While House lawmakers remain largely absent from Washington’s high-stakes government-funding fight, the real political action this week is happening in statehouses and courtrooms across the country - where the battle over congressional maps is reshaping the 2026 midterm landscape in real time.

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The redistricting wars have become the defining story of the next election cycle. From Springfield to Sacramento to Raleigh, both parties are scrambling to maximize their advantage, testing the limits of state and federal law - and patience - in the process.

<h2>The Supreme Court Steps In</h2>

All eyes are on the Supreme Court today as justices hear <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/qp/24-00109qp.pdf?">Louisiana v. Callais</a> for the second time, a case that could determine the future of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The challenge centers on Louisiana’s 2024 decision to add a second black-majority district after courts found its previous map violated the Voting Rights Act. White voters sued, claiming that the new map itself was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Depending on how broadly the Court rules, as many as ten Democratic-held seats in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina could be on the chopping block. A broad ruling could effectively gut Section 2 of the VRA, limiting the use of race in drawing districts nationwide and reshaping how Congress represents minority voters for decades to come.

Republicans claim that the second black-majority district goes too far - turning race into the predominant factor in drawing lines and thus violating the Constitution’s equal protection clause - and that <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/racial-gerrymandering-is-a-bad-idea-whose-time-has-gone-05b55106?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqd683MT8r4_ao-iP3hKRg7PMAydG3HDsZVfTKlnnbD_Ok1CZk8E6xYiR6Gj2Pw%3D&amp;gaa_ts=68efb469&amp;gaa_sig=yEkRDhencdrAhDYuvo5D5drdmg9Tm400whe2TUiB8xbWzidx1VRRtMGJfxncm5uO0lfXz_c4DR-i4wgj8DrEuQ%3D%3D">redistricting should be 'race-neutral,'</a> and that continued reliance on racial targets entrenches identity politics and undermines a "colorblind" constitution. Many GOP officials see Callais as a chance to limit or even dismantle Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which they believe has outlived its original purpose and now forces racial engineering in maps.

Democrats are defending the new Louisiana map - calling it a remedy to decades of racial vote dilution in the South.They argue that Section 2 remains an important way to ensure black and minority voters can elect candidates of their choice, and that if the Supreme Court sides with the Republican view, it could reduce minority representation in Congress.

To wit, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson just compared being a minority to being disabled.

<blockquote>
'The idea in section two is that we are responding to current day manifestations of past and present decisions that disadvantage minorities and make it so that they don't have equal access to the voting system, right, they're disabled...'
</blockquote>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Ketanji Brown Jackson literally and directly compares black people not electing their preferred candidates to disabled people not being able to enter buildings 
"They don't have equal access to the voting system. They're disabled." <a href="https://t.co/aCJXeBwHTl">pic.twitter.com/aCJXeBwHTl</a>
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/BreitbartNews/status/1978488505161404532?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>The Congressional Black Caucus plans a press conference later today to underscore what members call an “existential test” for minority voting power. Still, timing may temper the impact - even a sweeping decision likely won’t come early enough to affect 2026 maps.

Illinois: Jeffries’ High-Stakes Power Play

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is pressing Illinois Democrats to approve a new congressional map that would draw out GOP Rep. Mary Miller and add a Democratic seat.

Gov. JB Pritzker is on board, but not everyone in the delegation is thrilled. Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-IL) summed up the anxiety: “I love the district that I serve in, and I don’t want to see my district change.”

With the filing deadline just weeks away on Nov. 3, lawmakers are running out of time - and risk alienating incumbents in the process. Illinois is already one of the most aggressively gerrymandered states in the country, and spreading blue votes too thin could backfire.

California: $40 Million and Counting

In California, Democrats are going all-in on Proposition 50, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ballot initiative to pause redistricting - and, effectively, lock in a map that could yield up to five new Democratic seats.

Democrats have pumped $40 million into TV ads supporting the measure, while Republicans have gone dark on air. If Prop 50 passes, it could help offset GOP gains from Texas’s new map - a key piece of Democrats’ national midterm calculus.

North Carolina: A Familiar Story

North Carolina Republicans announced plans Monday to redraw their map - again - in a move aimed at eliminating one Democratic seat. After a decade of near-constant redistricting, the state’s congressional map could shift from 10–4 to 11–3 or even 12–2 in favor of the GOP. Sources say Rep. Don Davis (D) is the likely target.

Given the state’s history of litigation, another round of lawsuits is almost guaranteed before ballots are printed.

Indiana: JD Vance and the Hoosier Hustle

Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Indiana on Friday has injected new energy into GOP redistricting plans. Gov. Mike Braun is considering calling a special legislative session to push through a map that could add two Republican seats, according to insiders.

The White House has reportedly been closely involved - a sign of how strategically the administration views this state. But Braun faces resistance from some state senators, and he’ll need to act quickly if he wants a new map in place by November.

Maryland: The 8–0 Question

In deep-blue Maryland, Democrats are debating whether to erase the state’s lone Republican seat, currently held by Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris.

Gov. Wes Moore and House Speaker Adrienne Jones are open to the idea, but Senate President Bill Ferguson remains skeptical. Without a special session, the issue will have to wait until the legislature reconvenes in January - a delay that could doom the effort.

An 8–0 map might look good on paper, but Democrats risk sparking another round of lawsuits and public backlash.

Utah: Republicans Play Defense

In Utah, the GOP is fighting to block a court-ordered redraw that could give Democrats a rare foothold. Republican leaders are racing to gather tens of thousands of signatures by mid-November to place their preferred map on the ballot and delay implementation.

If successful, the existing map - drawn by the Republican legislature - would remain in place through 2026, blunting what could have been a Democratic breakthrough.

The Big Picture

The redistricting free-for-all underscores how much of modern politics is shaped not by campaigns or policy, but by lines on a map. With the Supreme Court poised to weigh in and multiple states sprinting to finalize new boundaries, control of the next Congress may be decided long before a single vote is cast.

As Congress spins its wheels in Washington, the real battle for power - and democracy’s balance - is being fought in statehouses and courtrooms nationwide.

*  *  *

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"Control of the next Congress may be decided long before a single vote is cast..."


Redistricting Chaos Takes Center Stage At Supremes; Ketanji Compares Race To Being Disabled

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