The Supreme Court has paved the way for California to use its new congressional map for this year’s midterm election. It’s a win for California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic Party.
California voters approved the redistricting plan in a special election last year. State Republicans and the Department of Justice sued Newsom arguing that the new map violated the Constitution because it was driven by race, not partisan politics. A lower federal court disagreed.
Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued a simple statement in the case of David Tangipa (a Republican state Assembly member) versus Newsom, saying, “The application for writ of injunction pending appeal presented to Justice Kagan and by her referred to the Court is denied.” The justices included no dissents nor explanation.
The ruling comes after the Supreme Court allowed Texas to use the gerrymandered map that could give Republicans in the Lone Star state five more House seats in the midterm election.
Proposition 50
The Supreme Court ruling caps a debate that sent California residents to the polls, where a majority voted “yes” on Proposition 50 in November 2025. The plan redraws the state’s congressional district lines in a way that could favor Democrats.
Proposition 50 was designed to offset the move by Texas that will likely create more Republican seats in the House of Representatives after the midterms.
After it passed, Newsom said in a speech, “We’re proud of the work that the people of the state of California did tonight to send a powerful message to an historic president, Donald Trump is an historic president.” Newson went on to say, “He is the most historically unpopular president in modern history.”
Republicans quickly filed an appeal that went all the way to the Supreme Court ending in Wednesday’s loss.
The opposition to Proposition 50 came from the wealthy to the working class. Charles Munger Jr., a Berkshire Hathaway heir, poured millions of dollars into the fight against Newsom’s redistricting plan, saying it would “gerrymander” the state in favor of Democrats.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor and former California governor, said during the Proposition 50 push, “They are trying to fight for democracy by getting rid of the democratic principles of California. It is insane to let that happen.”
Other opponents included people who live in rural parts of the state and feared that redistricting would combine cities and opposing views. Fredrich Bahrke, a former naval officer who lives in rural Lakeside, CA, told CalMatters, “It’s going to put us in a district with people with very different views in our area.”