by Farrah Walton

Fri, December 5, 2025 at 8:11 PM

Updated Fri, December 5, 2025 at 10:41 PM

AUSTIN, Texas — The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for Texas to use its newly redrawn congressional map, setting the stage for the state’s 2026 races. With the primary filing deadline just days away, candidates now have certainty about which districts they will run in.

A lower court had previously blocked the map, calling it discriminatory, but the Supreme Court overruled that decision.

“We were waiting for this outcome in many ways,” said John Lira, a Democratic candidate running in the newly drawn 35th Congressional District.

The map is one many experts believe could allow Republicans to gain as many as five additional seats in Congress. Lira said the ruling was expected. “Just as we had anticipated, the Supreme Court sided with President Trump,” he said.

With the map finalized, Lira said campaigns now know which communities to focus on as the primary season approaches. “It’s full steam ahead for our campaign at this point,” he said.

David Froomkin, an assistant professor of law at the University of Houston Law Center, said the ruling underscores the court’s stance on partisan gerrymandering. “The Supreme Court has sent a clear message that it is not going to permit federal courts to protect voters’ constitutional rights when states seek to gerrymander the maps to strengthen the majority party in power,” he said.

Froomkin said the long-term implications could reshape Congress. “What democratic representation is going to look like going forward is going to depend pretty much exclusively on the outcome of future elections and on the political process,” he said.

Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser said the ruling is politically significant, especially for former President Donald Trump and the GOP, which holds a narrow majority in the U.S. House. “So I think Republicans are cheering this decision, and I think they’re very confident about what it can mean for not only Republicans in Texas, but also in Washington DC,” he said.

The deadline for candidates to file for the 2026 primary is Monday.