Wisconsin, a state often seen as a political bellwether, is at the center of a heated battle over congressional redistricting that could reshape its political landscape for years to come. In a twist emblematic of a broader national trend, two lawsuits challenging the state’s congressional maps have advanced further than many observers expected, raising the possibility—however uncertain—of new district boundaries ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
According to Wispolitics.com, this is the first time Wisconsin has invoked a GOP-authored 2011 law that outlines the process for challenging congressional districts. The Wisconsin Supreme Court, now with a liberal majority, made history in November 2025 by appointing two separate three-judge panels to hear the lawsuits. This move comes after years of Republican dominance in the state’s House delegation, where the GOP currently holds a 6-2 advantage—a margin that’s crucial to their efforts to maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the coming years.
The stakes are high for both parties. Republicans are fighting tooth and nail to block any remapping, aware that changes could threaten the seats of Representatives Derrick Van Orden in the 3rd Congressional District and Bryan Steil in the 1st. Both have been singled out as top Democratic targets for 2026. The Wisconsin Elections Commission has made clear that any new maps must be finalized by March 2026 to allow candidates to circulate nomination papers by April 15.
But the legal wrangling is far from straightforward. As The Associated Press reported, attorneys for Democrats argued in court on December 12, 2025, that it’s still possible to implement new maps in time for the 2026 election. “It’s absolutely possible,” said Julie Zuckerbrod, an attorney with the Elias Law Group, urging the panel to issue a ruling by March 1, the deadline set by the Elections Commission.
Yet, not everyone is convinced that the courts can—or should—move so quickly. Dane County Circuit Judge Julie Genovese, presiding over one of the panels, pushed back against the pressure. “We’ll decide them when we can decide them,” she stated, signaling that the courts would not be rushed by external timelines.
Republican attorneys, meanwhile, have advocated for a much slower process. Kevin LeRoy, representing Wisconsin’s six Republican congressmen, argued that “seeking relief in time for the 2026 election would be unfair,” and pushed for a trial schedule that would delay any substantive changes until March 2027. The three-judge panel is expected to decide early in 2026 whether to dismiss the case or proceed to a ruling without further argument.
Both lawsuits are now before these newly assigned three-judge panels, marking the first use of the 2011 law’s procedures. The hearings, held on December 12, 2025, took place in the same courthouse near the state Capitol, just two floors apart—a symbolic reminder of the high-stakes, high-tension atmosphere surrounding the cases.
The legal arguments themselves are complex and deeply political. One lawsuit, brought by the Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy, contends that the existing maps are unconstitutional because they create anti-competitive districts. The suit points out that the median margin of victory in the state’s eight congressional districts since the maps were enacted is nearly 30 percentage points—a staggering figure in a state that is, by most accounts, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. “In a 50-50 state, it makes no sense that 75% of Wisconsin seats in the House of Representatives are controlled by one party,” Law Forward summarized on its website.
The second lawsuit, filed on behalf of Democratic voters, alleges that the current maps discriminate against Democrats by packing them into just two districts and splitting up other Democratic strongholds into six districts that favor Republicans. This, plaintiffs argue, dilutes Democratic voting power and undermines fair representation. In 2010, before the GOP redrew the maps, Democrats actually held five of the state’s eight House seats. Now, despite Wisconsin’s closely divided electorate, Republicans hold six of eight, with only two seats considered competitive.
The current congressional maps were approved by the state Supreme Court when it was under conservative control, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block them in March 2022. But with the court’s ideological shift, the landscape has changed. The liberal justices have rejected Republican arguments that the 2011 law’s process does not apply to court-imposed maps, opting instead for a broader interpretation. Conservative Justices Annette Ziegler and Rebecca Bradley dissented, with Ziegler writing, “The text of the constitution is clear; this court’s decisions are final. That should be the beginning and end of this case.”
Justice Brian Hagedorn, a conservative who sided with the liberals on the applicability of the 2011 law, nonetheless criticized the majority’s method of selecting judges for the panels. He noted that most appointed judges had endorsed liberal candidates in 2025, raising concerns about impartiality. “To be clear, I am not suggesting the judicial panel will fail to do its job with integrity and impartiality,” Hagedorn wrote. “But this approach is an odd choice in the face of a statute so clearly designed to deter litigants from selecting their preferred venue and judge.”
Indeed, five of the six judges appointed to the panels had endorsed liberal Susan Crawford ahead of the 2025 spring election; the sixth was appointed by Democratic Governor Tony Evers. This has fueled Republican accusations that the process is being manipulated for partisan gain. Conservative Justice Ziegler accused her colleagues of acting “in furtherance of delivering partisan, political advantage to the Democratic Party.”
Democrats and their allies see things differently. Attorney Doug Poland of Law Forward praised the court’s rejection of GOP efforts to “stonewall our case,” expressing hope that the lawsuits will ultimately “deliver competitive congressional maps for the voters of Wisconsin.” Abha Khanna, a partner at Elias Law Group, called the appointment of the three-judge panel a positive step and said, “we look forward to continuing the fight for fair maps in Wisconsin before the 2026 midterm elections.”
But the clock is ticking, and there’s no guarantee the legal process will move fast enough to affect the 2026 races. The panel hearing the anti-competitive gerrymandering case has set a potential trial date for April 5, 2027, if the case survives a motion to dismiss. And even if the panels issue rulings before then, their decisions can be appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which now has a 4-3 liberal majority.
Meanwhile, the political implications loom large. Democrats are especially focused on flipping the 3rd and 1st Congressional Districts, both currently held by Republicans but seen as increasingly competitive under the current maps. As the legal battles continue, both parties are preparing for a high-stakes fight that could reshape not only Wisconsin’s congressional delegation but also the balance of power in Washington.
For Wisconsin voters, the outcome of these lawsuits could mean the difference between another decade of entrenched partisan advantage and a new era of competitive, representative congressional elections. Whether the courts can deliver that change before 2026—or at all—remains to be seen.
