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A U.S. federal judge has ordered the state of Texas to use its 2021 congressional maps in the upcoming midterm elections, effectively undoing Republican-led redistricting efforts that would have likely flipped several Democrat-controlled House seats to the Republican side.
The order was announced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown, in a case dealing with accusations of “racially” motivated congressional district lines. The order noted that “substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map.”
“In press appearances, the Governor plainly and expressly disavowed any partisan objective and instead repeatedly stated that his goal was to eliminate coalition districts and create new majority-Hispanic districts,” the filing argued.
It continued, “The Legislature adopted those racial objectives. The redistricting bill’s sponsors made numerous statements suggesting that they had intentionally manipulated the districts’ lines to create more majority-Hispanic and majority-Black districts.”
As such, the court announced that it enjoined the state of Texas from using the 2025 congressional map and explicitly ordered it to use the same maps that were used in the 2022 and 2024 elections.
This comes amid massive back-and-forth congressional redistricting battles across the United States, as both Republican and Democrat Parties have seemingly attempted to try their hands at gerrymandering districts in their favor, amid majorities in Congress that are often razor-thin.
California recently passed Proposition 50, for example, which will redraw congressional districts in the Golden State ahead of the 2026 midterms – this time, in favor of Democrats seeking to flip Republican-controlled House seats blue.
Ironically, Republicans in the state, along with the U.S. Department of Justice, have signed on to a lawsuit alleging that the California Legislature engaged in racially-motivated gerrymandering in the redrawing of these proposed maps.
“[Governor] Newsom should be concerned about keeping Californians safe and shutting down Antifa violence, not rigging his state for political gain,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi, upon joining California Republicans’ lawsuit.
If California’s redistricting attempt is overturned like Texas’s, it essentially zeroes out Republican and Democrat attempts to expand House control in next year’s midterms.
Republicans will likely appeal the ruling in Texas swiftly. Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott – who signed legislation kick-starting the congressional redraw earlier this year – has not yet commented on the court’s decision.
