Hunter, who started his career as a Democrat and is now one of the most senior members of the Texas House, brushed aside arguments that Abbott and the Legislature are abusing the political process by revisiting redistricting with no new census data or court order compelling them to do so.

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett said Friday that GOP-proposed congressional maps in Texas would draw her out of the district where she lives, part of a redistricting effort Democrats say is aimed at at picking up five seats to keep Republican control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The biggest proposed changes are in Houston, the Dallas-area, Austin and South Texas, where several districts currently held by Democrats are remade to be more favorable to Republican candidates,