A panel of federal judges in North Carolina ruled Wednesday that the state may proceed with its newly redrawn congressional map, a decision that could help Republicans pick up an additional House seat heading into the 2026 midterm elections. The unanimous ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina marks a significant win for state lawmakers and for President Trump, who has urged red states to secure congressional maps that reflect lawful redistricting standards after years of Democrat-led litigation battles.
The three-judge panel, all appointed by Republicans, issued a 57-page opinion rejecting claims that the map unlawfully diluted the voting strength of Black residents. The judges said the plaintiffs “have not made clear” how the new design would “minimize or cancel out the voting potential” of Black North Carolinians. They also noted that challengers failed to demonstrate that the speed with which the legislature completed its 2025 redistricting process was evidence of discriminatory intent. According to the panel, the plaintiffs offered “no reason to believe” that efficiency equated to racial bias.
The ruling comes just one week after a separate panel approved North Carolina’s 2023 congressional map, which Democrats and left-leaning redistricting groups had argued violated the Voting Rights Act. Their complaints centered around the district currently held by Rep. Don Davis, a Democrat representing as the state’s only true swing seat. For more than 30 years, that district has been continuously represented by Black members of Congress, something plaintiffs argued was a reason to preserve its previous shape. The National Democratic Redistricting Committee went so far as to call the map “one of the most gerrymandered in the country,” though federal judges ultimately disagreed.
North Carolina’s GOP-controlled legislature approved the new map in October as part of a broader nationwide effort by Republican-led states to finalize redistricting ahead of the 2026 cycle. President Trump has encouraged states to push forward with new maps, arguing that Republicans must take control of the process if they hope to safeguard the House majority and prevent Democrats from using the courts to overturn congressional boundaries.
Texas was the first state to unveil a new congressional map under Trump’s direction. While Republican Gov. Greg Abbott approved the Texas map, it was quickly blocked by a panel of federal judges who argued that it appeared to be a racial gerrymander. Texas has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is already sifting through redistricting cases from Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and North Dakota. The court is expected to take up the Texas case alongside those challenges.
Federal judges reviewing the Texas map relied heavily on a letter from Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Department of Justice’s civil rights division, in which she claimed the state must change the racial composition of several coalition districts to create a majority–minority seat. Dhillon argued that certain districts were “vestiges of an unconstitutional racially based gerrymandering past” that needed correction. Abbott and Texas Republicans strongly disputed that characterization and have asked the Supreme Court to step in.
Meanwhile, in response to Trump’s call for action, ultra-liberal California took the unusual step of passing a measure to redraw its own congressional map after the November 4 election. The new map could give Democrats as many as five additional House seats—an aggressive countermeasure aimed at offsetting gains in red states. The Department of Justice, however, has taken the extraordinary step of joining the California Republican Party’s lawsuit against that map, arguing that it is a racial gerrymander designed to advantage Hispanic voters.
With North Carolina’s map now cleared for use and multiple cases headed toward the Supreme Court, redistricting remains one of the most consequential political battles in the country. The outcome will shape the balance of power in Congress for years to come.
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