The Supreme Court cleared the way for California to use its newly redrawn congressional map, which shifts five seats in Democrats’ favor, in the 2026 midterm elections.
The high court's decision to decline to take up an emergency appeal from California Republicans comes after voters in the state approved a ballot measure called Proposition 50, which allowed the state to enact the Democrat-friendly map in time for the midterms. The justices' decision included no dissents or explanation.
State Republicans, joined by the Department of Justice, had sued Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, alleging the map was an illegal racial gerrymander, in part because the mapmaker, Paul Mitchell, touted that it would bolster the Latino vote.
California lawyers argued to the high court that those claims were insufficient to meet the high burden required to overturn the map. They also said no district actually gained Latino residents of voting age.
"None of the stray statements invoked by plaintiffs … reveals any race-based motive, let alone a racial motivation that predominates over all others," the California lawyers wrote.
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