Overview
- The Court’s conservative majority granted emergency relief, allowing Texas to use its 2025 map for the 2026 midterms.
- The majority said the district court improperly interfered in an ongoing election, and Justice Elena Kagan dissented, arguing the map relies on prohibited racial criteria.
- Analysts project the map could net Republicans up to five additional U.S. House seats in November 2026, a goal Trump publicly pressed Texas Republicans to pursue.
- The ruling does not resolve the underlying claims, but it permits Texas to run the next election under the contested lines.
- Democrats advanced a California referendum to craft more Democratic-leaning seats, which state Republicans—backed by the Justice Department—are challenging in court.