The Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared California to use its newly drawn congressional map in this year’s midterm elections, a win for Democrats as both parties battle for control of the U.S. House.
Voters approved the map last year after Democrats in Sacramento moved to counter a GOP-friendly redistricting plan in Texas, which President Trump backed as part of a push to protect Republicans’ razor-thin House majority.
In an unsigned order, the high court rejected an emergency bid from the California Republican Party to block the map. State Republicans argued the lines were unconstitutional because race, not politics, drove the process. A lower federal court had already tossed that claim.
The ruling comes just two months after the Supreme Court allowed Texas to proceed with its own redistricting plan, a decision that touched off a nationwide gerrymandering arms race by boosting Republicans’ odds of picking up as many as five additional House seats.
“With an eye on the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, several States have in recent months redrawn their congressional districts in ways that are predicted to favor the State’s dominant political party,” the court said in its December order in the Texas case. “Texas adopted the first new map, then California responded with its own map for the stated purpose of counteracting what Texas had done.”
Justice Samuel Alito was even more blunt, writing that the “impetus” behind both states’ plans was “partisan advantage pure and simple.” Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch joined that concurring opinion.
The Supreme Court has previously held that claims of partisan gerrymandering are not subject to review by federal courts.
The Trump administration backed the Texas map but opposed California’s, arguing the Golden State’s plan was “tainted by an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.” Administration lawyers said the case differed from Texas because of the timing of candidate filing deadlines and because both the California Republican Party and the federal government submitted alternative maps that satisfied California’s “stated partisan goals.”
