The Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for Texas to use its newly drawn congressional map in the 2026 midterm elections.
The Supreme Court granted the state’s request to halt a lower court ruling that blocked the new congressional redistricting plan, according to the court document. The unsigned order, issued Dec. 4, freezes a three-judge district court’s decision that found Texas predominantly used race — not politics — when redrawing district lines, violating the 14th and 15th Amendments.
Texas argued the lower court misread the evidence, failed to presume lawmakers acted in good faith and ignored Supreme Court precedent requiring challengers to produce an alternative map that accomplished the state’s partisan objectives without relying on race. Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, agreed, writing that the district court made legal errors and that challengers never offered a viable substitute map.
The Court emphasized that federal judges should avoid changing election rules close to an election and said blocking the map would inject confusion into an active campaign season. The stay remains in place while Texas appeals, which means the contested map is expected to help Republicans and will govern the 2026 races unless the Supreme Court later rules otherwise.
Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented. She argued the district court conducted an exhaustive review, which included nine days of testimony and thousands of pages of evidence, and reasonably concluded that Texas used race to secure partisan gains. Kagan accused the majority of overturning factual findings without applying the required clear-error standard and warned that the ruling allows an unconstitutional map to stand for the next election cycle.
Attorney General Ken Paxton celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision, framing the ruling as a major win for Republicans. He said Democrats tried to use the courts to block the legislature’s work and vowed to continue defending the map as the lawsuit moves forward.
“In the face of Democrats’ attempt to abuse the judicial system to steal the U.S. House, I have defended Texas’s fundamental right to draw a map that ensures we are represented by Republicans. The Big Beautiful Map will be in effect for 2026,” Paxton said. “Texas is paving the way as we take our country back, district by district, state by state. This map reflects the political climate of our state and is a massive win for Texas and every conservative who is tired of watching the left try to upend the political system with bogus lawsuits.”
Alito paused a lower court ruling that struck down Texas’ new congressional map, allowing the state to keep using the disputed boundaries while the Supreme Court reviews the case. The Supreme Court’s order says the district court’s ruling “is hereby administratively stayed pending further order of the undersigned or of the Court,” a directive Alito personally signed on Nov. 21.
The stay followed a 2–1 federal panel decision finding the map likely constituted a racial gerrymander, prompting Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to file an emergency appeal.
Texas Republicans approved the map earlier this year after President Donald Trump urged the legislature to strengthen the GOP’s chances of keeping control of the House, creating as many as five potential Republican pickup districts. The administrative stay lets candidates keep filing under the new boundaries ahead of the Dec. 8 deadline, with Abbott asking the justices to rule by Dec. 1.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons)
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