(CNN) Monday's Supreme Court decision on how much politics can be involved in the decennial process of redrawing district lines across the country might not, at first glance, seem like much.

After all, the court decided not to decide -- refusing to even consider the question as to whether maps drawn by Democrats in Maryland and Republicans in Wisconsin were unfairly drawn. Instead, Chief Justice John Roberts sent the question back to the lower courts to allow for further consideration.

But before you look away from this story, remember the words of the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre: "I can always choose, but I must know that if I do not choose, that is still a choice." And the Supreme Court's decision to not set a standard for what a too-political redistricting map looks like has considerable consequences -- raising the stakes for Democrats in the coming 2018 election.

In November, there are 36 gubernatorial races on the ballot -- 26 of which states are currently controlled by Republicans including massive (and massively important) battleground states like Florida and Ohio. Win in November, and you are in office through (at least) 2022.

In virtually all of those states, the governor has a vote -- or a veto -- on whatever map the state legislature produces following the next census in 2020 and the redistricting of the country's congressional (and state legislative) lines that follows. Currently, Republicans have total control -- governor's mansion and both chambers of the state legislature -- in 25 of the 50 states, according to statistics maintained by the National Conference of State Legislators . Democrats have total control in just seven. Another 17 are split control, with one party in control of the governorship and the other with a majority in at least one of the state legislative bodies.

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