For the 2004 elections, it had an elongated shape stretching from deep southTexas at the U.S.-Mexico border to Austin as a result of mid-decade 2003 gerrymandering of Texas congressional districts. The district was redrawn again for the 2006 elections as the result of a lawsuit. In July 2011, Texas Governor Rick Perrysigned into law a redistricting plan, approved by the Texas legislature in June, which gave the 25th district a completely different geography for the 2012 elections, including part of Travis County, and stretching north as far as southern Tarrant County near Fort Worth. The redistricting split Travis County into five districts, four of which were heavily Republican. As a result, the only realistic place for Representative Lloyd Doggett to run was the new 35th district. For a number of years, there was a consolidated lawsuit against the redistricting. In March 2017, a panel of federal judges ruled that the new 35th district and two others were illegally drawn with discriminatory intent. However, the district was allowed to stand in the Supreme Court's 2018 Abbott v. Perez ruling.
On June 28, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the Texas legislature's 2003 redistricting plan violated the Voting Rights Act in the case of the 23rd district. The main basis for the ruling was that the old 23rd was a protected majority-Hispanic district—in other words, if the 23rd was redrawn in a way to put Hispanics in a minority, a new majority-Hispanic district had to be created. Since the 25th was not compact enough to be an acceptable replacement, the 23rd had to be struck down. The size of the 23rd required the redrawing of nearly every district from El Paso to San Antonio. As a result, on August 4, 2006, a three-judge panel announced replacement district boundaries for 2006 election for the 23rd district, as well as for the 15th, 21st, 25th and 28th districts. On election day in November, these five districts held open primaries; if any candidate received over 50%, they were elected. Otherwise, a runoff election in December decided the seat. The redrawn 25th was more compact and restricted to Central Texas, comprising more of Travis County, most of Bastrop County, and all of Hays, Caldwell, Fayette, Gonzales, Lavaca, and Colorado Counties. Incumbent congressman Doggett faced Republican Grant Rostig, independent candidate Brian Parrett, and Libertarian PartyBarbara Cunningham, and won re-election.
In the 2008 election Doggett faced Republican George Morovich, a structural engineer from La Grange and Libertarian Jim Stutsman, a retired Army veteran. Doggett won with 65.8% of the vote to Morovich's 30.5% and Stutsman's 3.7%. Doggett won 73.8% of the vote in his Austin-based stronghold of Travis County.
2010 election
Dogget faced Republican and "Tea Party favorite" Donna Campbell, and again held his seat, though by a surprisingly small margin.
2012 election
The new district boundaries were more favorable to Republicans, as had been foreseen.
