The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a Republican challenge, allowing California to proceed with its Democrat-favored redistricting map for the 2026 midterm elections. The decision permits the state to use a map approved by voters last year as a counter to similar efforts in Texas. This ruling maintains the status quo amid ongoing national battles over partisan map-drawing.
In a brief unsigned order released on February 4, 2026, the Supreme Court declined an emergency request from the California Republican Party to block the state's new congressional map. The map, enacted through Proposition 50, which voters approved in November 2025 with over 64% support, aims to create five additional seats favorable to Democrats. This move was framed as a direct response to Texas' Republican-led redistricting, which added five GOP-leaning seats and was similarly upheld by the court two months earlier.
The California Republican Party argued that the map constituted an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, primarily driven by race rather than partisan goals, in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments. They contended it abridged voting rights based on race, noting that the map's chief consultant prioritized increasing Latino voter power. A lower federal court rejected this claim, and the Supreme Court followed suit without further comment.
Governor Gavin Newsom celebrated the decision on X, stating, “Donald Trump said he was ‘entitled’ to five more Congressional seats in Texas. He started this redistricting war. He lost, and he’ll lose again in November.” The Trump administration had supported Texas' map but opposed California's, calling it "tainted by an unconstitutional racial gerrymander" and highlighting differences in timing and alternative maps provided by Republicans.
The Supreme Court has long held that partisan gerrymandering is not reviewable by federal courts, a stance reiterated in the Texas case where Justice Samuel Alito's concurrence described the impetus for both states' maps as "partisan advantage pure and simple." This California ruling could help Democrats offset Republican gains elsewhere, though legal fights continue in states like Florida, Maryland, New York, Utah, and Virginia. With Republicans holding a slim one-seat majority in the House, the midterms in November 2026 represent a critical battle for control, potentially influencing President Trump's second term.
The decision ensures California uses the Proposition 50 map through 2030, when new census data arrives, rather than reverting to the prior Citizens Redistricting Commission map as Republicans sought.
