Tracking states’ unprecedented redistricting efforts
By Amy O’Kruk, Ethan Cohen, Renée Rigdon, Fredreka Schouten, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump and Republicans have launched an unprecedented effort this year to redraw state congressional maps to help protect the party’s narrow majority in the House ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Democrats have responded with redistricting efforts of their own, setting off a series of fights across the country — including in the courts — which will shape the midterm landscape and help determine control of Congress.
Most recently, a federal court blocked Texas from using its new map in next year’s midterms, ruling that it is likely an unconstitutional racial gerrymander and ordering Texas to use its previous map in the election. The ruling is likely to be appealed, but if it stands, Republicans could end up on the losing end of the mid-decade redistricting fight they started.
Not all states are agreeing to redraw their maps. In Indiana, the Republican leader of the state Senate says there isn’t enough support to redistrict in that state. Despite that announcement, Republican Gov. Mike Braun has continued to call for the legislature to vote on a new map.
The Trump administration has sued California over its newly enacted map, which was drawn by Democrats and aims to effectively wipe out potential gains made by Republicans in Texas by helping the party flip five GOP seats in the Golden State. The map was approved overwhelmingly by voters earlier this month.
Redistricting, or the process of redrawing congressional district boundaries, typically takes place just once a decade, as states respond to updated population counts after the decennial census.
But this year, with a historically tight House of Representatives, redistricting has become a critical tactic to shaping the midterm races.
The redistricting process is different in every state. In some places, state legislators can redraw the map on their own, and all that’s needed is the political will. In other states, the redraw might require changing the constitution, a lengthier process which often involves a direct vote of the people.
Overall, Republicans have more opportunities to gain seats through new maps than Democrats do. Republicans have full control of government in more states and many Democratic states have ceded the map-drawing power to independent commissions, moves some of them are now trying to reverse.
2025 has already featured an unprecedented level of politically motivated mid-decade redistricting, but there could be even more in store. In many states, legal challenges aim to overturn existing maps. And at the Supreme Court, the justices may be poised to strike down key parts of the landmark Voting Rights Act, a decision which would open the floodgates to even more aggressive maps.
This story has been updated with additional information
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—CNN’s Molly English, Arit John and Dianne Gallagher contributed to this report. Photo Illustration by Alberto Mier/CNN/@SenatorBerger via X/California and Missouri state legislatures
