Federal court blocks Texas from using new congressional map for 2026 elections

Washington — A federal court on Tuesday blocked Texas from using its newly redrawn congressional map in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.

In a decision authored by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown, the court ordered the state to instead use House district lines adopted by the Texas legislature in 2021 for next year’s congressional elections. The dispute was heard by a three-judge panel, which divided 2-1 in finding that voting rights groups that challenged the map were likely to prove that the 2025 map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.

The decision from Brown is likely to be appealed, but it marks an early blow for Republicans and President Trump, who had urged Texas state lawmakers to engage in a mid-decade redrawing of their House map in order to bolster the GOP’s chances of holding onto its majority in the lower chamber.

The map approved by the Texas legislature, which was signed by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott in August, redraws the state’s congressional districts to create five GOP-friendly seats. The effort in Texas kicked off a redistricting battle that has expanded to other states. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, pushed to recraft his state’s voting boundaries, and voters there approved a ballot measure earlier this month to draw new congressional districts. The map unveiled by California Democrats shifts five of the state’s House seats to be more favorable to Democrats in next year’s midterm elections.