Opinion | Both Parties Were Wrong on Gerrymanders

A facts-only brief, written by a local AI model from this article in The Wall Street Journal, November 10, 2026. It may contain mistakes, and it is not the article: the full story is at wsj.com.

An opinion essay argues that both major political parties made significant errors regarding redistricting strategies during the 2026 midterm elections, with Republicans failing to gain expected seats and Democrats misjudging the impact of Supreme Court rulings. The piece contends that Republican efforts to redraw maps in Texas, Florida, and North Carolina resulted in net losses or fewer gains than anticipated, while Democratic predictions that the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais would restore racial gerrymandering proved incorrect. The author asserts that the elimination of majority-minority districts in Tennessee and Alabama did not prevent Black candidates from winning, citing a Democratic victory in a majority-white Alabama district. Furthermore, the essay suggests that the midterms disproved Justice Elena Kagan’s claim that the Rucho decision pushed candidates toward political extremes, as Democrats won in previously safe Republican districts.

Background

• The Supreme Court ruled in Louisiana v. Callais that states cannot use the Voting Rights Act as a pretext for racial gerrymandering.
• The Rucho v. Common Cause decision removed federal courts from the ability to police partisan gerrymanders.
• Former Attorney General Eric Holder previously warned that Republican redistricting threatened democracy but later stated that voter turnout defended democratic processes.
• The essay notes that five Black Democratic candidates won seats in North Carolina despite claims that the new map discriminated against Black voters.

Read the full article at wsj.com

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