Republicans won the redistricting battle. Now voters will decide whether they win Congress

By — David Lieb, Associated Press David Lieb, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/republicans-won-the-redistricting-battle-now-voters-will-decide-whether-they-win-congress Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Republicans won the redistricting battle. Now voters will decide whether they win Congress Politics Jun 3, 2026 6:11 PM EDT A no-holds-barred bout of partisan redistricting has been won by Republicans. Now it's up to voters to decide whether it matters for control of Congress. Republicans could net about 10 additional U.S. House seats in the November elections if redrawn voting districts perform as they were intended. The question is whether that's enough for the GOP to hold on to a majority in the chamber, where Democrats need to gain only a few seats to take control. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Political trends and historic patterns favor Democrats. President Donald Trump's approval ratings are negative. And the incumbent's party has lost House seats in every midterm election over the past two decades. This election season already has been unusual. Voting districts typically are redrawn only after a census at the start of each decade. But Trump urged Republicans last summer to redraw congressional districts to their advantage to try to prevent losses in the 2026 midterms. WATCH: Tamara Keith and Amy Walter on the midterm outlook following redistricting legal battles Since then, Republicans think they could win as many as 16 additional seats from new House maps enacted in eight states — Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana and Alabama. Democrats, whose counterattack faced several setbacks, think they could win up to six additional seats from new districts in California and Utah. Nearly 145 million people — about two of every five U.S. residents — live in states with new congressional districts for this election. READ MORE: Midterm redistricting has placed millions in new voting districts. Here's where 6 state efforts stand Yet the mid-decade redistricting battle didn't go as far as it could have. Republicans in Kansas and Democrats in Illinois both rebuffed party pushes to take up redistricting. In Republican-led Indiana and South Carolina and Democratic-led Maryland, new congressional districts passed the state House but ultimately died in the state Senate. The Virginia Supreme Court invalidated new voter-approved districts that could have helped Democrats win up to four additional seats. And the U.S. Supreme Court set aside a lower court order that could have helped Democrats gain a congressional seat in New York. Here's a look at the states with new U.S. House maps: Texas Current map: 13 Democrats, 25 Republicans New map: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a revised House map into law last August that could help Republic