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The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Texas will be allowed to use newly drawn congressional maps in the 2026 midterm elections, potentially bolstering the Republican Party’s chances of advancing its majority in the House.
The Conservative-majority court paused a lower court’s opinion that found racial gerrymandering played a part in the new map, which is expected to net Texas Republicans five additional Congressional seats. The order comes just days before the deadline for candidates to file for the 2026 election expires, and incumbent Congressional Democrats previously told the Observer they’d waited for the lower court’s ruling before filing for re-election, uncertain if their district would exist under the redrawn maps.
The Supreme Court’s three liberal justices dissented to the decision, NBC News reports. Dallas is expected to lose one of its three Democratic Congressional districts under the new map.
“The Supreme Court sided with political power over voting rights today, and that should alarm every Texan, no matter your party,” said Rep. Mihaela Plesa, who serves as the Democratic caucus’s vice chair, in a statement. “My parents fled a communist country because they believed America was different, that courts here would stand up to corruption and protect the people. When a conservative-leaning Supreme Court allows these gerrymandered maps to stand, even after everything we’ve learned, it shakes that belief.”
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The decision is the latest win the court has granted President Donald Trump, who urged Texas lawmakers to pass the map and filed a brief encouraging the Supreme Court to side with the state. Over the last year, the justices have utilized the court’s emergency docket, which allows for rulings without oral argument and is referred to as a “shadow docket,” to help advance the Trump administration’s agenda.
Districting maps are typically drawn at the start of each century when the census is conducted, and mid-century redistricting is rare. Texas launched the effort after receiving a letter warning that “coalition districts,” electoral districts where minority voters form a majority, were unconstitutional. However, many voting rights experts argue they are protected under the Voting Rights Act.
Litigation over the map will now return to the lower courts, and while that case could eventually make its way back to the Supreme Court for oral arguments, that won’t be possible in time for the 2026 election.
“I have defended Texas’s fundamental right to draw a map that ensures we are represented by Republicans. The Big Beautiful Map will be in effect for 2026,” said Attorney General Ken Paxton in a statement. “Texas is paving the way as we take our country back, district by district, state by state. This map reflects the political climate of our state and is a massive win for Texas and every conservative who is tired of watching the left try to upend the political system with bogus lawsuits.”
