What happened: Texas’ new congressional map adds parts of Travis and Williamson counties near Austin to U.S. Rep. August Pfluger’s 11th Congressional District. Both areas voted heavily Democratic in 2024.

The map took effect for the 2026 elections and removed the district’s portion of Bell County including part of Killeen. Lampasas and Mills counties were also moved to another district. Midland County remains entirely within the 11th District under both maps according to the Texas Legislative Council. The change is not where Midland votes but who its voters now share a district with.

Why it matters: The new Austin-area territory casts more votes than Midland County. In the 2024 general election, the Travis County portion now included in the district cast 72,602 votes compared with Midland County’s 59,193. That changes the math for Republican voters in Midland and the rest of West Texas.

Under the 2024 11th Congressional District boundaries, Donald Trump received 72.2% of the vote in 2024. Applying those same election results to the new boundaries drops his share to 66.5%. That implies a low Republican turnout in Midland and the Permian Basin could make the district competitive now that the district includes predominantly Democratic votes coming from the Austin area.

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The big picture: Texas lawmakers redrew the state’s congressional districts in 2025 between censuses. The new map divides Travis County among four districts with the 11th District taking about 12% of its population. That amounts to about 158,000 Travis County residents compared with Midland County’s 170,000.

A look at the 2024 presidential election results shows how differently the counties voted:

  • Midland County: 79.6% Trump and 19.2% Harris.
  • Ector County: 75.9% Trump and 23.2% Harris.
  • Tom Green County: 73.5% Trump and 25.5% Harris.
  • Travis County portion: 61.3% Harris and 36.3% Trump.
  • Williamson County portion: 65.5% Harris and 32.1% Trump.

Together, the Travis and Williamson County portions cast 84,892 votes in 2024. That represents about 29% of the new district’s total compared with Midland County’s 20%. Those Austin-area precincts gave Harris about 22,000 more votes than President Trump. That offsets most of the roughly 35,600-vote advantage Trump received in Midland County alone.

The same shift appears in the U.S. Senate race. Ted Cruz received 69.5% of the vote under the old district boundaries compared with 64% under the new map.

Reality check: The 11th District remains strongly Republican. President Trump still would have won by about 34 percentage points under the new boundaries and no county outside the Austin area voted Democratic in 2024. But the Republican advantage is smaller and a greater share of the district’s voters now live outside the Permian Basin and Concho Valley.

Pfluger is a San Angelo Republican who ran unopposed in the March primary. He will face Democrat Claire Reynolds, an Austin attorney, in November. The Permian Press previously profiled both candidates ahead of the primary and compared their positions following their Basin PBS debate. The candidates discussed energy, immigration, federal spending and other issues.

What’s next: Early voting continues through October 30th of this week and Election Day is Tuesday Nov. 3.