Which congressional map? Would-be candidates await final word on Texas election map as filing deadline draws near

With the deadline to file creeping closer, potential Texas congressional candidates have been left wondering one question above all others: Which map will it be?

The Republican-controlled legislature redrew the state’s congressional districts in hopes of picking up five additional seats ahead of what could be a challenging midterm election for the G.O.P. However, citing evidence of racial gerrymandering, a panel of three federal judges in El Paso blocked the map from taking effect this week.

Republicans hope the U.S. Supreme Court will overrule the judges and bring the map back into play, but the deadline for candidates to file is less than three weeks away, on Dec. 8.

Juan Sepulveda, a former visiting professor of practice in political science at Trinity University, thinks it’s possibl