In the Lone Star State, there have been many political events that have made headlines. From the special election in the 18th congressional district to updates in the new congressional district map to federal court rulings, Texas has been a political hotspot. In this article, we’ll be diving into Texas’s political scene.

To start, during the 2025 Election Day season, the 18th congressional district was up for a special election. With over 16 candidates on the ballot, two Democratic candidates advanced to a runoff (Contreras). The special election had already caused some confusion as Texas sought to adopt a new congressional district map for the 2026 midterms. Governor Greg Abbot has declared January 31st, 2026, as the runoff election date, spurring criticism from Democrats over intentionally confusing voters in a congressional race that will put a Democrat into office for less than a year before the 2026 primaries which is scheduled to take place on March 3rd.

In November, a 3-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the new congressional district map was racially gerrymandered. Writing the opinion for the judicial panel, Judge Jeffery Brown wrote that the congressional map relied more on racial gerrymandering than partisan gerrymandering (Kilbanoff). While the Fifth Circuit court ruling was initially hailed as a victory for Democrats, the ruling was promptly overruled by the Supreme Court in a 6-3 ruling. Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito ruled that Texas’s new congressional map was used for “pure and simple” partisan advantage (Kilbanoff). The Supreme Court’s ruling means that Texas will adopt the new congressional maps, with many voters being moved into a different congressional district, and the Republicans will gain up to five more seats in the House of Representatives in 2026. Justice Elena Kagan, dissenting for the liberal minority, wrote that the Supreme Court’s overturning of the lower courts is disrespectful to the work of the judiciary. Furthermore, Justice Kagan reasoned that Texas’s congressional map was in violation of both the 14th and 15th amendments. Nevertheless, the new congressional map has been given the all-clear to be used in the upcoming midterms.

Continuing on the federal court docket, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on November 18th, 2025, reasoning that Senate Bill 10, a state law mandating the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, was unconstitutional and violated the Establishment Clause of the US Constitution (ACLU). Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court and ordered all school districts not involved with the lawsuit to continue posting the Ten Commandments. The lawsuit continues to make its way up the federal court system, along with other lawsuits.

With Texas being thrown into the national headlines time and time after due to litigation, congressional redistricting, and controversial legislation, it is vital to differentiate between fact and misinformation. As news begins to be released related to Texas politics, the YUNity Project will attempt to filter through fact and fiction, a mission that is essential to the health of our national democracy.