US Supreme Court Formally Reinstates Pro-Republican Texas Voting Map

US Supreme Court Formally Reinstates Pro-Republican Texas Voting Map

WASHINGTON, April 27, 2026 (Reuters) — The U.S. Supreme Court formally reinstated on Monday a redrawn Texas electoral map designed to add more Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives, as President Donald Trump's party seeks to keep control of Congress in the November 2026 midterm elections.

The move by the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, formalizes an interim decision it made in December 2025 to revive the map of U.S. House districts in Texas. Monday's ruling maintains that status quo permanently, ensuring the new lines will be used for the 2026 midterms and going forward — and at least through the next redistricting cycle after the 2030 Census.

The reinstated map — sought by Trump, approved in August 2025 by the Republican-led state legislature, and signed by Republican Governor Greg Abbott — could flip as many as five currently Democratic-held U.S. House seats to Republicans. As they did in December, the court's three liberal justices dissented from Monday's ruling. The Supreme Court reversed a lower court's decision that had blocked Texas from using the map, which had found it to be likely racially discriminatory in violation of U.S. constitutional protections.

Background: How the Map Came to Be

Last year, the state legislature opted to redistrict outside of a census year — an unusual move that came at the urging of President Trump, who feared Republicans would lose the U.S. House in 2026. Thousands of people protested on the Texas State Capitol lawn, even joining legislative hearings to oppose the redraw. State Republicans moved forward regardless, and Democrats responded by breaking quorum in an attempt to delay the map's passage.

The process was further complicated when the Department of Justice sent Texas a letter alleging that four of the state's districts were unconstitutional "coalition districts" — majority-minority districts lacking a single racial majority. The DOJ warned it would take legal action if Texas didn't address the alleged racial gerrymandering. Two days after receiving the letter, Governor Abbott directed state legislators to draw a new congressional map. Under the new map, Republicans hope to win as many as 30 of Texas's 38 seats — an increase of five over the previous map.

Legal Challenges

Several lawsuits, including one filed by the League of United Latin American Citizens, challenged the new map on the basis that it was racially discriminatory. Redistricting based on politics is legal, but racial gerrymandering is not.

The Supreme Court's ruling leaves Texans voting using a congressional map that a lower court had found was "aggressively redrawn" to target the seats of five Black and Latino members of Congress. The high court's order also strengthens the "presumption of good faith" that legislatures enjoy in redistricting cases, making it harder for voters of color to challenge such maps in the future.

Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the three dissenting liberal justices, argued that the court had reversed the lower court's fact-based findings without proper deference, noting: "We are a higher court than the District Court, but we are not a better one when it comes to making such a fact-based decision."

Reactions

A spokesperson for Governor Abbott praised the ruling, saying Abbott was "pleased that the Supreme Court reversed a poorly reasoned decision" and that the maps "better represent our constituents and allow more Texans to vote for the candidate of their choice."

Democrats reacted angrily. State Rep. Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat who chairs the Texas House Democratic Caucus, slammed the justices for protecting "Greg Abbott's racist map," but added that his caucus had blunted its effect by helping spur blue states into action.

Broader Redistricting Battle

The Texas ruling is part of a sweeping national redistricting fight. The Supreme Court in February allowed California to use a new electoral map designed to give Democrats five more congressional seats, after that Democratic-led state redrew its House districts in response to Texas's actions.

Redistricting appears to have backfired for Republicans overall. With Virginia's approval of a new map last week, Republicans are now favored in fewer House seats than before the redistricting wave began. Florida is also in focus, with Governor Ron DeSantis unveiling a new congressional map on Monday.

Some of the new GOP stronghold districts in Texas were drawn based on Latino voters' sharp swing to the right in 2024, but polling suggests that fragile alliance may be fraying over immigration policy and the economy.

What Comes Next

The Supreme Court's order means Texas can use its new map for the 2026 midterms, but the legal fight is not over. Texas will file another brief asking the Court to hear the case on the merits, and if it does so, oral arguments will take place in the fall 2026 term, with a ruling possible before the end of June 2027. Texas has a new map for 2026, but it may yet have a different one for 2028.

Republicans currently hold slim majorities in both chambers of Congress. Ceding control of either the House or Senate to Democrats in the upcoming elections would endanger Trump's legislative agenda and open the door to Democratic-led congressional investigations targeting the president.

The process of redrawing maps — known as redistricting — generally occurs once per decade to reflect population changes measured by the national census. The current wave of mid-decade redistricting by both Republican- and Democratic-led legislatures has been openly driven by a desire for partisan advantage, marking an unusual and contentious moment in American electoral politics.