Democrats’ 2026 House takeover hopes just got crushed after this liberal Supreme Court rejected their redistricting bid, dealing a major blow to they/them’s election strategy.
Democrats thought they had things set up for their 2026 House takeover scheme.
They were counting on liberal Supreme Court allies to come through.
But this Supreme Court ruling just delivered a crushing blow to Democrats’ House takeover dreams.
Liberal justices refuse to help Democrats cheat their way back to power
The Wisconsin Supreme Court handed Democrats a devastating defeat on Wednesday when liberal justices rejected their desperate attempt to redraw congressional district maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The court’s 4-3 liberal majority delivered the decision without comment, leaving Democrats scrambling to explain how their own allies turned their backs on them.
Democrats had been banking on Wisconsin’s liberal-controlled Supreme Court to throw them a lifeline for their struggling 2026 House takeover plans.
In May, Democrats filed a request asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to reconsider the state’s congressional district boundaries, hoping to create more favorable districts for their candidates.
"It’s good that Wisconsin has fair maps at the state level, but we deserve them at the federal level as well," whined Democratic Wisconsin Representative Mark Pocan.
But even liberal justices couldn’t stomach the Democrats’ shameless power grab.
The court had already approved Wisconsin’s current congressional maps back in 2022 and similarly rejected a Democratic lawsuit trying to toss out Wisconsin’s congressional maps in March 2024.
This marks the second time in just over a year that Wisconsin’s Supreme Court has told Democrats their redistricting schemes won’t fly.
Democrats’ 2026 midterm strategy takes major hit
The Wisconsin rejection deals a serious blow to Democrats’ already shaky prospects for retaking the House of Representatives in 2026.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had identified Wisconsin as a key battleground state in their quest to flip control of Congress.
In April, the DCCC unveiled a list of 35 competitive House districts they’re hoping to flip in the upcoming midterms, including two seats currently held by Republican Representatives Bryan Steil and Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin.
The current congressional maps in Wisconsin were actually drawn by Democratic Governor Tony Evers and approved by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2022 when it was controlled by conservative justices, not Republican-drawn maps.
Wisconsin was the closest state in the 2024 presidential election, with President Donald Trump carrying the Badger State by less than a percentage point.
Trump won 49.7% of the vote while Kamala Harris received 48.9%, showing just how competitive Wisconsin remains.
Republicans celebrate Democrats’ stunning defeat
The National Republican Congressional Committee didn’t hold back in celebrating Democrats’ embarrassing loss.
"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," NRCC spokesman Zach Bannon said.
The rejection exposes the fundamental weakness in Democrats’ 2026 strategy.
Instead of focusing on policies that resonate with Wisconsin voters, Democrats have been pinning their hopes on gerrymandering their way back to power.
What this means for 2026
This Wisconsin Supreme Court decision sends a clear message that Democrats can’t count on friendly courts to rescue their failing political fortunes.
The party that spent years complaining about gerrymandering now finds itself on the receiving end of their own medicine.
Democrats will have to compete in districts where Republicans have already proven they can win, making their path to a House majority much steeper.
Wisconsin’s decision also signals that other states may be less willing to entertain last-minute redistricting efforts ahead of the 2026 midterms.
The Democrats’ House takeover dreams just got a lot harder to achieve, and they have no one to blame but themselves for putting all their eggs in the redistricting basket.
Republicans now have the advantage of knowing Democrats will have to compete on existing maps while they focus on the issues that actually matter to Wisconsin voters.
With Wisconsin off the table for Democrats’ redistricting schemes, their 2026 House majority dreams are looking more like pipe dreams.
