The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for Texas to use its redrawn congressional map, a major victory for Republicans who could gain up to five additional seats in the 2026 midterm elections.

In an unsigned order, the justices granted Texas’s emergency request and blocked a ruling by a three-judge federal court that had prohibited the map, calling it an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.

"Texas is paving the way for us to take our country back. District by district, state by state," said Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a statement. "This map reflects the political makeup of our state and is a massive victory for Texas and all conservatives who have been watching the left try to overturn the political system with frivolous lawsuits."

The Supreme Court said Texas is likely to prevail when the case is heard on its merits. In a brief order, the justices said the state government had met the "traditional standard for extraordinary relief" and that the lower court had made "at least two serious errors" in invalidating the map.

First, the majority opinion pointed out, the three-judge panel had not applied the usual presumption that lawmakers act in "good faith," but instead interpreted "ambiguous direct and circumstantial evidence to the disadvantage of the legislature."

Second, it said, the lower court should have applied a "determinative or almost determinative" adverse presumption against the plaintiffs, because they had failed to propose an alternative map that would satisfy Texas’s stated legitimate goals while excluding the racial factor they attacked.

The justices also emphasized the urgency, noting that Monday, December 8, is the deadline for candidates to register for next year’s elections.

Citing prior election case law, the majority opinion said lower courts "generally should not alter election rules on the eve of an election," and that the district court had "improperly interfered with an active primary campaign" by creating confusion and upsetting "the delicate balance between federal and state authority in elections."

The order allows Texas to keep its new map until 2026, as long as the state files a timely appeal.

Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, filed a separate opinion, emphasizing that the true motivation behind the redistricting was political, not racial. "It is clear that the adoption of the Texas redistricting plan (and, as we shall see, of the plan adopted in California) was motivated by pure and simple partisan self-interest," he stated.

Alito argued that the lower court "made its decision based on a mistaken impression of applicable legal principles" and that the usual "clear error" standard of review did not apply.

Given the close correlation between race and party in voting behavior, he warned that claims of racial gerrymandering "can be easily exploited for partisan ends" and that challengers must "unravel race and politics" by proposing their own maps that serve the same partisan ends.

Because the plaintiffs’ experts had not done so, the record "strongly suggests that the state’s map was based on partisanship, not race," he said.

Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, filed a sharply worded dissent. She said the three-judge panel had "done everything it could" to resolve the case.

She accused the majority opinion of discarding a strict "clear error" standard and reversing a detailed factual record based on "nothing more than a cold review of a paper record over a holiday weekend."

She wrote that the court’s order guarantees that "Texas’s new map, with all partisan advantages amplified, will govern next year’s elections," and called it "an injustice to the millions of Texans who, it has been found, were assigned to new districts based on race."

Texas House Democrats stated on their X account, "Today the Supreme Court betrayed Texas voters and betrayed American democracy. Every Texan who testified against this map should be outraged."

The post continued: "Every community that has fought for generations to build political power and watched Republicans steal it through gerrymandering should be outraged. Democrats will keep fighting."

Former President Donald Trump has urged Republican-led states to pursue congressional redistricting to help Republicans maintain their House majority in the 2026 midterm elections.

Following his unprecedented call for midterm redistricting, Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, and Utah have approved new maps, which could lead to Republicans gaining up to nine additional seats.

Republican leaders in Florida and Indiana have held discussions or special sessions on redistricting but have yet to finalize new maps due to internal divisions and legal concerns.

Democratic-led states have undertaken their own efforts to counter potential Republican gains.

California voters approved a ballot initiative supported by Democratic leadership that would suspend the state's independent redistricting commission for this election cycle and replace it with a map expected to create at least five safe or strong Democratic seats.

In Virginia and Maryland, Democratic officials are exploring ways to bypass existing commissions or exert influence, examining new district maps that could secure multiple seats for the party. However, these efforts remain in their early stages and face internal opposition and potential legal challenges.

By NNP Chief Reporter Sung Ku Hong / Special Contribution NNP info@newsandpost.com