Recent statewide redistricting will not affect Denton in the way large cities like Dallas, San Antonio and Austin will be impacted. However, it will affect representation in the county for some voters.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed a new Texas congressional map into law on Aug. 29, but at least one lawsuit has already been filed in an effort to stop it. Wouter van Erve, associate professor of political science at Texas Woman’s University, said district changes will not have a big political impact on Denton County, although some voters will now reside in a new district.
“Ultimately, the big story of this redistricting is trying to consolidate strong Republican districts and trying to deliver more votes for President Trump and the House of Representatives,” van Erve said. “Denton County isn’t really a battleground this time.
“What you’re seeing overall in the state is [an attempt] to create districts that the Republican Party thinks are more winnable for them and isolating more Democratic-leaning voters, either based on their vote history or their racial background.”
As it currently stands, Denton County is divided among four districts — Districts 4, 13, 26 and 32. Most of the county is covered by District 26, with District 13 covering the northwestern corner and center of the county. A small southeastern corner is covered by District 32, and a slightly larger piece of central east Denton is in District 4.
These are the representatives of each district:
District 4: Pat Fallon, R-Sherman
District 13: Ronny Jackson, R-Amarillo
District 26: Brandon Gill, R-Flower Mound
District 32: Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch
Under proposed maps, the shifts for residents are slight but do eliminate some Democratic-leaning representation in District 32.
“My district was a minority-majority seat, and they’ve completely taken that all apart,” Johnson told KERA News.
The district used to encompass about a quarter of Dallas County, 7% of southern Collin County and a small part of southeastern Denton County. Now, it will cover several rural counties and none of Denton County, and the majority of voters are white.
Part of eastern Denton County, which was previously in District 26, will move into District 4, which is mostly made up of Collin County.
A section south of Interstate 35 in the city of Denton will also no longer be in District 26. This section, along with neighborhoods near the University of North Texas, will become part of District 13.
“The biggest upset that happened for us was when redistricting happened in 2021 and Denton County suddenly got lumped into a district with Amarillo,” van Erve said. “We’re now lumped in with an area of Texas that we not only geographically have very little in common with, but ... in terms of the issues we’re facing as a college town, we have very little in common [with] this large, mainly rural swath of the Texas Panhandle.”
He said the Legislature’s changes in 2026 will have a more significant impact on the state overall.
“It really shows the willingness of the Republican Party to use all of the tools that they have available to them to consolidate their power and to strategically draw these lines so that they can hold on to that power,” he said. “There is a strong argument to be made against that process, especially when it’s done so deliberately to isolate particular populations.”
These district changes have been met with opposition. The League of United Latin American Citizens recently filed a lawsuit over the new congressional map. The NAACP joined the lawsuit, with both civil rights groups declaring that these changes weaken the voting power of Black and Hispanic Texans.
Van Evre said that changing congressional maps at this time is highly unusual, as redistricting typically happens every 10 years when new census data is available.
“The purpose of redistricting is making sure that every member of Congress represents approximately the same number of people and represents contiguous communities,” he said. “With gerrymandering, it’s turned into a political tool to consolidate and solidify political power.”
Before voting in the 2026 midterms, residents should check to see if their district has changed and see sample ballots at votedenton.gov.