AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a Texas Democrat who represents a slice of the Rio Grande Valley along the border with Mexico, won his last congressional election by just over 5,000 votes.
That makes him a tempting target for Republicans, who are poised to redraw the state's congressional maps this coming week and devise five new winnable seats for the GOP that would help the party avoid losing House control in the 2026 elections. Adjusting the lines of Gonzalez’s district to bring in a few thousand more Republican voters, while shifting some Democratic ones out, could flip his seat.
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a roundtable discussion with first responders and local officials at Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville, Texas, during a tour to observe flood damage, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
FILE - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton makes a statement at his office, May 26, 2023, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
FILE - Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas., speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill, Feb. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)
FILE - Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Gonzalez said he is not worried. Those Democratic voters will have to end up in one of the Republican districts that flank Gonzalez’s current one, making those districts more competitive — possibly enough so it could flip the seats to Democrats.
“Get ready for some pickup opportunities,” Gonzalez said, adding that his party is already recruiting challengers to Republicans whose districts they expect to be destabilized by the process. “We’re talking to some veterans, we’re talking to some former law enforcement.”
Texas has 38 seats in the House. Republicans now hold 25 and Democrats 12, with one seat vacant after Democrat Sylvester Turner, a former Houston mayor, died in March.
Gonzalez's district — and what happens to the neighboring GOP-held ones — is at the crux of President Donald Trump's high-risk, high-reward push to get Texas Republicans to redraw their political map. Trump is seeking to avoid the traditional midterm letdown that most incumbent presidents endure and hold onto the House, which the GOP narrowly controls.
Trump's push comes as there are numerous political danger signs for his presidency, both in the recent turmoil over his administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and in new polling. Surveys from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research show most U.S. adults think his policies have not helped them and that his tax cut and spending bill will help the wealthy.
The fear of accidentally creating unsafe seats is one reason Texas Republicans drew their lines cautiously in 2021, when the constitutionally mandated redistricting process kicked off in all 50 states. Mapmakers — in most states, it's the party that controls the legislature — must adjust congressional and state legislative lines after every 10-year census to ensure that districts have about the same number of residents.
That is a golden opportunity for one party to rig the map against the other, a tactic known as gerrymandering. But there is a term, too, for so aggressively redrawing a map that it puts that party's own seats at risk: a “dummymander.”
The Texas GOP knows the risk. In the 2010s, the Republican-controlled Legislature drew political lines that helped pad the GOP’s House majority. That lasted until 2018, when a backlash against Trump in his first term led Democrats to flip two seats in Texas that Republicans had thought safe.
In 2021, with Republicans still comfortably in charge of the Texas Statehouse, the party was cautious, opting for a map that mainly shored up their incumbents rather than targeted Democrats.
Still, plenty of Republicans believe their Texas counterparts can safely go on offense.
“Smart map-drawing can yield pickup opportunities while not putting our incumbents in jeopardy,” said Adam Kincaid, executive director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, which helps coordinate mapmaking for the party nationally..
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session of the Legislature, which starts Monday, to comply with Trump's request to redraw the congressional maps and to address the flooding in Texas Hill Country that killed at least 135 people this month.
Democratic state lawmakers are talking about staying away from the Capitol to deny the Legislature the minimum number needed to convene. Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton posted that any Democrats who did that should be arrested.
Lawmakers can be fined up to $500 a day for breaking a quorum after the House changed its rules when Democrats initiated a walkout in 2021. Despite the new penalties, state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, who led the walkout in 2021, left open the possibility of another.
“I don’t think anybody should underestimate the will of Texas Democrats," he said.
Texas is not the only Republican state engaged in mid-decade redistricting. After staving off a ballot measure to expand the power of a mapmaking commission last election, Ohio Republicans hope to redraw their congressional map from a 10-5 one favoring the GOP to one as lopsided as 13-2, in a state Trump won last year with 55% of the vote.
Some Democratic leaders have suggested that states where their party is in control should counter the expected redraw in Texas. "We have to be absolutely ruthless about getting back in power," former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke said Sunday on CNN.
But Democrats have fewer options. More of the states the party controls do not allow elected partisans to draw maps and entrust independent commissions to draw fair lines.
Among them is California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom has floated the long shot idea of working around the state's commission.
The few Democratic-controlled states that do allow elected officials to draw the lines, such as Illinois, have already seen Democrats max out their advantages.
Trump and his allies have been rallying Texas Republicans to ignore whatever fears they may have and to go big.
On Tuesday, the president posted on his social media site a reminder of his record in the state last November: “Won by one and a half million Votes, and almost 14%. Also, won all of the Border Counties along Mexico, something which has never happened before. I keep hearing about Texas ‘going Blue,’ but it is just another Democrat LIE.”
