Texas’ top Republicans and Democrats were swift to issue praise and condemnation after Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing the state to use its controversial new congressional map in the 2026 midterm elections.

The map was passed this summer by Texas lawmakers and designed to give Republicans as many as five new seats in the U.S. House. But last month, a panel of three federal judges in El Paso found the map to be racially gerrymandered, a decision the state of Texas quickly appealed to the Supreme Court.

“We won,” said Gov. Greg Abbott in a press release celebrating the ruling . “Texas is officially—and legally—more red.” Sign up for the Hello, Houston! daily newsletter to get local reports like this delivered directly to your inbox.

In July, Abbott instructed the

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