Republican and Democratic officials in roughly one-third of U.S. states have considered revising their congressional districts since President Donald Trump began pressing for mid-decade remapping to help House Republicans maintain their slim majority ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, according to an Associated Press review. Six states have already adopted new maps through legislative action, court order, or commission vote. More are expected to weigh redistricting as legislative sessions open this year.
The mid-decade redistricting effort — unusual in American politics, where district lines are typically redrawn only after each decennial census — has produced, so far, nine additional seats that Republicans believe they can win and six more that Democrats expect to gain, a net advantage of three seats for the GOP. The maps are being litigated in several states, and there is no guarantee that either party will win the seats it has redrawn.
Six states have adopted new maps
Texas drew the largest single-state Republican gain. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a revised map on Aug. 29 that could help Republicans win five additional seats, shifting the state’s delegation from its current composition of 13 Democrats and 25 Republicans. The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 4 cleared the way for the new districts to be used in the 2026 elections, placing on hold a lower-court ruling that had blocked the map as racially gerrymandered.
California produced the largest Democratic gain. Voters on Nov. 4 approved revised House districts drawn by the Democratic-led Legislature that could help Democrats win five additional seats. The U.S. Department of Justice has since joined a Republican lawsuit alleging lawmakers illegally used race as a factor to favor Hispanic voters in the new districts.
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a revised map on Sept. 28 that could help Republicans win one additional seat. Opponents submitted petition signatures on Dec. 9 to try to force a statewide referendum; several lawsuits also challenge the new districts’ legality.
North Carolina’s Republican-led General Assembly gave final approval on Oct. 22 to revised districts that could help Republicans win one additional seat. A federal court panel on Nov. 26 denied a request to block the revised maps from use in 2026.
Ohio’s bipartisan redistricting panel, composed primarily of Republicans, voted on Oct. 31 to approve revised districts that improve Republicans’ chances of winning two additional seats. The state constitution required new districts because Republicans had previously approved a map without Democratic support.
In Utah, a judge imposed revised districts on Nov. 11 that could help Democrats win a seat, after a court ruled that lawmakers had circumvented anti-gerrymandering standards approved by voters in a prior ballot measure. Republicans are challenging the court-drawn map.
States weighing redistricting this year
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will call a special legislative session in April on congressional redistricting. The state constitution prohibits districts drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent.
Louisiana Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed legislation in October delaying the state’s primary from April 18 to May 16, potentially giving lawmakers additional time to redraw House districts if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the state’s current maps. The court heard arguments on Louisiana redistricting in October and has not yet announced a decision.
Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore created a special commission on congressional redistricting. The Democratic state Senate president has said his chamber will not move forward, citing concerns that an effort to gain another Democratic seat could backfire.
Kansas’s Republican-led Legislature could consider redistricting during a regular session beginning Jan. 12. Republican lawmakers dropped a petition drive for a special session in November, and a House leader said in January that the plan still lacks enough support.
Where redistricting stalled or faces barriers
Indiana’s proposed redistricting plan, which would have improved Republicans’ chances of winning two additional seats, passed the state House on Dec. 5 but was rejected by a bipartisan vote of the state Senate on Dec. 11.
In New York, Democratic state lawmakers have proposed a constitutional amendment to allow mid-decade redistricting. The amendment would need approval by the Legislature in two separate sessions before going to a statewide ballot, meaning new districts would not be in place before the 2026 elections.
Washington, Colorado, Virginia, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Illinois face similar structural barriers — constitutional amendment requirements, supermajority thresholds in the legislature, or intraparty disagreements — that make court-ordered or legislative redistricting before the 2026 elections unlikely in those states.