Republicans tried to gerrymander their way out of big congressional losses. It didn't work

Updated November 5, 2026 at 6:34 PM EST

Among the sweeping victories by Democrats on Tuesday were wins in a number of congressional districts that Republicans had redrawn explicitly to boost their party ahead of the midterms.

Republicans were bracing for some losses this election cycle, so last year President Trump urged his party to take the extraordinary step of engaging in mid-decade redistricting efforts.

Those efforts largely failed.

Texas was the first state to redistrict at Trump's urging, and yet Democrats have won four out of the five House seats Republicans shifted their way, according to race calls by The Associated Press. Those include big wins by South Texas Democratic incumbents Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez.

Here's Gonzalez's district, for example:

Republicans redrew their maps with the expectation that the coalition of voters Trump won over in 2024 would support them this cycle.

In Texas, Republicans were banking on gains made with Latino voters in new maps. But many of those voters shifted their support to Democrats this year.

In Florida, multiple Democrats — Kathy Castor, Pia Dandiya and Jared Moskowitz — have so far won in redrawn districts that GOP state leaders were hoping to pick up for the party. Here's Moskowitz's district:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is among the Republicans who've said their party would've fared worse, had they not drawn new maps.

In North Carolina, Democratic Rep. Don Davis held on to his 1st District seat, even though Republicans in the state redrew it to be more competitive for the GOP. In 2024, Trump would have won the redrawn 1st by nearly 12 percentage points, according to the Downballot.

Trump would have won by even more in Alabama's redrawn 2nd Congressional District, which Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures held on to by more than 7 percentage points.

Republicans in Alabama redid the state's congressional map after the U.S. Supreme Court further weakened the Voting Rights Act earlier this year.

The GOP appears likely to be more successful in Louisiana and Tennessee, where Republicans enacted new maps after the Supreme Court ruling.

The party is favored to pick up a seat in Louisiana, after a runoff. In Tennessee, a Republican narrowly eked out a win in the redrawn 9th District — though a GOP incumbent may lose the state's 4th District seat.

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