“Clearly erroneous”: Texas appeals midterm redistricting ruling to Supreme Court

A federal court blocked Texas from using its newly drawn congressional map in 2026, concluding that state lawmakers likely relied on race rather than politics when they redrew district lines at the urging of President Donald Trump.

In a 2–1 ruling on Tuesday, judges ordered Texas to revert to the congressional boundaries that were in place for the last two election cycles. This decision could be a major setback for Republicans who hoped the new map would give them as many as five additional House seats in next year’s midterms.

Writing for the majority, Judge Jeffrey Brown said the evidence showed the decision went beyond partisan gerrymandering.

“To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 Map,” Brown wrote. “But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott almost immediately denounced the decision as “clearly erroneous” and insisted the court had undermined the legislature’s constitutional authority by “imposing a different map by judicial edict.” The state quickly moved to appeal.

 Democrats lauded the ruling.

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

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The case centered on districts in and around Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin. Civil rights groups, individual voters and two Texas Democratic lawmakers argued that the map dismantled multiple majority-minority and coalition districts. The court agreed, pointing to a letter that Trump’s Department of Justice sent Texas urging changes to districts with high non-white voting populations. The judges said Texas “immediately jumped on board” and reshaped districts in line with the letter’s racial guidance.

The ruling arrives as both Republicans and Democrats across several states work to secure new congressional advantages ahead of 2026. Republicans have already pushed through new maps in Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, though each faces potential legal challenges. Trump has been pressuring GOP legislators in Indiana and Kansas to take up similarly aggressive redraws. Democrats, meanwhile, have looked to add seats in California and Virginia.