Texas Appeals Court Decision on Redistricting Plan Favorable to Republicans

WASHINGTON (AP) — Texas officials are asking the Supreme Court to intervene after a federal court blocked the state’s newly drawn congressional map, favored by Republicans, from being used in the 2026 midterm elections. The U.S. District Court ruling, issued on Tuesday, stated that evidence suggested the plan likely discriminated on the basis of race.

The appeal comes as congressional primary elections approach in March 2026. Texas’ new map, pushed by President Donald Trump, aimed to secure five additional House seats for Republicans but was challenged by civil rights groups arguing that it constituted racial gerrymandering.

Judge Jeffrey Brown, authoring the decision, wrote that significant evidence showed race played a predominant role in the redistricting process. His ruling, delivered by a three-judge panel, indicated that the state’s justification of purely political motivations for the map was insufficient.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, announced plans to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, asserting that the state’s redistricting was meant to reflect the conservative preferences of Texans. “This ruling is clearly erroneous and undermines the authority the U.S. Constitution assigns to the Texas Legislature,” Abbott commented.

Meanwhile, Texas House Minority Leader Gene Wu described the ruling as a necessary protection against what he called a blatant attempt to undermine democracy. “The federal court just stopped one of the most brazen attempts to steal our democracy that Texas has ever seen,” Wu stated.

The initial map, drawn by the GOP-controlled legislature in 2021, has allowed Republicans to hold 25 out of 38 congressional seats in Texas. Advocates for redistricting reform have pointed to a recent Justice Department letter alleging that some districts in the earlier map were unconstitutional.

As the legal battle continues, it mirrors similar national conflicts over redistricting in states like Louisiana and California, with upcoming Supreme Court decisions likely to impact the landscape of race and politics in electoral maps.