Just one day after California voters approved Proposition 50, a ballot measure allowing the state to redraw its congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms, California Republicans have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the new redistricting effort.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, argues that the Newsom-backed redistricting plan violates the 14th and 15th Amendments by redrawing districts “specifically to favor Hispanic voters, without cause or evidence to justify it.”
The plaintiffs, including the California Republican Party, several GOP candidates, and a group of voters, claim the measure amounts to an unconstitutional, race-based gerrymander.
Dear Gavin Newsom,
— Mark Meuser (@MarkMeuser) November 5, 2025
I hate to rain on your parade but your celebration over the passage of Prop 50 will need to wait a few days.
You have been sued. Your unconstitutional racial gerrymandering is now heading to a federal three-judge panel and maybe to the SCOTUS to determining… pic.twitter.com/qVcnb5yvOK
“While the Constitution entrusts states with designing congressional districts, the Supreme Court has also held that states may not, without a compelling reason backed by evidence that was in fact considered, separate citizens into different voting districts on the basis of race,” the complaint states.
Proposition 50 passed overwhelmingly, giving Democrats the authority to temporarily bypass the state’s independent redistricting commission to create a more favorable congressional map.
The measure was introduced in direct response to Republican-led redistricting in Texas, where lawmakers moved aggressively to consolidate GOP control of competitive districts.
California’s new map is expected to create four to five new Democratic-leaning seats, a shift in a cycle where control of the House is likely to come down to a handful of districts.
The move was celebrated by Democratic leaders as a strategic correction in what has become a nationwide “redistricting arms race.”
But Republicans quickly signaled they would challenge the change in court and they delivered on that promise almost immediately
The California lawsuit joins more than 100 redistricting challenges filed across the country since the 2020 Census, as states jockey for congressional advantage.
Recent suits include:
- Virginia Republicans challenging Democratic-backed district maps
- Four separate lawsuits in Missouri targeting GOP-favored maps
- Ongoing litigation in North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, and Alabama over voting power and racial fairness
The California case could become one of the highest-profile fights, not only because of the size of the state’s congressional delegation, but because Proposition 50 could serve as a model for Democratic-controlled states elsewhere.
The court will first determine whether to grant an injunction to temporarily block the new maps while litigation continues. Without one, California’s new political boundaries could be finalized as early as spring, reshaping the national electoral landscape.
And as the House remains narrowly divided, even a handful of new seats could influence the balance of power in Washington.
