California Republicans lose bid to pause Prop 50’s new district lines

LOS ANGELES (KESQ) - A three-judge panel in Los Angeles federal court today ruled against California Republicans in their bid to nullify the new congressional map California voters approved in November.

In their lawsuit, filed one day after California voters approved Proposition 50, Assemblyman David Tangipa, R-Fresno, the California Republican Party and a group of Republican voters -- joined by the U.S. Department of Justice -- urged judges to block the new district lines at least temporarily so California's original map would stay in effect for the 2026 midterm elections.   

Proposition 50 was passed after Republicans in Texas redrew their congressional map, a move California leaders said was designed to favor Republicans in the upcoming midterms.

The suit, which names Gov. Gavin Newsom, state Attorney General Rob Bonta and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber as defendants, argues the new Proposition 50 maps are unconstitutional because they improperly use voters' race as a factor in drawing districts and asked the court to block them from taking effect.   

The proposition's passage increases Democrats' chances of winning five additional U.S. House seats in the state in November and seizing control of the chamber.

Republicans had asked the court for a preliminary injunction blocking the maps from being used in 2026.

Corrin Rankin, chairwoman of the California Republican Party, said plaintiffs' attorneys would seek an emergency order from the U.S. Supreme Court.

"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,'' she said in a statement to City News Service.   

"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.''

State Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, posted on X that Wednesday's ruling against the Proposition 50 challenge "is deeply troubling."

Strickland said the issues raised in the lawsuit "remain unresolved and deserve continued attention. The architect of these gerrymandered maps has publicly stated that he purposely drew them to favor one minority group over another to gain five more congressional seats for California Democrats. That is a NO-NO as it violates the Voting Rights Act by using race as a factor in drawing district boundaries.''

In its 2-1 decision, the court upheld the new congressional districts, rejecting plaintiffs' claims that the maps had been drawn to favor Latino voters over other voting groups.

Judge Josephine Staton, a Barack Obama appointee, wrote the ruling, with Judge Kenneth Lee, a Trump appointee, dissenting. Joe Biden appointee Judge Wesley Hsu joined Staton in her ruling.

"We find that Challengers have failed to show that racial gerrymandering occurred, and we conclude that there is no basis for issuing a preliminary injunction,'' Staton wrote. "Our conclusion probably seems obvious to anyone who followed the news in the summer and fall of 2025."  

The ruling is expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court by the California Republican Party and the Trump administration.   

Voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 50 in November, which supporters dubbed "The Election Rigging Response Act."   

Proposition 50 establishes new congressional district maps for the 2026 midterm elections that will also be used for the 2028 and 2030 elections. An analysis by the election news website Ballotpedia said it would shift five Republican-held congressional districts to Democrats.

Democrats hold a 43-9 advantage in the state's House delegation.   

"Republicans' weak attempt to silence voters failed,'' Newsom said in a statement Wednesday. "California voters overwhelmingly supported Prop 50 -- and that is exactly what this court concluded."

Weber, a co-defendant in the lawsuit, said she was pleased the court acknowledged "that the will of California's voters should prevail. Our democracy is in jeopardy and the fight to maintain our constitutional right to vote must continue. ... Our democracy is worth protecting and today's ruling was the right result."