A panel of federal judges this week blocked Texas’s newly redrawn congressional map, delivering a major setback to Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The court ruled the map amounted to racial gerrymandering, a decision that could shift control of up to five U.S. House of Representatives seats and potentially influence which party holds the chamber’s majority.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to appeal, calling the ruling misguided and asserting that lawmakers redrew districts solely to reflect “Texans’ conservative voting preferences.” The state’s Republican leadership argued the map was crafted for partisan competitiveness, not racial considerations.
Texas state Rep. Briscoe Cain, a Republican and candidate in one of the affected districts, told Newsmax on Thursday that the ruling was “judicial activism.”
“We've been campaigning for two months and I won't stop. I do have expectations that the U.S. Supreme Court will make quick work of this and reverse this, because it's nothing but activism. It makes no sense. It's far from reality,” Cain said during an appearance on “Wake Up America.”
Citing a sharply worded dissent from 5th Circuit Judge Jerry Smith, Cain said the decision injected politics into the redistricting process and expressed confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court would reverse it.
Despite the uncertainty, Cain said he has already filed to run and will continue campaigning.
With the 2026 election cycle rapidly approaching, the unresolved legal battle leaves candidates and voters in limbo while raising questions about possible ripple effects for other states considering new maps.
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