Federal Judges Halt Texas’ Mid-Decade Map Ahead of 2026 Elections

A federal three-judge panel has blocked Texas from using its newly drawn congressional map in the 2026 midterms, ordering the state to revert to the districts enacted in 2021. The ruling, reported by the Texas Tribune, delivers a major setback to Republican leaders who had advanced an unusual mid-decade redistricting pushed by President Donald Trump.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown wrote in the ruling that while politics influenced the mapmaking, “substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map.” He ordered that the 2026 elections “shall proceed under the map that the Texas Legislature enacted in 2021.”

Attorney General Ken Paxton said the state will seek a U.S. Supreme Court reversal, though candidate filing closes Dec. 8.

The challenged map, approved in August and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, would have helped Republicans target control of 30 of Texas’ 38 U.S. House seats, up from the current 25. Advocacy groups sued, arguing the design diluted Black and Hispanic voting power. After a nine-day hearing in El Paso, the panel blocked implementation until a full trial is held.

Texas Democrat House Minority Leader Gene Wu said in a statement reported by KFOX14, “A federal court just stopped one of the most brazen attempts to steal our democracy that Texas has ever seen. Greg Abbott and his Republican cronies tried to silence Texans’ voices to placate Donald Trump, but now have delivered him absolutely nothing”.

“This victory today belongs to every Texan who testified, who organized, who spoke truth to power and made this possible,” Wu added.

Several incumbents who were bracing for primary fights under the new map are now likely to run in their existing districts.

Rep. Greg Casar said the blocked map was “clearly illegal,” adding that he would seek reelection in Texas’ 35th District if the ruling stands. The change also affects contests in Houston-area districts, where candidates had begun positioning themselves based on the 2025 map.

Gov. Abbott rejected claims of discriminatory intent, saying it was “absurd” to suggest the maps were race-based. 

“The Legislature redrew our congressional maps to better reflect Texans’ conservative voting preferences – and for no other reason,” he said in a statement. “This ruling is clearly erroneous and undermines the authority the U.S. Constitution assigns to the Texas Legislature by imposing a different map by judicial edict.”

The decision arrives just weeks after California voters approved Proposition 50, a Democratic countermeasure to Texas’ redistricting moves. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on X, “Donald Trump and Greg Abbott played with fire, got burned — and democracy won. This ruling is a win for Texas and for every American who fights for free and fair elections.”