It’s been a long six weeks for Democrats in the redistricting wars.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.By the end of April, the party had drawn enough Democratic-leaning seats to turn the back-and-forth over new congressional maps for the midterms that President Donald Trump had started a year earlier into roughly a wash.
Then the courts acted: The U.S.Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, opening the door to Republican-led states in the South to eliminating majority-Black districts held by Democrats.
A week later, the Virginia Supreme Court blocked the state from implementing a new map favoring Democrats that voters had approved in a special election.Now, with the general election five months away, the 2026 redistricting dust is beginning to settle.In total, 10 states have implemented new congressional boundaries over the past year, with Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee most recently taking action following the U.S.
Supreme Court’s ruling.Litigation is still ongoing in several states, but under the new maps, Republicans are in position to gain as many as 16 House seats this fall, compared to six for Democrats.
The redistricting battle, which typically occurs at the start of each decade after new census results, has reshaped the race for the narrowly divided House.Here’s a rundown of all the states that have enacted new maps in the 2026 election cycle — and which ones could enter the fray heading into 2028.
Alabama: Up to 1 Republican seatThe U.S.Supreme Court on Tuesday night cleared the way for Alabama to use its preferred congressional map for the midterms.The state will now use a map originally drawn in 2023, which a federal court had previously barred it from implementing for discriminating against Black voters.
The map is likely to reduce the number of Democratic-held House seats in the state from two to one.Louisiana: Up to 1 Republican seatAfter the U.S.
Supreme Court str...