Ten days ago, Democracy Docket reporter Jen Rice landed in El Paso to cover the hearing on Texas’ gerrymandered congressional map. Since then, she has worked every day to bring you the latest news in this high-stakes trial. 

On the line are up to five congressional seats in the 2026 midterms — not to mention fair representation for Black and brown Texans.

Over the summer, when Democrats fled the state to delay the GOP redraw, the national media paid attention. All eyes were on Texas. But now that a federal court is actually deciding whether those illegal maps will be in place for 2026, almost no one — except for Democracy Docket — is watching.

As the hearing went on, fewer and fewer national reporters showed up to court, and by the end, all of legacy media had vanished. But Jen stayed. Thanks to her hard work and commitment to this important story, she exposed key testimony that revealed just how far Republicans went to manipulate the state’s maps.

Now that the hearing is officially over, here are some highlights from Jen’s in-depth, real-time coverage:

• Lead GOP mapmaker Adam Kincaid admitted that Texas’ congressional map was ordered up by Washington, saying he took direction only from the White House and Republican members of Congress, and ignored input from public hearings.
  
  
• Kincaid had numerous contacts with the White House and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over the redistricting effort — including sending messages on Signal that were set to automatically delete.
  
  
• A redistricting expert testified that the map achieved “partisan objectives by focusing on race.”
  
  
• A top Texas Republican suddenly “remembered” previously undisclosed conversations with Kincaid.

This is exactly why I founded Democracy Docket. Since 2020, we’ve built an independent newsroom committed to covering the fights for democracy that others ignore — from local courtrooms to the Supreme Court. Keeping Jen in El Paso for the full 10-day hearing is a major investment, but it’s one we’re proud to make because you deserve to know what’s happening behind those courtroom doors.

All of Jen’s coverage is free — you can read every update here, but that’s only possible because of the support of our members.