This Supreme Court Decision Just Raised the Stakes in State Legislatures

Did you miss this? The Supreme Court case Louisiana v. Callais just shook up our future elections and civil rights protections nationwide.

Let’s break it down: Trump’s extreme Supreme Court picks just helped gut the Voting Rights Act (VRA), giving state Republicans unlimited opportunities to racially gerrymander their congressional maps with effectively no guardrails for the first time since 1965. Handing Republicans the upper hand in choosing which voters are included in which districts could result in the generational elimination of elected representation for people of color and a reduction in Democratic power at both the state and federal levels. 

On the day of the decision, DLCC President Heather Williams gave an urgent call to Americans nationwide: 

“Today has been a dark day for democracy, especially in the South. Republicans know their losing agenda is raising prices that will cost them elections this November, which is why they’re pulling out every stop to insulate themselves from facing accountability from voters.”

Don’t just take our word for it, here’s what people are saying about the stakes for state legislatures in 2026 (hint: state legislative races “just got a lot more important”).

The systematic disenfranchisement of communities of color across the South that Republicans will pursue will be felt by generations of Americans – and Democrats in the states are using every lever of power to fight back. Across the South and in the states most directly impacted by the Supreme Court’s decision to gut the Voting Rights Act, the DLCC is focused on the states and campaigns where seats are in play and where the DLCC is already stepping in to protect our democracy. 

Electing Democrats at the state legislative level is our last line of defense against Republicans’ attempts to make a power grab of American elections. The DLCC is also working to build as many blue legislative majorities as possible, including in our battleground states such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, to counteract Republican gerrymandering efforts. Our Target Race candidates are a core part of our national strategy to protect, expand, and build Democratic power across America’s state legislatures. 

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment: your elected Democratic state legislators will play a major role in drawing fair maps and protecting representative democracy in the future.

Our best path is to elect more Democrats in state legislatures and build majorities to put Democrats on offense against Republicans’ plan to upend our electoral system and to safeguard our fundamental rights.