Federal Court Upholds Red State’s Redistricting Map For 2026

A federal court has rejected an attempt to block North Carolina’s newly revised congressional map, clearing the way for lawmakers to use the politically significant district lines in the 2026 elections. The ruling marks a major victory for Republican leaders in Raleigh and a setback for civil rights groups who argued the changes weakened Black voting strength in key parts of the state.

In a 57-page opinion, the three-judge panel denied motions from two sets of plaintiffs who sought to halt the implementation of the map passed last month as Senate Bill 249. The law reshaped Congressional Districts 1 and 3 in eastern North Carolina by swapping several counties between the two seats. All other congressional districts remained unchanged.

The plaintiffs in the consolidated cases—Black and Hispanic voters in one suit and the North Carolina NAACP and Common Cause in the other—argued that the revised lines diluted minority voting power and violated the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, as well as Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. They asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction preventing the state from using the new lines in the upcoming cycle.

The court declined, stating that the plaintiffs failed to meet the high legal threshold required to stop a duly enacted map before a full trial on the merits.

“Though not fatal to their claim…Williams Plaintiffs have presented no direct evidence that the General Assembly enacted S.B. 249 to discriminate against black North Carolinians,” the panel added. “Instead, the direct evidence shows that the 2025 redistricting was motivated by partisan purposes.”

The ruling comes after nearly two years of litigation over North Carolina’s congressional boundaries. Following the 2020 census, the state has been the center of repeated and high-stakes redistricting fights. In 2023, the legislature redrew its congressional and state Senate maps, prompting immediate lawsuits from civil rights groups and left-leaning activists who accused Republican lawmakers of racial gerrymandering.

A 3-judge federal court rejected a request to block new North Carolina Republican map that revised Democratic Rep. Don Davis’s #nc01 swing district to be more Republican-friendly. The court denied plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction.

Candidate filing begins Monday pic.twitter.com/7vtDczVxkN

— Greg Giroux (@greggiroux) November 26, 2025

The court held a multi-week trial this summer on those 2023 plans. But before judges issued their final decision, legislators passed S.B. 249—altering the very districts at the heart of part of the lawsuit. Because lawmakers replaced the earlier version of the congressional map, the court noted that the plaintiffs’ original claims against the 2023 version of District 1 were now moot.

The plaintiffs were permitted to file supplemental complaints targeting the 2025 configuration. Their attempt to quickly block the new lines, however, fell short.

Republicans in the General Assembly hailed the ruling as validation of their authority to make mid-decade changes to district boundaries—changes they argue are necessary to ensure legal compliance and demographic accuracy. House Redistricting Chair Destin Hall and Senate leader Phil Berger, both named in the lawsuits in their official capacities, said the court’s order shows that lawmakers acted within the bounds of the Constitution.

Critics disagreed. The NAACP and other plaintiffs argued that the map intentionally shifts minority voters into neighboring districts in ways that diminish their political influence. They maintain that the legislature’s changes, though limited to two districts, are part of a broader pattern of insulating Republican incumbents and weakening minority representation.

Though the court did not rule on the ultimate legality of the 2025 map, its refusal to intervene keeps the new district lines intact for at least one full election cycle. The court said that the plaintiffs may continue pursuing their claims later, but for now, the state is free to proceed.

With the 2026 elections already approaching and candidate filing deadlines on the horizon, the ruling ensures clarity for campaigns and voters alike—while setting the stage for yet another chapter in North Carolina’s never-ending redistricting battles.