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The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed California to use a newly approved congressional map for this year’s midterm elections, handing Democrats a major political victory as they seek to reclaim control of the narrowly divided U.S. House.
The decision came in a one-sentence order with no explanation and no noted dissents. Republicans had asked the justices to block the map, arguing that it amounted to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering.
The map — drawn by Democratic lawmakers and approved by voters last November through Proposition 50 — could give Democrats an opportunity to gain as many as five House seats in November.
Court declines to intervene
The Supreme Court’s order leaves intact a ruling last month by a federal district court, which declined to halt the map after concluding that the new district lines were drawn for partisan reasons rather than racial ones, as Republicans alleged.
Republicans had urged the justices to act by Feb. 9, citing California’s fast-approaching election calendar. Candidate filing in the state closes March 6, with the primary election scheduled for June 2.
The high court’s refusal to intervene clears the way for the map to be used immediately.
Democratic pushback to Texas map
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, was a leading advocate for the redistricting effort, framing it as a counter to a Republican-backed map enacted last summer in Texas that could similarly net the GOP up to five additional House seats.
The Texas map — pursued at the urging of President Donald Trump — was allowed to take effect after the Supreme Court ruled in December that it could be used for the 2026 elections.
Democrats in Texas had argued that GOP lawmakers improperly relied on race when drawing district boundaries, echoing the claims Republicans made in challenging California’s map. A lower court briefly blocked the Texas plan before the Supreme Court reversed course.
Unusual mid-decade redistricting fight
The back-and-forth between California and Texas has fueled an unusually aggressive mid-decade redistricting cycle, with both parties openly maneuvering for an edge in the House.
Traditionally, states redraw congressional maps only once every 10 years following the U.S. Census. But the closely divided House has raised the stakes, prompting lawmakers in both parties to test the legal limits of redistricting outside the normal cycle.
With the Supreme Court’s decision, Democrats now gain a significant structural advantage in the nation’s most populous state as the 2026 midterms approach.
