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the fight is over CaliforniaNew congressional map designed to help democrat Congress House seats will be flipped court On Monday, a panel of federal judges will consider whether the district boundaries approved by voters last month can be used in elections.
The stage is set for a high-stakes legal and political battle amid hearings in Los Angeles trump Administration and democratic government. Gavin NewsomWho is eyeing the 2028 presidential race. The lawsuit asks a three-judge panel to grant a temporary restraining order until December 19 – the date when candidates can take the first official steps to run in the 2026 election.
Voters approved California’s new U.S. House map in November through Proposition 50. It is designed to help Democrats flip five House congressional seats in next year’s midterm elections. This was Newsom’s response to the Republican-led effort. texas Endorsed by President Donald Trump.
The redistricting clash between the country’s two most populous states has spilled over nationally, aiming to determine which party controls Congress for the second half of Trump’s term. Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio have adopted new district lines that may provide partisan advantages.
Some plans are facing legal challenges, but the Supreme Court ruled earlier this month to allow Texas to use its new map for the 2026 election. Justice Department Has only sued California.
The U.S. Justice Department has joined a case brought by the California Republican Party accusing California of distorting its map in violation of the Constitution by using race as a factor in favor of Hispanic voters. Republicans want the court to block California from using the new map. Voters approved the map for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections. State Democrats said they were confident the lawsuit would fail.
“In allowing Texas to use its non-standardized maps, the Supreme Court noted that California’s maps, like Texas’s, were drawn for legitimate reasons,” Newsom spokesman Brandon Richards said in a statement. “This should be the beginning and end of this Republican effort to silence California voters.”
Every 10 years, the census draws new maps of American households across the country. Some states, like California, rely on an independent commission to draw maps, while others, like Texas, let politicians draw the maps. An effort to create new maps in the middle of a decade is highly unusual.
Paul Mitchell, the redistricting consultant who drew the map for Democrats, is expected to testify. The Justice Department alleges that Mitchell and state leaders admitted that they redrawn some districts to have a Latino majority.
The lawsuit cites a news release from state Democrats that said the new map “retains and expands Voting Rights Act districts that empower Latino voters” while making no changes to black-majority districts in the Oakland and Los Angeles areas. The federal Voting Rights Act, passed in the 1960s, sets rules for drawing districts to ensure minority groups have enough political power. The lawsuit also cites a Cal Poly Pomona and Caltech study that concluded the new map would increase Latino voting power.
“Race cannot be used as a proxy to advance political interests, but that is exactly what the California General Assembly has done with Proposition 50 – a recent ballot initiative that canceled California’s pre-existing electoral map in favor of quick-action redistricting of California’s congressional district lines,” the lawsuit says.
House Democrats need to gain only a few seats next year to take control of the chamber, which would jeopardize their agenda for the remainder of Trump’s term and open the door to congressional investigations into his administration. Republicans hold 219 seats, while Democrats hold 214 seats.