Southern Republicans press redistricting ahead of midterm elections

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Republicans are accelerating efforts to redraw congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, moving to capitalize on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that weakened minority protections under the federal Voting Rights Act, the Associated Press reported May 23. In a matter of weeks, new U.S. House districts have already been enacted in Tennessee and Alabama, while Louisiana and South Carolina have cleared parts of the legislative process. Court and election deadlines, however, could still determine what maps ultimately apply.

The push comes earlier than the usual redistricting cycle. Voting districts typically are redrawn after a census at the start of a decade, but the AP reported that President Donald Trump urged Republican-led states to redistrict now. Trump’s goal, as described in the reporting, is to try to help Republicans hold onto the GOP’s narrow House majority amid political headwinds.

The AP report said Republicans expect the aggressive approach could translate into additional House seats in multiple states. Since Trump first urged Texas last year to redraw its districts, Republicans believe they could win as many as 15 additional seats from new House districts across seven states, while Democrats have countered by seeking gains through new districts in two states.

The most immediate legislative push in the AP account appears in South Carolina, where Republican Gov. Henry McMaster called lawmakers into a special session to consider congressional redistricting. The Republican-led House passed a plan early Wednesday aimed at improving the party’s chances for the state’s only Democratic-held seat. Senators met for a third straight day Saturday to consider the plan, then scheduled a possible final vote Tuesday after what the AP described as potentially “a dozen hours of debate.”

A final vote in South Carolina is not guaranteed, and election timing adds pressure, the AP said. Early primary voting begins Tuesday, and opponents hope that will create uncertainty because thousands of voters could cast ballots for congressional candidates that may not be counted if maps are changed or blocked. Democrats and some Republicans also have reservations about the political effects of the map, including concerns raised within the GOP. Democratic Sen. Jeffrey Graham said, “These votes on Tuesday matter more than they ever have before.”

In Louisiana, the legal backdrop is central to the timeline. The AP reported that the Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s congressional map, finding it was an illegal racial gerrymander that contained two majority-Black districts held by Democrats. The state House is expected to debate a revised map next week, with the AP saying it would significantly reshape one of the two districts while giving Republicans an improved chance to win it.

The AP report also described disagreement inside Louisiana’s legislature. While Republicans aligned on the overall contours of a new map, the House and Senate had competing visions for how certain localities would be divided, including which parishes would be kept whole and which would be split. A House committee tweaked a map previously passed by the Senate, and if both chambers pass different versions, a joint committee could try to negotiate a compromise before the session is set to end June 1. Louisiana’s Republican Gov. Jeff Landry postponed the May 16 congressional primary until later this summer to allow time for redistricting.

Alabama’s next step is being tested in court, according to the AP. A federal court heard arguments Friday on a request to block Alabama from using congressional districts that could help Republicans gain an additional seat in the midterm elections. The AP said the dispute is part of a long-running case involving a 2023 map that included one majority-Black district.

The AP reported that earlier courts blocked the 2023 map and ordered a new one, which Democrats won in two districts where Black residents comprise a majority or are close to it. But the U.S. Supreme Court later overturned that order and directed the lower court to reconsider the case in light of the Louisiana decision. Attorneys for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the ACLU, representing Black voters, argued that a preliminary injunction was warranted because the Louisiana decision should not affect a separate finding that Alabama’s map was intentionally discriminatory. Alabama’s primary elections were May 19, but the AP said new congressional primaries are scheduled for August for the districts that differ under the 2023 map.

Tennessee is also facing legal challenges tied to the state’s authority during a special session. In another NAACP lawsuit, a state court panel heard arguments Thursday seeking to invalidate Tennessee’s new congressional map. The AP said the map carves up a Memphis-based, majority-Black district represented by a Democrat, and it could give Republicans an improved chance to win all nine of the state’s seats.

The AP report said the lawsuit contends the General Assembly included provisions in the redistricting legislation that were not specifically authorized or necessary under a proclamation by Republican Gov. Bill Lee that set the agenda for the special session. Among the contested provisions, the AP said the legislation repeals a state law that prohibits mid-decade redistricting. The lawsuit argues that if lawmakers exceeded their authority, then the new map cannot be used.

The AP report described these state-by-state moves as part of a broader midterm strategy carried out under tight deadlines, with legal outcomes and election procedures likely to play a decisive role in which maps appear on ballots.