Politics
Wisconsin Court Decision Shakes Up 2026 Election Plans
Clear Facts
- The Wisconsin Supreme Court, with a liberal majority, rejected a Democratic request to reconsider the state’s congressional district boundaries for the 2026 elections.
- Democrats aimed to adjust the district boundaries as part of their strategy to regain control of the House of Representatives.
- The court’s decision was made without comment, maintaining the current congressional maps approved in 2022.
In a surprising turn of events, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, despite its liberal majority, has opted not to entertain a Democratic plea to reassess the state’s congressional district boundaries ahead of the 2026 midterms.
This decision arrives as Democrats are keen on reclaiming the House of Representatives, with Wisconsin playing a pivotal role in their strategy.
The request, initially put forth in May, was aimed at re-evaluating the district lines with the hope of securing a more favorable outcome for Democrats.
Representative Mark Pocan expressed disappointment, emphasizing the need for fair representation at the federal level.
“It’s good that Wisconsin has fair maps at the state level, but we deserve them at the federal level as well,” he remarked.
“Unfortunately, gerrymandered maps for members of Congress will remain in Wisconsin.”
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) had already pinpointed two Wisconsin districts as key targets in their broader strategy to flip 35 competitive House seats.
These districts are currently held by Republican Representatives Bryan Steil and Derrick Van Orden.
The current congressional maps, which were approved by the state’s Supreme Court in 2022, remain intact following this recent decision.
This comes after a similar Democratic lawsuit was dismissed in March 2024, aiming to challenge the existing maps.
Zach Bannon, spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), viewed the court’s decision as a significant setback for the Democrats.
He stated, “The bipartisan rejection of the radical Democrats’ desperate and politically motivated attempt to redraw the map in their favor offers a strong preview of how Wisconsin voters will reject the Democrats’ out of touch and radical agenda next year at the ballot box.”
Wisconsin’s political landscape remains a battleground, as evidenced by its razor-thin margins in recent elections.
In the 2024 presidential race, former President Donald Trump narrowly clinched victory in the state, underscoring its critical role in national politics.
Despite this setback, Democrats did secure a victory earlier this year when liberal Judge Susan Crawford won a seat on the state’s Supreme Court, highlighting the ongoing tug-of-war between conservative and liberal forces in Wisconsin.
Let us know what you think, please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Mark
June 29, 2025 at 8:05 pm
This is surprising inasmuch as Wisconsin was one of the most heavily Republicans can gerrymandered states in the country on both the state and federal levels. This resulted in Republican supermajorities of n and he state legislative chambers, even though voters split almost evenly between Democrats and Republicans. Similarly, even as Democrats won a atewide elections doer Governor and Attorney-General, the gerrymandered federal map produced a state congressionsl delegation of 6 Republicans and 2 Democrats!
The State Supreme Court fixed the unconstitutional state-level gerrymander in 2023. From here on, the parties will fight it out on roughly equal terms (there’s still a fairly small Republican lean to the maps). It’s truly surprising that the Court would not even hear the case for the extreme federal level gerrymander.
maxx
June 29, 2025 at 8:07 pm
They decided this way but not because they wanted to. The 2022 maps were actually drawn up by the current Governor, a demonRAT, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the map was not biased enough to make much difference. In fact two separate courts ruled the same way. If the WSC had ruled them gerrymandered it would have led to court fights since Wisconsin’s population has not changed much in the past three years. Sooner than later there needs to be a huge court fight to put an end to “judge shopping”. a famous tactic of the demonRAT party. Court cases have got to be assigned randomly or forced to a venue change process. Right now “jegde shopping is a epidemic.