Texas Redistricting

The Supreme Court issued an unsigned emergency stay allowing Texas to use a mid‑decade, GOP‑drawn congressional map for now — after Justice Alito had briefly reinstated it — saying delays could interfere with candidate qualifying ahead of March 2026 primaries. A three‑judge lower court had found likely racial discrimination (with a Trump‑appointed judge writing there was “substantial evidence”), but the high court’s decision, criticized in Justice Kagan’s dissent as effectively locking in the map, preserves a plan pushed by former President Trump that could net Republicans up to five additional House seats and has already prompted political fallout, including Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s decision not to seek reelection.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D‑Texas) said Wednesday he will not run in 2026 after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Texas’s GOP‑drawn congressional map that slices his Austin‑area district (TX‑37). Doggett warned Republicans may have overreached by basing lines on last cycle’s results and could face backlash as Latino voting patterns shift and immigration salience changes.