Federal judges have upheld several U.S. House districts drawn by North Carolina Republicans in 2023. These districts helped the GOP gain additional seats the following year. The judges on Thursday rejected accusations that the lines unlawfully fractured and packed Black voters to weaken their voting power. The order by three judges didn't rule on changes made last month to the 1st Congressional District. That alteration is still being considered. It stemmed from efforts by President Donald Trump starting in the summer to secure additional GOP House seats through mid-decade redistricting in several states.
An Indiana lawmaker who who has yet to make a decision on whether to back President Donald Trump’s push to have Republicans redraw the state’s congressional boundaries was the victim of a swatting call that brought sheriff’s deputies to his home. The Vigo County Sheriff's Office says deputies were sent to the home of state Sen. Greg Goode on Sunday after they received an email “advising harm had been done to persons inside." Officials say the call was a prank. Earlier Sunday, President Donald Trump criticized Indiana lawmakers for not moving to redistrict the districts, specifically naming Goode and Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray.
President Donald Trump is finding that redistricting his way to a GOP House majority in next year's midterms is a lot harder than it sounds. That's because there's a tangle of laws and conflicting political pressures in redistricting. On Tuesday, a federal court panel struck down the map he had pushed in Texas. With that, Trump's gerrymandering gambit holds the possibility of leaving Republicans in a worse position than when they started. That's because it spurred California voters to let Democrats amend maps there to create five more Democratic-leaning House seats, and Democratic-controlled Virginia is considering a similar move. With two GOP-controlled states balking at Trump-ordered redraws, the redistricting push illustrates the limits of a president's power.
A panel of three federal judges has blocked Texas from using a new congressional map that Republicans drew in hopes of picking up five U.S. House seats. That map had touched off a nationwide redistricting battle and is a major piece of President Donald Trump’s efforts to preserve a slim Republican majority ahead of the 2026 elections. In a 2-1 ruling Tuesday, a panel of federal judges in El Paso sided with opponents who argued that Texas’ unusual summer redrawing of congressional districts would harm Black and Hispanic residents. Texas filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday evening.
President Donald Trump has called for Republican states to redraw their U.S. House districts ahead of next year's elections. Now a growing number of both Republican and Democratic states are entering the battle to gerrymander voting maps. Republican officials in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio all have adopted new congressional districts that could help Republicans win more seats. But a federal court has blocked the new Texas map from being used. Meanwhile, California voters have adopted new districts that could help Democrats win more seats. And a Utah judge has imposed a new congressional map that could allow Democrats to win a seat.
President Donald Trump continues to call on Indiana lawmakers to redraw the state's congressional boundaries, even as state senators do not have enough votes to do so. On Tuesday, senators voted to reconvene in January, again rebuking the president and his ally, Gov. Mike Braun, who want lawmakers to vote on redistricting before the end of the year. Trump has launched personal attacks against a top Republican in the Senate, Pro Tem Rodric Bray, and has threatened to endorse primary opponents of lawmakers who oppose redistricting. But half the Senate, including Bray, are not up for reelection next year.
The leader of the Indiana state Senate, a Republican, has said that his chamber will no longer meet in December as planned to vote on redistricting, citing lack of support from his members. The announcement comes after months of pressure from the White House to draw a new congressional map of the state where Republicans currently outnumber Democrats in the congressional delegation 7-2. For months, Bray and other state lawmakers signaled hesitation over the idea, meant to give Republicans favorability in the 2026 midterms and an easier path to maintaining control of the U.S. House.
The rush to redraw America's congressional maps has put a historically Black neighborhood in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and a mostly white farming community 100 miles away in the same district. The 18th and Vine area in Kansas City is known for a museum telling the story of segregated professional baseball. To the east, Boonville wants federal help rebuilding an old railroad bridge to improve a popular biking trail. Republican lawmakers redrew districts this summer to meet President Donald Trump's call for states to help the GOP ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The redrawing could mean a significant shift in priorities by its representatives.
Justice Department sues to block California US House map in clash that could tip control of Congress
The Justice Department has sued to block new congressional district boundaries approved by California voters, joining a legal battle that could determine which party wins control of the U.S. House in 2026. The complaint filed in California federal court Thursday targets the new congressional map pushed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in response to a similar Republican-led effort in Texas backed by President Donald Trump. It sets the stage for a high-stakes clash between the Republican administration and the Democratic governor, who's seen as a likely 2028 presidential contender. California voters last week overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to change the congressional boundaries to give Democrats a shot at gaining five seats.
A Utah judge has rejected a new congressional map drawn by Republican lawmakers. Judge Dianna Gibson adopted an alternate proposal giving Democrats a strong shot at flipping a seat in the 2026 midterm elections. Gibson ruled late Monday that the map approved by the Legislature last month unduly favors Republicans and disfavors Democrats. She ultimately selected a map drawn by voting rights groups that keeps Democratic-heavy Salt Lake County almost entirely within one district. Republicans hold all four of Utah’s U.S. House seats. The newly approved map gives Democrats a much stronger chance to flip a seat. The state last had a Democrat in Congress in early 2021.