As Democratic state legislators returned to Texas this week, a vote was expected Wednesday by the Republican-controlled legislature to radically alter Congressional district boundaries in the state under direction of Trump that could result in five more Republican seats in advance of the 2026 mid-term elections.

If the vote is taken, we will then look eagerly to what happens in California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom has promised to “fight fire with fire” with redistricting of its own in the Democratic controlled-state to match the Texas move, if not provide for even more pro-Democratic districts.

Some are arguing that these developments could result in the end of partisan redistricting, overall, which would be a good thing, and even more importantly, maybe an end to the great inequities represented by the Electoral College. For example, Wyoming, with under 600,000 people, has three electoral votes. That means each electoral vote represents about 200,000 residents. California, with nearly 40 million people, has 55 electoral votes, meaning each vote represents about 725,000 residents. A Wyoming voter thus has more than three times the influence of a Californian.

Sadly, the reason the very existence of the Electoral College in the modern era has never been seriously challenged is because both of the two major political parties prefer to focus their attention on swing states only. But this is one of the great inequities in our democracy. Twice already in this century, a president was elected with a minority of the popular vote to our great detriment (G.W. Bush and Trump).

Still, the current situation in Texas has added to the energy of the opposition to the Trump administration’s egregious assault on democracy. They’re acting so blatantly in Texas because they see the handwriting on the wall. Demographic trends in that state are following the pattern of California, which used to be pro-Republican (two terms for Reagan as its governor, for example) but in the last decade, due to demographic shifts, is now solidly blue.

In Texas, the current fight has helped to elevate the national profile of 36-year-old State Senator James Talarico, who may be running for the U.S. Senate next year, but is already making major waves because of his progressive views on his faith. Since first being elected, he’s attended and graduated from a Presbyterian theological seminary and has taken on the so-called Christian nationalists, Trump-supporting ostensible faith leaders like the son of Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, and others.

Talarico has described Christian nationalism as “the worship of power – social power, economic power, political power, in the name of Christ” and has accused Christian Nationalists of turning Jesus “into a gun-toting, gay-bashing, science-denying, money-loving, fear-mongering fascist” and argued that it is “incumbent on all Christians to confront it and denounce it” in a 2023 guest sermon which racked up more than 1 million views after it was posted on YouTube.

This focus led to Talarico being invited to speak at last Sunday’s service of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where he was staying while participating in the boycott of the Texas legislature until early this week.

That heavily Afro-American church gained notoriety for being former President Obama’s church when the Rev. Jeremiah Wright was its preacher, and became the focus of anti-Obama campaigning for his progressive sermons, causing Obama to disassociate from the church.

But Talarico’s sermon last Sunday did not pull any punches. He equated democracy with Christianity, noting that Jesus was “not crucified by the Roman empire because he was a nice guy,” noting that “crucifixion was punishment for rebels.” Jesus, he said, “provoked a direct conflict with the ruling class, the rich and powerful. He took on the system” as one committed to “loving God and neighbor.”

He cited the parable of the Good Samaritan which, he said, “represented a shocking definition of neighbor” as the outcast, the other, who offers salvation.

While not partisan, Jesus was political, he argued, noting that economic justice is mentioned 3,000 times in the Bible, and the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer, “on earth and in heaven,” has radical implications. “The Kingdom of God is hiding in plain sight,” he said.