Federal Judges Block Texas’ Gerrymandered Congressional Map
Federal Judges Block Texas’ Racially Gerrymandered Congressional Map
Well, it looks as if Texas Republicans are having a FAFO moment of their own. Over the summer, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott kicked off a nationwide redistricting battle when he asked the Texas state legislature to redraw the state’s congressional maps to improve the Republicans’ chances of maintaining control of the House during the 2026 midterms.
While the Texas legislature eventually passed a map that added five new seats in districts President Donald Trump won by double digits, on Tuesday, a panel of federal judges ruled the new map is unconstitutional and cannot be used during the 2026 midterms.
According to the New York Times, a coalition of civil rights groups filed a lawsuit to strike down the map, alleging it was racially gerrymandered. While the court acknowledged the map was redrawn for political reasons, it ultimately found that “substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map.”
“The Court orders that the 2026 congressional election in Texas shall proceed under the map that the Texas Legislature enacted in 2021,” the court said. The panel issued a preliminary injunction that bars the use of the new Texas map during the midterms.
“Today’s ruling is a victory for Black voters and other communities of color in Texas,” Robert Weiner, the director of the voting rights project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, told The New York Times. “It is a clear violation of the Constitution to design a plan to purposefully dismantle districts where Black and Brown voters together are a majority of voters. That’s discrimination by design, and that is illegal.”
While Texas Republicans are expected to appeal the ruling, it’s still a significant blow to the GOP’s nationwide redistricting effort. The Texas redistricting effort was fraught, to say the least. Texas Democrats filibustered, fled the state to break quorum, and at one point, state Rep. Nicole Collier was held political prisoner on the House floor. Texas Republicans were willing to go through all that and delay much-needed relief for the victims of the Kerr County floods, only to have their map struck down in court.
Couldn’t be me is all I’m saying.
As it stands, this is a victory for Democrats and could potentially flip the math to give Democrats the advantage in the 2026 midterms. Earlier this month, California voters passed a new map that was intended to neutralize the gains made in Texas.
With the gains in Texas now being taken off the table, that map could give the Democrats a comfortable advantage in the 2026 midterms. At the very least, it could stand as a bulwark against a redistricting effort in Florida.
For a moment, it really looked like the Republicans were going to gerrymander their way into a midterm victory. The GOP holds a narrow majority in the House, with Democrats only needing a net gain of three seats to flip control during the midterms. As a result, President Trump has continually pressured Republican led state legislatures to engage in a rare, mid-decade redistricting effort. Missouri and North Carolina have successfully implemented new maps that give the GOP one new seat in each state, and Florida currently has a committee planning out a redistricting effort to potentially be implemented next year.
The tides have gradually turned in recent weeks, though.
Last week, a judge in Utah threw out a map drawn by state Republicans and instead approved one that adds a solidly Democratic district. Despite consistent pressure from President Trump, Indiana Republicans have signaled that they won’t take up a redistricting effort of their own. In addition to the California map being passed, Virginia’s Democratic led state legislature announced a redistricting effort of its own that could result in the state adding two to three Democratic seats in the House.
With Trump’s approval rating underwater and the Republicans actively denying there’s an affordability crisis, their only hope at maintaining control of the House is through gerrymandering maps. If Texas and Utah are a sign of what’s to come, that’s probably not going to work out for them.
SEE ALSO:
Racial Gerrymandering Lawsuit Filed Over Texas Voting Map
Texas Democrats Will Return To State After Special Session Ends
Federal Judges Block Texas’ Racially Gerrymandered Congressional Map was originally published on newsone.com
