Supreme Court Clears California’s New Congressional Map, Boosting Democrats Before Midterms

By Emmanuel Bobby

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed California to move forward with a newly redrawn congressional map approved by voters, handing Democrats a significant win ahead of this year’s midterm elections.

The ruling came in a one-sentence order with no explanation or noted dissents. Republicans had asked the justices to block the map, arguing that the new district lines amounted to racial gerrymandering.

The map was drawn by Democratic lawmakers and approved by voters last November through the Proposition 50 ballot measure. It could give Democrats an opportunity to gain as many as five additional House seats as they push to reclaim a majority this fall.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom championed the redistricting effort, framing it as a counter to a map enacted last summer in Texas at President Donald Trump’s urging — a move that could similarly yield Republicans up to five more seats.

“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,” Newsom wrote on X.

The California Republican Party, joined by Trump’s Justice Department, sued to block the map, claiming it improperly relied on race. A federal district court rejected that argument last month, finding the lines were drawn for partisan advantage rather than racial reasons.

Republicans had urged the Supreme Court to intervene before Feb. 9. California’s candidate filing deadline is March 6, with the primary scheduled for June 2.

The dispute echoes a similar fight in Texas last year, when Democrats argued that Republican lawmakers unlawfully considered race while drawing that state’s new map. Although a lower court temporarily blocked the Texas plan, the Supreme Court ruled in December that it could be used for the 2026 elections.

The Texas effort helped trigger an unusually aggressive round of mid-decade redistricting nationwide, as both parties maneuver for control of the narrowly divided House. Typically, states redraw congressional maps only once a decade following the census.

Newsom has repeatedly accused Trump and Republicans of trying to “rig” the midterm elections through redistricting. California Democrats dubbed the legislation authorizing the special ballot measure election the Election Rigging Response Act.