WASHINGTON — Two lawsuits in Wisconsin are seeking to have the state’s congressional map thrown out in a development that follows Republican warnings earlier this year that the election of a Democratic-backed state Supreme Court candidate could lead to new lines.

With the lawsuits filed last week, Wisconsin joined a handful of states that could see their congressional lines redrawn ahead of next year’s midterm elections. And it could add another layer of uncertainty to the burgeoning electoral landscape in 2026, when House Republicans will defend their threadbare majority.

The latest challenges in Wisconsin come after a panel of federal judges last week struck down a 2023 Alabama congressional map that was drawn by the GOP-controlled state Legislature, saying that the state needed to have more representation for Black voters. The map was not used in the last year’s elections, with Alabama instead using a court-mandated map that created a second congressional district with a substantial Black population. That led to the election of Rep. Shomari Figures, who joined Rep. Terri A. Sewell as the second Democrat in the state’s delegation.

Judicial rulings on redistricting in a handful of other states could also influence the fight for the House majority next year. In the 2024 elections, a redrawn map that favored Republicans in North Carolina was largely offset by changes in other states, such as Louisiana and Alabama, that favored Democrats.

Challenges in Wisconsin

Last week in Wisconsin, plaintiffs filed two separate lawsuits with the state Supreme Court on behalf of Wisconsin voters.

One of them, filed by the Elias Law Group on behalf of several plaintiffs, argued that the state’s congressional map is illegally gerrymandered and does not give voters equal say in their representatives across the state.

“Wisconsin voters deserve congressional districts that ensure all voices and viewpoints are fairly represented,” said Abha Khanna, a partner at the law firm founded by Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias. “Unfortunately, Wisconsin’s current congressional map has unfairly rewarded Republicans with a significant electoral advantage and will continue to do so for the remainder of the decade.”

The other challenge was brought by the Campaign Legal Center on behalf of nine plaintiffs. The group said in a release that the current Wisconsin map “does not distribute its population equally across congressional districts” and that it split “many more counties than necessary.”

Last year, the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected a Democratic lawsuit that sought to throw out the congressional map. The court, however, did rule separately that the state’s legislative maps, which gave Republicans the advantage, were unconstitutional. Under new lines, Democrats flipped 14 state legislative seats in last fall’s elections and Republicans lost their supermajority in the state Senate.

Democrats have long criticized the Wisconsin congressional map as heavily favoring Republicans in a closely divided state. The GOP holds six of the state’s eight House seats. And of those six Republican-held seats, just two are considered competitive by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales: the 1st District represented by Rep. Bryan Steil and the 3rd District represented by Rep. Derrick Van Orden.

Redistricting was an issue in this year’s Wisconsin Supreme Court race – a nominally nonpartisan contest that was won by the Democratic-backed Susan Crawford and helped preserve the court’s 4-3 liberal majority. Some Republicans had speculated that Crawford’s election would lead to the state’s congressional map being redrawn to Democrats’ benefit ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Van Orden told CNN earlier this year that he and Steil would “both lose” under new congressional lines if Crawford won.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Steil called for the new lawsuits to be rejected.

“Unless the court decides to be hyper-partisan, as some have warned, this claim should be quickly dismissed,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “The same claim was unanimously rejected by the same justices last year. Whatever happens, Steil plans to run for reelection and win.”

Steil’s and Van Orden’s seats are thought to be the most likely districts to become more competitive if the map is redrawn. Both are on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s initial target list as the party looks to flip the House next year.

While Steil is yet to attract a high-profile opponent, several Democrats are already challenging Van Orden in the 3rd District in southwest Wisconsin. One of the challengers, Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge, pointed to the lawsuits in a fundraising email sent this past weekend.

“For too long, gerrymandered districts have silenced communities and skewed representation. No matter how the lines are drawn for 2026, I’m confident in my ability to flip this seat from red to blue – but I need your help,” she wrote.

Elsewhere, the process continues

Off-year redistricting efforts continue in several other states, leading to questions over how competitive certain battleground races will be.

For example, CQ Roll Call’s latest list of the 10 most vulnerable House members of the 2026 cycle did not consider elections in Ohio, where a new map is expected. The GOP-controlled state legislature has until the end of September to approve a new map, or else the Ohio Redistricting Commission will take steps to adopt new lines. A redrawn map could jeopardize the reelection chances of Democratic Reps. Marcy Kaptur and Emilia Sykes, both of whom are likely to be vulnerable next year.

In Utah, a federal judge is set to weigh in on whether the state’s map should be redrawn after hearing oral arguments earlier this year. The state’s lieutenant governor has reportedly asked for the map to be finalized by Nov. 1 this year ahead of the 2026 elections.

In March, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case regarding Louisiana’s congressional map. The state and a group of voting rights plaintiffs asked the justices to preserve the current map, which was drawn to comply with the Voting Rights Act and created two Black-majority districts. That helped Democrats win a second House seat in the Bayou State last year, with Rep. Cleo Fields taking the redrawn 6th District.

And the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear arguments this Thursday about whether to enact new maps in Georgia. The state’s Republican-led legislature redrew its congressional lines last cycle to comply with a federal judge’s order to add another Black-majority district. But the new map preserved Republicans’ 9-5 advantage in the state’s House delegation.

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