WACO, Texas (KXXV) — A panel of three federal judges has blocked Texas from using its newly drawn congressional maps for the 2026 midterm elections, ruling late Tuesday that the redistricting plan was racially gerrymandered and cannot move forward.
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The decision halts the map approved earlier this year and requires the state to revert to the district lines enacted in 2021. The ruling is a significant setback for Republicans who had hoped the new boundaries would give the GOP control of 30 of Texas’ 38 U.S. House seats.
McLennan County Democratic Chairman Mark Hays said his party had worried that the courts would not act fast enough.
“We were very much afraid that the wheels of justice would just run too slow and this would stand for the next election,” Hays said.
The court cited evidence of racial gerrymandering in the map, which had already drawn national controversy and sparked political turmoil over the summer. Several Republican lawmakers disputed that race played any role in the process.
Rep. Pat Curry, R-Texas District 56, said he disagreed with the ruling.
“I think it's obvious that from our standpoint as a legislator, a Republican legislator, especially, we think the ruling is erroneous,” Curry said.
He added that the map was based on voting patterns, not race.
“We know that it was not based upon race. We know that the redistricting was based upon voting patterns, and that's legal. If you look at the states that our Democrat colleagues ran to, they had already done this,” Curry said.
Hays said redistricting should follow population changes and occur after the census.
“Redistricting ought to be done in response to changes in population and community, and it should be done after the census,” he said.
“My personal opinion is the Supreme Court will rule properly because race was not involved,” Curry added.
Hays said Democrats will keep organizing regardless of how the lines shift.
“We're going to do our best no matter where the lines are. We believe we can win elections no matter where the lines are drawn,” he said.
Attorney General Ken Paxton said the state intends to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. Candidate filing for the March primaries closes Dec. 8.
