The Redistricting Wars Are Far From Over

Republicans’ redistricting efforts ahead of the 2026 midterms were seemingly winding down. Then the Supreme Court changed everything.

President Donald Trump confirmed in a Truth Social post Thursday that he spoke with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and claimed the governor committed to drawing out the last Democrat-held U.S. House seat in the state. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said in a statement that primary elections previously scheduled for mid-May would be delayed, hinting at possible redistricting.

As many as 15 to 20 members of the Congressional Black Caucus could be in danger of losing their seats “just based on the [Voting Rights Act] ruling,” Rep. Glenn Ivey, a Democrat from Maryland, told NOTUS.

Other lawmakers who serve minority-majority districts could also be put in politically vulnerable positions, including Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, who represents a majority-Black district.

The Supreme Court’s decision on Wednesday found Louisiana’s congressional map to be an “unconstitutional racial gerrymander,” effectively gutting the part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that protected the voting power of minority groups.

The court’s ruling has left states’ congressional maps in limbo, despite fast-approaching primary dates.

Cohen told NOTUS that he would be considering legal options to see “what we can do to challenge” whatever redistricting efforts may be underway in his state. Despite Trump’s Truth Social post, Lee was noncommittal about redistricting, saying that he and Trump discussed for him to look at the “situation and see what we thought was best for our state.”

Cohen noted, however, that if redistricting doesn’t happen by 2026, by 2028, Republicans moving to redraw his district’s lines is all but certain.

“This was a mistake,” Cohen said of the Supreme Court decision. “This sets back African American opportunities to participate in the political system by decades. It goes back to Jim Crow years, and it’s the most heinous action this court could have taken towards minorities, and it showed their total just lack of understanding of the electorate.”

Democrats have pledged to respond to Republican efforts, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries telling Politico on Thursday that “all options are on the table” and that several Democrat-led states, including New York, Illinois, Maryland and Colorado, could potentially redistrict starting in 2028.

Jena Griswold, Colorado’s secretary of state, told NOTUS that while she supports independent redistricting, she’s encouraging Democrats in her state to consider a 2026 ballot measure that would let voters decide whether to redistrict in preparation for 2028.

“I believe that Coloradans should have the opportunity to redistrict and that they should vote on that in 2026,” Griswold said. “We’re at a ‘break the glass in case of emergency’ type of emergency scenario with MAGA trying to corruptly take control of Congress, and blue states should absolutely fight back.”

Griswold said that Colorado would have to add a ballot initiative in 2026 to pave the way for potential redistricting ahead of 2028. Any potential plans are still in early stages, she stressed.

Rep. Terri Sewell, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus’ Voting Rights Task Force, told reporters Wednesday that Democrats can’t “sit back here and do nothing.”

“I can’t speak for my chairwoman, but I’d take 52 seats from California, I sure would, and 17 seats from Illinois, because at the end of the day, they’re rigging this election to try to win and we just can’t sit back here and do nothing,” Sewell said. “We’re going to play their game, and we’re going to beat them at it.”

So far, Republicans approved a new congressional map in Florida on Wednesday, which could add as many as four Republican-friendly seats, and have also redistricted in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio. Democrats have responded with redistricting efforts in California and Virginia, the latter of which is still being fought in court.

“Here we are in the middle of a midterm election, and increasingly the election is about the politicians,” Sen. Raphael Warnock told NOTUS. “It’s about who’s up and who’s down, who’s getting leverage, who’s going to get ahead because of games being played with the lines. Meanwhile, the American people are at home wondering who’s addressing the high price of gasoline, the high price of groceries, tariffs that are raising the cost and everything.”