The Department of Justice has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block California’s newly approved congressional map, saying it was drawn with unconstitutional racial considerations and should not be used in the 2026 midterm elections. This fight, depending on the outcomes, could dramatically impact the 2028 presidential election, too.
In a filing to the high court, Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that one of the districts created under the map approved by California voters last year was “tainted by an unconstitutional racial gerrymander,” in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The petition urges the justices to intervene quickly and prevent the state from implementing the map in upcoming elections.
The legal challenge was brought by California Republicans, who asked the Supreme Court to halt the map’s use ahead of the candidate filing deadline. The DOJ’s filing supports that challenge, contending that the district lines were drawn based on race rather than legitimate political factors.
In court filings, attorneys representing California argued that Republicans advanced what they described as a “flimsy veneer of racial gerrymandering” after failing to persuade voters to reject the congressional map. The lawyers said the legal challenge amounted to a post-election attempt to overturn the voter-approved plan through the courts, Fox News reported.
California’s attorneys contended that Republicans failed to meet the “especially stringent” legal standard required to prove the map was drawn primarily on the basis of race, arguing that the districts were redrawn using lawful criteria and consistent with constitutional requirements.
California’s congressional map was approved by voters under Proposition 50 in November and would potentially shift several seats in favor of Democrats. A federal appeals court previously upheld the new map, and state officials have defended it as lawful and valid.
The Supreme Court has set a deadline for California officials to respond to the challenge later this month, and any decision could have implications for the balance of power in the House of Representatives ahead of the 2026 elections.
The case is one of several mid-decade redistricting disputes emerging ahead of the midterm elections. After receiving a warning from the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the Texas Legislature last year approved a new congressional map that Republicans said complied with federal law, while Democrats argued it amounted to an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
The Supreme Court allowed Texas’ map to stand in December through an unsigned order. Three liberal justices dissented from that decision.
In response, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans to redraw California’s congressional map, saying the move was intended to counterbalance Republican gains in Texas. California voters approved a ballot measure in November authorizing the state to implement the new map.
Democrats have said the congressional map was drawn for political purposes and would give their party a five-seat advantage heading into the 2026 midterm elections.
In contrast, auer argued that race — rather than politics — “predominated” in the redrawing of at least one district, a claim central to the Justice Department’s request for Supreme Court intervention.
“Unlike Texas’s map, the Prop 50 map suffers from a fatal constitutional flaw: one of the districts (District 13) was clearly drawn ‘on the basis of race,’” Sauer argued.
The Solicitor General stated that the mapmaker, Paul Mitchell, has acknowledged that the new district is designed to enhance the Latino vote, especially in the Central Valley, where the district is situated.
Republicans have requested an expedited response from the Supreme Court, as candidates for the 2026 midterm elections will start submitting their paperwork based on the new map on February 9.
A couple of other states have also added GOP-favored districts to redrawn congressional maps, including Missouri (1), Ohio (2) and North Carolina (1). Indiana Republican leaders refused to redraw their maps after White House urging, saying they were not happy with President Trump’s pressuring on the issue.
CNN, which has been tracking the redrawn maps, shows Republicans with a +3-seat advantage in the redistricting battles.
