The U.S. Supreme Court ruled to revive a Republican-drawn Texas electoral map, which had previously been blocked by a lower court for likely violating constitutional protections against racial discrimination.
The map, sought by former President Donald Trump and signed by Republican Governor Greg Abbott, could shift up to five Democratic-held U.S. House seats to Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterms.
The big picture: The Supreme Court’s decision lifted the lower court’s order that had halted the map and criticized the timing as disruptive to ongoing primaries and the balance of federal and state election authority.
- Liberal justices, led by Elena Kagan, dissented, arguing the decision undermined the lower court’s fact-based findings and would place minority voters into districts due to their race, violating the Constitution.
- The court noted that challengers to the map did not present a viable alternative that met Texas’s stated partisan goals.
Zoom out: California and other states are also engaging in partisan redistricting battles, with California implementing a new pro-Democrat map and facing a lawsuit from the Trump administration.
Go deeper: The newly restored Texas map was developed after a letter from the Justice Department urged consideration of racial impacts, which the lower court said spurred changes seen as racial gerrymandering.
