A federal panel of judges ruled Tuesday that Texas cannot use a new congressional map drawn by Republicans to gain additional U.S. House seats, a decision seen as a setback for GOP efforts to strengthen its hold on the House ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
“The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics. To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 Map. But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map,” the ruling states.
The 2-1 ruling followed a nearly two-week trial in El Paso. Texas had redrawn its map this summer to add five Republican seats, the first state to do so under pressure from former President Donald Trump. Similar moves followed in Missouri and North Carolina, while California voters approved a measure giving Democrats five additional seats.
Civil rights groups representing Black and Hispanic voters argued the Texas map diluted minority voting power, making it a racial gerrymander that violates the federal Voting Rights Act and the Constitution. They sought to block the map while their lawsuit proceeds, forcing the state to use the GOP-controlled 2021 map for next year’s elections.
The panel’s decision signals the judges believe the plaintiffs have a strong chance of prevailing. Judges appointed by Trump and President Barack Obama formed the majority, while a Reagan appointee dissented.
Texas is expected to appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court under federal redistricting law.
“The Legislature redrew our congressional maps to better reflect Texans’ conservative voting preferences – and for no other reason," Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement. “Any claim that these maps are discriminatory is absurd and unsupported by the testimony offered during ten days of hearings.”