Texas has long been eyed as a state trending Democratic because of its growing nonwhite population. But those communities swung right last year and helped Trump expand his margin to 14 percentage points, a significant improvement on his 6-point win in 2020.
Michael Li, a Texas native and longtime watcher of the state at the Brennan Center for Justice in New York, said there’s no way to know whether that trend will continue in next year’s elections or whether the state will return to its blue-trending ways.
“Anyone who can tell you what the politics of Texas looks like for the balance of the decade has a better crystal ball than I do,” Li said.
One region of the state where Republican gains have been steady is the Rio Grande Valley, which runs from the Gulf of Mexico along much of the state’s southern border. The heavily Hispanic region, where many Border Patrol officers live, has rallied around Trump’s tough-on-immigration, populist message.
As a result, Gonzalez and the area’s other Democratic congressman, Henry Cuellar, have seen their reelection campaigns get steadily tighter. They are widely speculated to be the two top targets of the new map.
The GOP is expected to look to the state’s three biggest cities to find its other Democratic targets. If mapmakers scatter Democratic voters from districts in the Houston, Dallas and Austin areas, they could get to five additional seats.
But in doing so, Republicans face a legal risk on top of their electoral one: that they break up districts required by the Voting Rights Act to have a critical amount of certain minority groups. The goal of the federal law is to enable those communities to elect representatives of their choosing.
The Texas GOP already is facing a lawsuit from civil rights groups alleging its initial 2021 map did this. If this year's redistricting is too aggressive, it could trigger a second complaint.
“It’s politically and legally risky,” Li said of the redistricting strategy. “It’s throwing caution to the winds.”
Riccardi reported from Denver.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a roundtable discussion with first responders and local officials at Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville, Texas, during a tour to observe flood damage, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
FILE - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton makes a statement at his office, May 26, 2023, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
FILE - Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas., speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill, Feb. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)
FILE - Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as a crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.
Trump said late Sunday his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act before then as reports of deaths mount and Iran's government continues to arrest protesters.
“Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.
Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest, said at least 599 people have been killed, including 510 protesters and 89 members of security forces. It said over 10,600 people have been detained during two weeks of protests. The group relies on supporters in Iran cross-checking information.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
The Latest:
Activists said the death toll from ongoing protests have at least 646 people. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the latest death toll early Tuesday. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 512 of the dead were protesters and 134 were security force members.
More than 10,700 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the latest death toll early Tuesday. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 512 of the dead were protesters and 134 were security force members.
In New Zealand, two people were arrested Tuesday during a protest outside the Iranian embassy in Wellington, authorities said.
About 20 people protested outside the embassy, while police officers monitored the situation, the police said in a statement. Officers were considering wilful damage charges against the pair arrested.
“Police recognise the lawful right to protest, and maintained a presence to ensure the safety of all involved,” a statement said. Radio New Zealand reported that a man climbed onto a fence at the embassy to erect a pre-1979 Iranian flag, before it was removed by someone from inside the embassy.
Meanwhile, foreign ministry officials in Wellington have reminded New Zealanders of advice that they shouldn’t travel to Iran and should leave immediately if they are there. The advisory has been in place since November 2024.
President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran’s trade partners will face 25% tariffs from the United States as he looks to pressure Tehran over its violent protest crackdown that’s left nearly 600 dead across the country.
The U.S. president has repeatedly threatened Tehran with U.S. military action, if his administration found the Islamic Republic was using deadly force against antigovernment protesters. It’s a redline that Trump says he believes Iran is “starting to cross” and has left him and his national security team weighing “very strong options.”
Trump announced the tariffs in a social media posting, saying they would be “effective immediately.”
China, Brazil, Turkey and Russia are among economies that do business with Tehran.
The top diplomats for Iran and Britain have traded sharp statements after speaking by phone.
U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said she told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that Iran must halt the violence aimed at its people. She wrote on X that the killing and repression of peaceful protesters is “horrific.”
Araghchi responded by saying the U.K. should stay out of Iran’s internal affairs. He also criticized security at the Iranian embassy in London, where a demonstrator on Saturday scaled a wall and replaced the Islamic Republic’s flag with the banner flown before the Western-backed shah was overthrown in 1979.
“If the U.K. cannot uphold its duty to protect diplomatic missions, Iran would be left with no choice but to consider evacuating our personnel,” Araghchi said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has told reporters that airstrikes are among the “many, many options” that President Donald Trump is considering but that “diplomacy is always the first option for the president.”
Trump on Sunday said Iranian officials have reached out for talks. He has threatened to take military action against the Islamic Republic for its crackdown on the protests.
“What you’re hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite different from the messages the administration is receiving privately, and I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages,” Leavitt said. “However, with that said, the president has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.”
The U.S. last year bombed Iranian nuclear sites when it inserted itself into the 12-day war between Israel and Iran.
