Wisconsin's liberal Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge from Democrats against the state's "gerrymandered" congressional map.
The ruling preserves the current GOP-drawn lines for the 2026 midterm elections, a setback for Democrats who have long sought to redraw the lines in the swing state.
This is the second time in as many years that the Supreme Court turned away Democrats' requests to overturn the current map, which was adopted with the approval of the Supreme Court's former conservative majority.
Two years after the court struck down a GOP state legislative map, this latest ruling suggests there are limits to the favors Democrats can expect to receive from the liberal majority that has dominated the court since 2023.
Control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court flipped when liberal Janet Protasiewicz won what was then the most expensive U.S. judicial race ever. Liberals in Wisconsin won another pivotal Supreme Court race this year, preserving the 4-3 liberal majority.
The day after Protasiewicz was seated, Democrats filed a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin's state legislative map, and months later, it was struck down by the new liberal majority. Controversially, Protasiewicz declined to recuse herself despite calling Wisconsin's map "rigged" while campaigning for the court.
Democrats have had less luck overturning the current congressional map, which was approved by the Supreme Court's former conservative majority. The map was drawn by Democrat Gov. Tony Evers and largely reflects lines drawn by the GOP in 2010
The Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously rejected two lawsuits challenging Wisconsin's current congressional lines, dealing a blow to Democrats' hopes of winning back the House of Representatives.
The decision is also a blow to Marc Elias, a notorious Clinton ally and serial election litigator who brought one of the lawsuits.
This comes after the Supreme Court rejected a similar Democratic challenge in December 2024, also without explaining why.
“It’s good that Wisconsin has fair maps at the state level, but we deserve them at the federal level as well,” Democrat U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI) said. “Unfortunately, gerrymandered maps for members of Congress will remain in Wisconsin.”
Republicans control six out of eight of the House districts in Wisconsin, a state that President Donald Trump won by less than a percentage point in 2024.
Democrats had hoped a new congressional map would help them win two seats, which are currently represented by Republican Reps. Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil.
“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,” National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokesman Zach Bannon told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement.
