The Supreme Court is allowing the state of Texas to use its redrawn congressional map that could favor Republicans, for now. CBS News' Fin Gómez reports.

Washington

The Supreme Court has issued an unsigned order allowing Texas to implement its newly drawn congressional map for the upcoming midterm elections. This map, previously ruled unconstitutional by a lower court, could result in up to five additional House seats for Republicans, bolstering their efforts to maintain a narrow majority.

The decision has led to sharply divided reactions, with Republicans celebrating the move and Democrats and civil rights groups warning it could enable racial gerrymandering and weaken protections for voters of color. Political strategists anticipate the ruling will affect redistricting battles in other states. Additionally, Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is considering a Senate run, with polling showing her leading in the Democratic primary but trailing major Republican contenders.

Supreme Court allows Texas to use gerrymandered map for now

Now the nation's highest court sides with Texas Republicans in an unsigned order restoring the state's newly drawn congressional map, for now at least. The map could add five GOP House seats. In a social media post, Governor Greg Abbott wrote this, quote, we won, Texas is officially and legally more red. The new congressional districts better align our representation in Washington, D.C. with the values of our state. CBS News Executive Director of White House and Politics, Finn Gomez joins us now from our D.C. Bureau to digest all of this. Finn, good morning, great to see you. It might be confusing to some viewers because a lower court ruled that the Texas new maps were unconstitutional. The Supreme Court rules actually know they're fine. So what does this mean for Texans in the balance of power? Well, what it means is that, you know, after the Supreme Court said Thursday that Texas can use its new gerrymandered House map in the upcoming midterm elections, that likely will yield as many as five additional seats for Republicans in the battle for control of the House. It's a major political win, Errol, for the president and a boost for his bid to preserve the narrow Republican majority in the House by urging Republican-led states to conduct this atypical mid-decade redistricting aimed at shrinking the number of Democrats in congressional delegations and improving their chances at holding that majority. Reaction has been sharply divided, Errol. Republicans are celebrating this as a victory, of course, and boosting, again, their prospects for next year's elections. Democrats and civil rights groups are furious, calling it a green light for racial gerrymandering and warning it weakens protections for voters of color. And nationally, I spoke to strategists on both sides who say the ruling now will influence other redistricting battles in other states beyond Texas. Right, yeah, some of this happening all over the country. I wanna get to another big issue, Finn. You have some new reporting on a potential Senate run by Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. Tell us about what you're learning. Yeah, so as we know, Jasmine Crockett, who is the Texas Democratic congresswoman, she's a progressive firebrand, loved by the left, hated by the right. She is, there's a lot of intrigue on whether she's gonna announce her bid for Senate next week, potentially upending that high-stakes race for Senate. We did learn that she has reached out to her Senate primary opponents, some of whom, to try to share internal polling. Now, what that internal polling shows, according to a Democratic congressman that I spoke to, is that she leads in this polling. And there's also public polling to support that. She leads against James Tallarico, the state representative who's gotten a lot of attention, against Colin Allred, the former congressman who went up against Ted Cruz last cycle. So essentially, but the major issue here, and a warning for her, is that she also trails all three major Republican contenders, including Senator John Cornyn, Congressman Wesley Hunt, and Attorney General Ken Paxton. But that decision will likely be made by Tuesday of next week, Errol. All right, so much to watch. Finn, across it all, thank you very much. Thank you.

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