The Supreme Court reserves only a GOP-controlled congressional district in New York City for the 2026 election

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday sided with Republicans in ruling that the boundaries of New York City’s only GOP-controlled congressional district do not need to be redrawn for the 2026 election, despite the court’s ruling that the district is unfair to Black and Hispanic residents.

Read more: Judge hits district boundaries for New York City’s only Republican House seat

Over the court’s dissent from the court’s three liberal justices, the conservative majority blocked a state court ruling that ordered New York’s Redistricting Commission to redraw the district controlled by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, which covers Staten Island and a small sliver of Brooklyn.

The result is a Republican victory in a national tug of war over redistricting that could determine control of the closely divided House. Republicans currently have a slim majority.

Republicans in New York and the Trump administration have requested the Supreme Court’s intervention. Qualifications for the congressional elections began in New York last week.

A judge had ruled that the district had been drawn in a way that weakened the power of black and Hispanic voters, and ordered the state’s independent redistricting commission to complete a new map.

The court did not explain its justifications, as is usual in emergency appeals. But Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the judge’s ruling under the New York Constitution amounted to “unadorned racial discrimination” in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented from the Supreme Court’s decision to intervene in the case now, though she did not defend the ruling that was being appealed.

“Repeatedly, this Court has said that federal courts should not interfere with state election laws before an election,” Sotomayor wrote, joined by her two liberal colleagues. … Ignoring all limits on the power of federal courts, the Court takes the unprecedented step of staying a state court’s decision in a redistricting dispute on questions of state law without giving the state’s highest court an opportunity to act.

New York State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox praised the order and criticized Governor Kathy Hochul and other Democratic leaders for allowing the case to proceed.

The dispute in New York is part of a redistricting battle launched by President Donald Trump when he urged Texas Republicans to redraw the state’s congressional districts for political gain. Democrats faced their own gerrymandering in California. More countries soon followed.

The Supreme Court allowed the new maps to be used in California and Texas in this year’s elections, even as court challenges continue.