The executive secretary of Russia’s Security Council has condemned what he described as foreign interference in Iran’s internal affairs.
The council said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that Sergei Shoigu spoke by phone Monday with his counterpart Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran.
The statement said Shoigu also expressed condolences over the numerous casualties, without elaboration.
Iran has alleged foreign influence in the protests.
The ban was announced Monday by the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.
“This House will not aid in legitimizing this regime that has sustained itself through torture, repression and murder,” Metsola wrote on X. She also praised protesters who “continue to stand up for their rights and their liberty.”
— The Iranian government seems to be publicizing the killing of demonstrators for the first time to dissuade others from joining in, said Kamran Matin, an associate professor of international relations at the University of Sussex in England and an expert on Iran. “It’s broadcasting some of the footage, both of those killed but also of the actual protests. It seems to be intended to intimidate protesters from returning to the streets.” He also said that Trump’s primary aim is to change the behavior of the Iranian regime, not necessarily the regime itself.
— Although some observers have speculated that Venezuela may provide a template for creating a new Iranian government, the situation in Tehran is very different, said Iran expert Siavush Randjbar-Daemi at the University of St. Andrews. He said there is no similar figure in Iran to interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez, who took over after U.S. forces arrested Nicolás Maduro. “There’s nobody who the Americans can really talk to like that,’’ he said.
A senior Turkish official voiced opposition to foreign interventions in Iran, warning that such actions could worsen the country’s crisis.
Omer Celik, spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, acknowledged on Monday that Iran faces internal challenges but stressed they must be resolved through “its own dynamics and the will of the state.”
“We would never wish for any chaos to emerge in our neighbor Iran,” Celik said, adding that outside interference would only produce “worse outcomes.”
He cautioned that regional instability could escalate further if external involvement is driven by what he described as “Israeli provocations.”
Video circulating online purports to show dozens of bodies in a morgue on the outskirts of Iran’s capital.
People with knowledge of the facility and the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said Monday that the video shows the Kahrizak Forensic Medicine Center.
People are seen walking by bodies in body bags laid out in a large room, attempting to identify them. Another video, widely shared by activists, purportedly shows people gathered around a television monitor at the morgue, looking at images of corpses’ faces. Outside, people can be heard wailing in grief. The footage matches other images of the facility online.
—- By Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem
A witness told the AP that the streets of Tehran empty at the sunset call to prayers each night.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, addressed “Dear parents,” which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
—- By Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Iran drew tens of thousands of pro-government demonstrators to the streets Monday in a show of power after nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy.
Iranian state television showed images of demonstrators thronging Tehran toward Enghelab Square in the capital.
It called the demonstration an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism,” without addressing the underlying anger in the country over the nation’s ailing economy. That sparked the protests over two weeks ago.
State television aired images of such demonstrations around the country, trying to signal it had overcome the protests, as claimed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier in the day.
China says it opposes the use of force in international relations and expressed hope the Iranian government and people are “able to overcome the current difficulties and maintain national stability.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that Beijing “always opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs, maintains that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law, and opposes the use or threat of use of force in international relations.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned “in the strongest terms the violence that the leadership in Iran is directing against its own people.”
He said it was a sign of weakness rather than strength, adding that “this violence must end.”
Merz said during a visit to India that the demonstrators deserve “the greatest respect” for the courage with which “they are resisting the disproportional, brutal violence of Iranian security forces.”
He said: “I call on the Iranian leadership to protect its population rather than threatening it.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday suggested that a channel remained open with the United States.
Esmail Baghaei made the comment during a news conference in Tehran.
“It is open and whenever needed, through that channel, the necessary messages are exchanged,” he said.
However, Baghaei said such talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”
The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on Monday began calling out Iranian celebrities and leaders on social media who have expressed support for the protests over the past two weeks, especially before the internet was shut down.
The threat comes as writers and other cultural leaders were targeted even before protests. The news agency highlighted specific celebrities who posted in solidarity with the protesters and scolded them for not condemning vandalism and destruction to public property or the deaths of security forces killed during clashes. The news agency accused those celebrities and leaders of inciting riots by expressing their support.
Canada said it “stands with the brave people of Iran” in a statement on social media that strongly condemned the killing of protesters during widespread protests that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.
“The Iranian regime must halt its horrific repression and intimidation and respect the human rights of its citizens,” Canada’s government said on Monday.
Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Iran’s foreign minister alleged Monday that nationwide protests in his nation “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, which comes after over 500 have been reported killed by activists -- the vast majority coming from demonstrators.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.
Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.
People attend a rally in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)
A picture of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is set alight by protesters outside the Iranian Embassy in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Shiite Muslims hold placards and chant slogans during a protest against the U.S. and show solidarity with Iran in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Activists carrying a photograph of Reza Pahlavi take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Activists take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
