Federal Court Blocks GOP-Backed Texas Congressional Map for 2026 Elections
A federal judge has blocked Texas from using its newly redrawn congressional map in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, dealing a significant setback to Republicans who aimed to strengthen their hold on the state’s congressional delegation.
On Tuesday, a three-judge panel, including U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown, issued a ruling requiring Texas to revert to the congressional district lines drawn in 2021 instead of the new map adopted earlier this year. The decision temporarily prohibits the use of the 2025 map for next year’s elections.
The 2025 map was passed by the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature in August and quickly signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott. It was crafted amidst intense partisan efforts, reportedly encouraged by former President Donald Trump, with the goal of increasing Republican-held seats in the U.S. House from 25 to as many as 30 out of 38 total districts.
Advocacy groups challenged the new map, alleging that it deliberately diluted the voting power of Black and Hispanic communities through racial gerrymandering. During a nine-day hearing in El Paso earlier this month, plaintiffs argued that the map violated constitutional protections by dismantling majority-minority and coalition districts in favor of majority-Anglo districts.
The court’s ruling found substantial evidence to support claims that the state racially gerrymandered the 2025 map. Judge Brown, a Trump appointee, wrote that although politics played a role in drawing the map, the evidence demonstrated that race was a predominant factor, violating the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
“The Governor explicitly directed the Legislature to draw a new U.S. House map to resolve [the Department of Justice’s] concerns,” Judge Brown noted. “In other words, the Governor explicitly directed the Legislature to redistrict based on race.”
This decision represents a significant blow to Republicans both in Texas and nationally, as the new map was seen as a pivotal strategy for maintaining the narrow GOP majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. The ruling comes during a critical period, just ten days into the candidate filing phase for the March 2026 primary elections, with filing deadlines looming.
Legal experts consider this ruling the opening salvo in what will likely be a protracted legal battle. The state has already indicated it plans to appeal the decision, possibly escalating the case directly to the U.S. Supreme Court due to the involvement of voting rights issues.
The ruling also underscores the ongoing national debate around partisan and racial gerrymandering. While the U.S. Supreme Court historically refrains from adjudicating cases of partisan gerrymandering, racial gerrymandering remains a constitutional concern violative of voters’ rights.
As the legal conflict unfolds, Texas elections for the 2026 Congress will proceed under the previous 2021 map until further judicial determinations. This development could affect the political landscape of Texas and the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives.