State representatives look at a congressional redistricting maps during debate of a congressional redistricting plan at the Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
The Republican-led push to redistrict federal congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, which quickly spurred a counter-effort by Democrats, could not prevent the GOP from losing control of the U.S. House on Tuesday.
The backstory:
Nine states succeeded in redrawing their congressional maps over the past two years, with several other states trying and failing to do so, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In eight of those states, Republicans created new districts that they believed would create new opportunities for GOP candidates, only to see their best-laid plans go awry.
What they're saying:
"It was definitely the wrong move," one House Republican told Fox News Digital. "One of the truisms in politics is never to overreach. We did and that was part of the reason for the backlash."
GOP losses in new districts
In Florida, where Republicans won the governor’s mansion and retained a U.S. Senate seat, the GOP is still poised to lose all four of the congressional districts that were redrawn with the goal of helping more conservative candidates win.
Two Democratic incumbents whose districts were redrawn – Reps. Kathy Castor and Jared Moskowitz – and a third, newly elected candidate Pia Dandiya, have been declared winners by The Associated Press, while the fourth candidate, Rep. Darren Soto, is leading in a race considered too close to call.
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Texas lawmakers tried to give the Republican candidates a greater advantage in five races. However, on a night that saw Democrats make historic gains in the Lone Star State, the GOP lost three of those races.
In Ohio, efforts to create districts that would cost incumbent Democratic Reps. Greg Landsman and Mary Kaptur their congressional seats ended with both congressmembers headed back to Washington. Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures saw his Alabama district changed in a way that Republicans hoped would allow the GOP to control all but one of the state’s House seats but still managed to hold on to his.
The other side:
California was the one Democratic-controlled state that managed to redraw its congressional lines ahead of the midterm elections. State lawmakers launched the redistricting effort to offset Republican efforts in other states and came up with a map that was expected to help the party gain five seats. Democrats there ended up flipping seats that had been held by Republicans.
Big picture view:
All the machinations over months leading up to the election ended up not affecting the balance of power in the House in the coming session. With 51 races yet to be called, The Associated Press has declared 237 Democratic congressional candidates winners of their respective races, far more than the 218 needed for a majority.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from Fox News, The Associated Press, the National Conference of State Legislatures. This story was reported from Orlando, Florida.