The restored map, backed by President Donald Trump, could shift key districts to the Republican Party.
Published April 27, 2026
The U.S. Supreme Court has formally reinstated a redrawn Texas electoral map that is expected to boost Republican support in the U.S. House of Representatives, as President Donald Trump’s party seeks to maintain control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections.
The ruling, issued Monday, was ideologically divided, with the court’s six conservative justices in the majority and three liberal justices dissenting.
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The map, requested by President Trump, approved by the Republican-led state Legislature in August 2025 and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, could flip up to five Democratic-held House seats to Republicans.
The Supreme Court’s decision overturned a lower court’s decision to block the use of the map, finding it potentially racially discriminatory and violating constitutional protections.
President Trump last year urged Republican lawmakers to redraw congressional maps to strengthen the party’s position ahead of November’s midterm elections, an effort that has since evolved into a broader national redistricting battle.
Civil rights activists harshly criticized the decision, arguing that redistricting would weaken the political influence of racial minorities.
“This was a deliberate effort to limit the power of Black people and other people of color,” Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said Monday.
“This ruling does not erase the fact: Texas disbanded its majority-minority congressional districts after the Trump administration encouraged the state to do just that.
“The result is fraudulent maps that limit the power of voters of color in a state with a long history of voter suppression,” he added.
Florida proposal intensifies redistricting battle
The battle over electoral maps extends beyond Texas.
In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday proposed a new congressional map aimed at flipping four House seats held by Democrats in the midterm elections.
It remains unclear whether the proposal has enough support to pass in the Republican-controlled Congress. DeSantis called a special meeting starting Tuesday to consider the plan.
The map, which DeSantis first shared with Fox News, shows Republicans likely to win 24 of the state’s 28 U.S. House seats, up from their current majority of 20-8.
Republicans only need to lose two House seats in November’s election to maintain their majority. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives could open an investigation into the Trump administration while blocking some of the president’s legislative initiatives.
In Virginia, voters last week narrowly approved Democratic-leaning maps targeting four Republican incumbents. Republicans have filed multiple lawsuits challenging the measure, and the state Supreme Court heard arguments in one of those cases Monday.
Any overhaul in Florida would likely face legal challenges. In 2010, voters approved a constitutional amendment that prohibits lawmakers from drawing districts for political gain, a practice known as gerrymandering.
Some Florida Republicans have also expressed concern that an aggressive reshuffle could endanger their incumbent status in a tumultuous year for Democrats, as Democrats have outperformed their 2024 vote margin in dozens of elections since Trump returned to office in January 2025.
Virginia and Florida are likely to be the final battlegrounds in the redistricting war with Texas that President Trump launched last year.
