Now they have, and the first round did not go President Donald Trump’s way.
Texas’ mid-decade redrawing of its congressional districts, led by a Republican-dominated legislature, yielded five new districts expected to favor Republicans.
A federal three-judge panel of the Western District in El Paso, Texas on Monday in a 2-1 ruling said that “substantial evidence” existed to say motivation for the redistricting was not partisan-based but race-based. If so, that would disenfranchise minority voters and would violate the federal Voting Rights Act.
The court ordered that Texas must use its 2021 map for the 2026 elections.
The state’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott, quickly appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The mid-decade redistricting cycle we're in was always going to be litigated, and it seems like we've arrived at that stage now where the courts are going to have to weigh in,” Matt Carpenter, the director of Family Research Council’s FRC Action, said on Washington Watch Wednesday.
In the Texas case, Trump appointee Judge Jeffrey V. Brown joined Barack Obama appointee David C. Guaderrama to form the majority.
Earlier this month, California voters approved Proposition 50, a plan pushed by Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom. That voter referendum, which passed overwhelmingly, took redistricting out of the hands of an independent commission and gave that authority to its Democrat-dominated legislature. The change is expected to net five more Democrat seats for California.
Redistricting efforts are being discussed in at least 11 other states.
“A lot of states are kind of waiting in the wings trying to figure out which way this is headed. Whatever comes from the Supreme Court, if they decide to take up this case, it’s going to have enormous ramifications for some of the states that are making overtures to redraw their own districts,” Carpenter told show host Jody Hice.
Redistricting in conservative states is being pushed by Trump.
Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Braun called a special session to redraw the maps with the goal of picking up two seats. That may not come to pass.
Some Indiana state Senate Republicans are not on board. Rodric Bray, the Senate President Pro Tempore, announced that his caucus does not have the votes to approve a redistricting plan. As a result, the Senate will not reconvene in December for a redistricting vote.
According to Senate leadership, more than a dozen Republicans in the 40-member Senate are opposed or undecided.
Indiana has nine seats, and Republicans currently hold seven.
Each state has its own process for drawing political maps.
In Missouri, a new map was signed into law by Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe on September 28 and is expected to help Republicans gain at least one additional seat.
In North Carolina, Republican leaders in the state legislature passed a new congressional map in October without needing the signature of Democrat Governor Josh Stein.
In Virginia, Democratic leaders announced plans in late October to bypass the state’s redistricting commission and redraw maps to gain 3–4 additional seats.
Abigail Spanberger, the new Democrat governor, will soon be sworn in. Lawmakers there will have to steer not one but two Constitutional amendments through the process in order for a new map to be legal and ready for the 2026 mid-terms.
“This situation in Virginia is basically there’s no room for error,” Carpenter said. “So they have a series of events that they can't miss any one of those deadlines in order to circumvent their constitutionally required bipartisan redistricting commission.”
In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has said his state will consider redrawing its maps which could result in three to five Democrat districts tilting to the GOP.
“So, we'll have to see how that plays out. The first week of December, (Florida is) going to be back in session, and the expectation is that they're going to proceed with new maps,” Carpenter said.
