Federal judges allow California to use new US House map ahead of 2026 election

Prop. 50 fight likely headed to the Supreme Court

A federal appeals court upheld the states newly-drawn congressional maps designed to help Democrats and approved by voters in November. Republican are already taking steps to fight the courts decision. 

LOS ANGELES - A federal three-judge panel on Wednesday allowed California to use a new voter-approved U.S. House map that is designed to boost Democrats in the 2026 midterms.

Federal court upholds Prop 50

In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel in Los Angeles denied requests from state Republicans and the U.S. Justice Department to block the map from being used in future elections. The complaint accused California of violating the Constitution by using race as a factor to favor Hispanic voters when drawing the new district lines.

"It was created completely lawfully. It is completely lawful. Unfortunately, we have a number of folks playing partisan politics here," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, speaking to KTVU's media partner KCRA.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom participated in a virtual rally for Yes on Prop 50. The measure would dismantle California's independent redistricting commission- which Democrats argue is needed to counter Republican gerrymandering in other states. [PREVIOUS COVERAGE]

The map, aimed at giving Democrats a shot at flipping as many as five House seats next year, was decisively approved by voters through Proposition 50 in November. The effort was pushed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is eying a 2028 presidential run, to counter a similar effort in Texas backed by President Donald Trump to help Republicans win five House seats. California Republicans currently hold nine of the state’s 52 congressional seats.

What they're saying:

"It's a big win for Gavin Newsom and for the Democrats in California," said Melissa Michelson, political science professor at Menlo College. "This means that the Democrats are able to move forward with the new maps. It gives them the advantage they wanted in this year's midterm elections."

The ruling is a victory for Democrats in the state-by-state mid-decade redistricting battle that could help determine which party wins controls of the U.S. House in 2026. Following the tit-for-tat showdown between the nation’s two most populous states, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have adopted new district lines that could provide a partisan advantage. The Justice Department has only sued California.

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Congressional redistricting is on the ballot in November thanks to California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The new proposed maps would swing four Republican seats. [PREVIOUS COVERAGE]

"Republicans’ weak attempt to silence voters failed," Newsom said in a statement.

Republicans vow to fight decision

Late Wednesday, the California Republican Party vowed to fight the decision, with Chairwoman Corrin Rankin saying in a statement: 
"The California Republican Party will be seeking an emergency injunction from the Supreme Court of the United States. Although the majority of the three-judge panel did not side with our challenge to the Prop 50 map, we appreciate the thoughtful and timely work of all three judges. The well-reasoned dissenting opinion better reflects our interpretation of the law and the facts, which we will reassert to the Supreme Court. The map drawer’s plain statements acknowledging that he racially gerrymandered the Proposition 50 maps, which he and the legislature refused to explain or deny, in addition to our experts’ testimony, established that the courts should stop the implementation of the Prop 50 map. We look forward to continuing this fight in the courts."

"This was a split decision, and I wouldn't see that this is a repudiation that what we were doing was full of it," Republican Assemblymember David Tangipa of Fresno told KCRA. "We will make sure that we push this as far as we possibly can. Our case is something that is rooted in case law, that is rooted in history so we expect just a fair shot."

What could happen at Supreme Court? 

David Levine, a professor of law at U.C. Law San Francisco, says given the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court already upheld Texas's redrawn maps last month on similar grounds, it's highly unlikely the justices would reverse course for California. 

"Unless you're going to say ‘Texas is a shorter word than California’ or ‘Texas ends in a consonant’ and somehow that makes a difference, it's pretty hard to see how five justices would justify saying their ruling in the Texas case was somehow different than the ruling that would come in the California case," said Levine. 

The backstory:

California Democrats said that the new map was legal because it was drawn for partisan advantage. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that partisan gerrymandering is a political question and not one for the federal courts to decide. The court agreed, saying there was not strong evidence to support the maps were drawn based on race.

"After reviewing the evidence, we conclude that it was exactly as one would think: it was partisan," the judges wrote.

The ruling also comes after the Supreme Court ruled last December to allow Texas to use its new map for the 2026 election because it was drawn with partisan goals. Conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a concurring opinion that the California map was also approved for political advantage, signaling it may also stand.

New U.S. House maps are drawn across the country after the Census every 10 years. Some states, like California, rely on an independent commission to draw maps while others like Texas let politicians draw them. The effort to create new maps in the middle of the decade is highly unusual.

House Democrats need to gain just a handful of seats next year to take control of the chamber, which could thwart Trump’s agenda for the remainder of his term and open the way for congressional investigations into his administration.

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