional districts in the state should have majority populations of “people of color.” She said that while only 39 percent of Texas residents are “Anglo,” white Republicans currently control a disproportionate number of congressional seats.

"A reflective map would look like the fact that only 39 percent of this state is Anglo. So how in the heck do we have 60 percent of the seats that go to DC are going to be decided by Anglos?" Crockett asked. “That’s the math that doesn’t work.”

Crockett highlighted that 23 of the 25 Texas Republican representatives are “Anglo” and only two are Latino, despite them representing a large percentage of Latino constituents. She pointed to one district that is over 70 percent Latino but is still represented by a white Republican. 

Republican State Rep. Katrina Pierson, a former Trump 2016 national spokesperson, pushed back on Crockett’s claims, noting that racial identity does not necessarily dictate political representation. Pierson pointed out that President Donald Trump won a majority of the Hispanic vote in Texas and flipped 10 counties in the state.

“In previous hearings, I mentioned specifically that in the state of Texas, President Trump did win the majority of the Hispanic voters in the state,” Pierson said.“In fact, he flipped, I believe it was 10 counties in the state. So don't you think that is reflective of this map, this proposed map, that the minorities who are here with the new majority minority districts that have been created, it is reflective?” 

Crockett rejected that argument and insisted that congressional maps should be drawn to reflect racial representation, regardless of party preference. 

“We need to flip the numbers so that people of color, no matter who they vote for, if they decide they're voting for Trump, then you're right. Because of the 13 democratically elected seats in the state of Texas, one of those seats was a majority white seat. That's it.” Crockett claimed.

The debate comes as Texas Republicans move forward with a new congressional map, which was approved Saturday by a Texas House committee and is set for a full House vote. The map is expected to give the GOP a potential gain of five additional seats.

The redistricting push is being justified by Republicans who argue they are correcting unconstitutional racial gerrymanders. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is preparing to hear a case that could ban the use of race in congressional redistricting altogether, a ruling that would narrow the scope of the Voting Rights Act and impact similar efforts across the country.