Redrawn maps fail to save GOP seats in midterms

Democratic candidates won seats in several congressional districts where Republicans had redrawn the maps last year to help their party. These victories occurred despite efforts by President Trump to urge his party to engage in mid-decade redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterms.

In Florida, three Democrats won in redrawn districts according to Associated Press race calls. Kathy Castor, Pia Dandiya, and Jared Moskowitz all secured victories in areas that had been altered to boost Republican chances.

North Carolina Representative Don Davis held his 1st District seat even though state Republicans redrew it to be more competitive for the GOP. The Downballot reported that Trump would have won that specific district by nearly 12 percentage points.

Alabama Representative Shomari Figures retained his 2nd District seat. Republicans redid the state's congressional map after the U.S. Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act earlier this year. Trump would have won that Alabama district by an even larger margin than in North Carolina.

Texas was the first state to redistrict at Trump's urging, and several of its redrawn districts went to Democrats. Republicans had expected the coalition of voters Trump won in 2024 to support them this cycle. In particular, they banked on gains with Latino voters in the new maps, but many of those voters shifted their support to Democrats this year.