The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled Dec. 4 that Texas can use a newly drawn congressional map in the 2026 elections, possibly giving Republicans a few extra seats in the U.S. House of Representatives next year.
SCOTUS’ decision grants an emergency stay that freezes a lower court’s Nov. 21 ruling, which said that the map could not be used because it likely discriminates against Hispanic and black Texans, USA Today reported. According to The Texas Tribune, the ruling only temporarily allows Texas to move forward with its new map until more litigation surrounding it can be resolved; however, because Dec. 8 marks the candidate filing deadline for the state, the disputed redistricting will likely be used anyway.
SCOTUS wrote in its unsigned majority ruling that the district court erred in making a decision on the map so close to the election.
“The District Court improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign, causing much confusion and upsetting the delicate federal-state balance in elections,” the justices continued.
Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch concurred in the temporary suspension of the district court’s ruling, while left-leaning Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
Alito wrote in the concurring opinion that Texas’ motive “was partisan advantage pure and simple,” which The Texas Tribune noted is allowed based on a previous SCOTUS decision. He also addressed and threw out the claim that the state had redrawn its map in order to lessen the voting power of Hispanic and black residents, writing, “Because of the correlation between race and partisan preference, litigants can easily use claims of racial gerrymandering for partisan ends.”
The Texas Tribune reported that the new map gives Republicans control of 30 — instead of 25 — of the state’s 38 congressional districts, potentially handing the GOP up to five extra House seats next year. Republicans hold a narrow edge of just seven seats over Democrats in the House, so the 2026 midterm elections are crucial in determining whether the House would support the Trump administration for the following two years.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, celebrated SCOTUS’ decision in a news release and said Democrats had attempted “to abuse the judicial system to steal the U.S. House.”
He continued, “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.”
As Zeale previously reported, SCOTUS’ pending ruling on another redistricting case — one that disputes whether Louisiana must create “a second majority-Black congressional district under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965” — could shift as many as 19 congressional seats to the GOP. In addition, states like California and Missouri have also undergone redrawing of their own congressional maps.