The Republican Party was thwartedUS court halts design of new electoral districts in Texas
To improve their chances in next year’s midterm elections, Republicans in Texas are redrawing district boundaries. However, it remains to be seen whether this will work. The court deemed the procedure unacceptable.
US President Donald Trump’s Republican Party initially suffered setbacks in their efforts to redraw electoral districts. A federal court issued a preliminary injunction barring the state of Texas from using electoral district plans decided in the summer as the basis for next year’s so-called midterm elections. Then new members of the US Parliament will be elected. Republicans want to use these changes to improve their starting position in congressional elections. The decision can still be appealed.
The justices justified their decision by saying that the new electoral district design disadvantaged certain groups of society and was therefore racially motivated. If the ruling stands, then representatives who would represent Texas would be elected in November 2026 based on 2021 district boundaries.
Republicans promised to add five more seats
In late August, Texas Governor Greg Abbott – a Republican – signed legislation for redistricting. Trump’s party hopes for an additional five seats in the House of Representatives. The Republican Party currently has a majority in both chambers of the US Congress – the Senate and the House of Representatives. However, this number is only small. In November 2026, all 435 DPR seats as well as some Senate seats will be reallocated.
In targeted constituency realignment, called “gerrymandering,” boundaries are drawn such that a party concentrates as many of its votes as possible and fragments the votes of the opposing camp. This allows the party to win more seats even if it does not get more votes overall. Typically, electoral districts are redrawn every ten years based on the census. In addition to Texas, new maps were also approved in North Carolina and Missouri.
