The redistricting push, spurred by former President Donald Trump’s encouragement of Texas Republicans last year, is reshaping political geography across the South. In Louisiana, the Supreme Court’s April decision declared the prior congressional map an illegal racial gerrymander, leading Governor Jeff Landry to postpone the May 16 primary and press the state House to devise a revised map before the June 1 session ends. Alabama’s Attorney General Steve Marshall filed a petition with the nation’s highest court seeking permission to use a GOP‑drawn map that would reduce the number of majority‑Black districts, arguing that the existing injunction forces the state to employ a court‑imposed map that favors Democrats.
Meanwhile, Missouri’s Supreme Court upheld a new congressional map after a NAACP‑sponsored lawsuit claimed no extraordinary circumstance justified Governor Mike Kehoe’s special session. The court’s unanimous ruling affirmed the governor’s discretion under state law, preserving a map that could add a Republican‑leaning seat in Kansas City. In Florida, a state judge declined to issue a preliminary injunction against the GOP‑approved map, finding that voting‑rights groups had not shown a likelihood of success on their partisan‑gerrymandering claim. The judge’s decision leaves the map in place for the upcoming midterm elections.
Republicans in North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and other states are also advancing maps that they say will improve their electoral prospects, while Democrats point to potential gains in California and Utah where new district lines could favor their candidates. The combined effect of these state‑level actions could shift the balance of power in the House, turning the 2026 midterms into a high‑stakes contest over control of the legislative branch.