Federal judges allow California to use new US House map ahead of 2026
election
[January 15, 2026]
By TRÂN NGUYỄN
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California can use a new voter-approved U.S.
House map that is designed to boost Democrats in the 2026 midterms, a
federal three-judge panel ruled Wednesday.
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.
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. Republicans currently hold nine of California's 52
congressional seats.
The ruling is a victory for Democrats in the state-by-state mid-decade
redistricting battle that could help determine which party wins control
of the U.S. House in 2026. Following the tit-for-tat showdown between
the nation’s two most populous states, several Republican-led states
including Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have adopted new district
lines that could provide a partisan advantage. Republican-run Utah was
ordered by a judge to adopt a map that creates a Democratic-leaning
district. The Justice Department has only sued California.
“Republicans’ weak attempt to silence voters failed," Newsom said in a
statement.
Republicans vowed to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The well reasoned dissenting opinion better reflects our interpretation
of the law and the facts, which we will reassert to the Supreme Court,”
Corrin Rankin, chairwoman of the California Republican Party, said in a
statement.
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 California panel of judges affirmed the
state's characterization, saying there was not strong evidence to
support the maps were drawn based on race.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a campaign event on Proposition 50,
Nov. 1, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)
“After reviewing the evidence, we conclude that it was exactly as
one would think: it was partisan,” the judges wrote.
In dissent, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Lee, appointed by Trump,
said that at least one district was drawn using race as a factor “to
curry favor with Latino groups and voters.”
The ruling also comes after the Supreme Court ruled in 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. Republicans hold a narrow
margin of control in the House with 218 seats to Democrats’ 213.
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