(AURN News) — A panel of federal judges has blocked Texas from using its newly drawn Republican-backed congressional map for the 2026 midterm elections, ruling that there is “substantial evidence” the map was racially gerrymandered, according to reporting from The Associated Press.
The 2–1 decision follows a two-week trial in El Paso and marks a significant setback for former President Donald Trump’s push for GOP-led states to redraw congressional boundaries in ways that could help preserve the party’s narrow majority in the U.S. House.
Civil rights groups challenging the map argued that the new district lines weakened Black and Hispanic voting power by reducing the number of minority-majority districts from 16 to 14 and dismantling most coalition districts, where voters of color historically formed effective multiracial voting blocs.
The judges found the challengers are likely to prevail at trial, ordering Texas to revert to its 2021 congressional map for upcoming elections.
Republican state officials argued that the redistricting effort was motivated purely by partisan advantage, not race. But the court concluded that race — and not just political strategy — played a significant role in how the map was drawn.
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