By Amy O’Kruk, Ethan Cohen, Renée Rigdon, Fredreka Schouten, CNN
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information.
(CNN) — Republicans appear to have come out on top of a national fight over congressional maps, in what could be a major boon to their efforts to protect their narrow majority ahead of the midterm elections in November.
In recent weeks, the Supreme Court’s decision to gut a significant part of the Voting Rights Act led to new efforts in several Republican states and a decision from Virginia’s highest court blocked a new Democratic-friendly plan voters had approved.
The developments mark a major shift in Republicans’ favor in the battle that President Donald Trump and his party launched last year. It had previously appeared headed towards a virtual draw, with Democratic states all but canceling out Republican redraws.
In the wake of the Supreme Court decision, Republicans in Tennessee enacted a new map dismantling the state’s only Democratic-held district and Alabama Republicans reverted to a map the state drew in 2023, which aims to drop their Democratic delegation from two to one. Louisiana is still proceeding with a redraw, which would target one or two Democratic members, while South Carolina could also have a new map this year.
With the primary process already well underway in many states, some states are resorting to delaying or rescheduling primaries, even as candidate filing has ended or early voting has begun.
While Republicans might not win every district they’ve targeted on their new maps, the shifts will give them a boost as they try to hold the House in a challenging political environment.
CNN is tracking new maps and will continue to update with new state developments.
With a historically tight House of Representatives, redistricting has become a critical tactic to shaping the midterm races.
Redistricting, or the process of redrawing congressional district boundaries, typically takes place just once a decade, as states respond to updated population counts after the decennial census.
The redistricting process is different in every state. In some places, state legislators can redraw the map on their own, and all that’s needed is the political will. In other states, the redraw might require changing the constitution, a lengthier process which often involves a direct vote of the people.
Overall, Republicans began the cycle with more opportunities to gain seats through new maps than Democrats did. Republicans have full control of government in more states and many Democratic states have ceded the map-drawing power to independent commissions, moves some of them have now reversed.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
