A federal court majority in El Paso, Texas, found that the new maps used race to redraw congressional districts.
A federal judge has ruled that newly redrawn Texas congressional districts cannot be used in next year’s 2026 midterm elections, dealing a blow to Republican efforts to tilt the race in their favor.
On Tuesday, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled by a 2-1 majority to block the release of the map, saying the district had “substantial evidence” that “Texas has engaged in racial gerrymandering.”
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Although partisan gerrymandering is generally legal based on case law, dividing Congressional maps along racial lines is considered a violation of the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
“The public perception of this case is that it is about politics. Yes, politics played a role in drawing the map of 2025, but it was much more than just politics,” the court’s majority said in the opening of its 160-page opinion.
The ruling marks a major setback for efforts to redraw congressional districts ahead of crucial midterm elections that will determine the composition of the U.S. Congress.
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be up for grabs in this election. Republicans maintain a narrow majority with 219 seats, leading analysts to speculate that control of the chamber could change.
Texas, a Republican stronghold, had begun a national campaign to redraw congressional districts to favor one party or the other.
In June, reports emerged that President Donald Trump’s administration was pushing state officials to redraw red maps in a bid to win five more House seats for Republicans.
Despite hesitation and walkouts by state Democrats, the Texas Legislature passed new gerrymandered maps in August.
This inspired other right-leaning states to redraw their electoral districts as well, most notably North Carolina and Missouri. North Carolina and Missouri each passed maps that gave Republicans one additional House seat.
Texas’ action also sparked a backlash from Democrats. California Gov. Gavin Newsom spearheaded a get-out-the-vote campaign in the deep blue state in November to pass a proposal to end independent district commissions and instead pass partisan maps biased in favor of Democrats.
Voters overwhelmingly passed the ballot initiative in November, giving Democrats momentum to pick up five more seats in California next year.
The state’s redistricting battle has sparked countless legal challenges, including one decided Tuesday in Texas.
In this case, civil rights groups accused the Texas government of trying to weaken the power of black and Hispanic voters.
Judge David Guaderama, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, and Judge Jeffrey V. Brown, an appointee of President Trump, issued a majority decision in favor of the plaintiffs.
A third judge, Jerry Smith, appointed under President Ronald Reagan, dissented from their decision.
Brown spoke for the majority when Harmeet Dhillon, a senior Trump official who heads the Justice Department’s civil rights division, said: It made a “legally false claim” that four congressional districts in the state were “unconstitutional” because they were majority nonwhite.
Mr. Brown argued that a letter sent by Mr. Dillon containing that claim helped galvanize the redistricting fight in Texas.
The judge also pointed to remarks by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that appeared to refer to the racial makeup of the district. If the purpose of the new maps is purely partisan rather than racist, Brown said it’s strange that majority-white districts weren’t targeted.
Tuesday’s ruling restores the 2021 Texas House district maps. The state is currently represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by 25 Republicans and 12 Democrats.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has already vowed to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The radical left is once again trying to undermine the will of the people. The big, beautiful map is completely legal and was passed for partisan purposes to better represent Texas’ political affiliations,” Paxton said in a statement posted on social media.
He expressed optimism about his chances on the conservative-leaning Supreme Court. “I fully expect the court to uphold Texas’ sovereignty to address partisan redistricting.”
California’s new congressional map is similarly facing legal challenges, with the Trump administration filing a lawsuit along with the state’s Republican Party.
