The Wisconsin Supreme Court has agreed to consider a legal challenge that could eventually lead to changes in the state’s congressional boundaries before the 2028 elections, a move that may create opportunities for Democrats in a state where Republicans currently dominate the U.S. House delegation.
The case was brought by a bipartisan group of business leaders who argue that Wisconsin’s current congressional districts unfairly favor Republicans. Although a three-judge panel dismissed the lawsuit in April, the state’s liberal-majority Supreme Court announced on Friday that it would review the appeal.
The plaintiffs are not pushing for immediate changes ahead of the next election cycle. Instead, they want the Supreme Court to return the case to a lower court for a full trial. Such proceedings are unlikely to begin until 2027, meaning any map changes would most likely affect the 2028 elections.
Wisconsin currently has eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, with Republicans controlling six and Democrats holding two. Under the existing district boundaries, only two of the eight seats are widely viewed as competitive.
The Wisconsin case emerged on the same day Louisiana adopted a revised congressional map intended to boost Republican representation while removing one of the state’s two majority-Black congressional districts.
Louisiana’s action followed a U.S. Supreme Court decision on April 30 that invalidated the state’s previous congressional map, ruling that it constituted an unlawful racial gerrymander. The ruling also weakened certain protections associated with the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Since that decision, several Republican-led states across the South have launched efforts to redraw their congressional districts, setting the stage for further legal and political battles over redistricting ahead of future elections.
