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The US Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Texas can redraw its congressional districts in a way that favours Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, handing Donald Trump and his party a big victory.
The decision by the conservative majority of justices on the highest US court raises the stakes in a fierce political battle over the electoral maps for next year’s elections, which will determine control of the lower chamber of Congress.
It also marks the latest example of the Supreme Court’s willingness to overturn lower court rulings that are unfavourable to Trump and his Republican allies and deliver crucial legal victories for the White House.
A lower court in the Texas case last month struck down the state’s attempt to redraw its congressional maps in a way that would make it easier for Republicans to win five extra seats in the US House of Representatives.
Judges in the lower court found that Texas was changing the districts in a way that was politically motivated and in a way that sought to diminish the representation of racial minorities.
But the Supreme Court said the lower court had “improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign, causing much confusion and upsetting the delicate federal-state balance in elections”.
Texas attorney-general Ken Paxton on Thursday said: “I successfully protected the Big Beautiful Map . . . In the face of Democrats’ attempt to abuse the judicial system to steal the US House . . . I have defended Texas’s fundamental right to draw a map that ensures we are represented by Republicans.”
The Supreme Court’s liberal minority dissented from the decision, with Justice Elena Kagan saying it “disserves the millions of Texans whom the district court found were assigned to their new districts based on their race”.
James Talarico, a Democratic member of the Texas legislature who is running for US Senate, said: “Voters are supposed to choose their politicians — not the other way around. No matter what Donald Trump or his handpicked Supreme Court throw our way, we’re going to keep fighting.”
The Supreme Court’s order will raise the pressure on Democratic-led states, such as California, to plough ahead with their own efforts to redraw their congressional maps in a way that can balance out the likely loss of seats in Texas. The high court is due to examine California’s map later this year.
Democrats have grown increasingly optimistic about their chances of winning back control of the House next year as a result of Trump’s low approval ratings and voter anxiety about the high cost of living. Democrats won important governors’ races in New Jersey and Virginia last month and have been outperforming in special elections held this year.
“By almost every metric . . . Republicans are facing a grim political climate in 2026,” Amy Walter, a political analyst at The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, wrote on Thursday. “Even so, with a year left before the midterms, the GOP still has time to chart a new course.”
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