Texas cannot use its new congressional map for the 2026 election and will instead need to stick with the lines passed in 2021, a three-judge panel ruled Tuesday.
The decision is a major blow for Republicans, in Texas and nationally, who pushed through this unusual mid-decade redistricting at the behest of President Donald Trump. They were hoping the new map would yield control of 30 of the state’s 38 congressional districts — up from the 25 they currently hold — and help protect the narrow GOP majority in the U.S. House.
The map cleared the GOP-controlled Legislature in August and was quickly signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott. Several advocacy groups sued over the new district lines, saying lawmakers intentionally diluted the voting power of Black and Hispanic Texans and drew racially gerrymandered maps. Over the course of a nine-day hearing in El Paso earlier this month, they aimed to convince the judges that it was in voters’ best interest to shelve the new map until a full trial could be held…
.
You can find the 160 page ruling at this link. There will be a dissenting opinion issued by Judge Jerry Smith that is not out yet. The plan includes a detailed analysis of why the majority concluded that race, rather than partisanship, predominated in drawing the district lines.
I fully expect Texas to appeal to the Supreme Court to block this preliminary injunction, both arguing on the merits that the lower court is wrong and arguing that the Purcell principle should block the timing of this ruling. The majority has an extensive discussion of Purcell.
Without having reviewed the full 160 pages yet, and without the benefit of Judge Smith’s dissent, it is hard to handicap the chances of a Supreme Court stay of this ruling at this point.