Republicans ask US Supreme Court to bar California from using new House maps while case is decided

The California Republican Party asked the U.S. Supreme Court to temporarily block California from using the Proposition 50 congressional maps that voters approved in November while awaiting a decision by the nation’s highest court on whether the maps are constitutional.

The emergency application was filed Tuesday, Jan. 20, following a decision by a federal three-judge panel in Los Angeles last week, which, in a 2-1 ruling, said California can use the new, voter-approved U.S. House maps for the 2026 midterm elections.

Republicans are appealing.

And they’re asking Justice Elena Kagan, who was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by then-President Barack Obama and is assigned to the Ninth Circuit, to issue an injunction to temporarily reinstate the 2021 congressional maps drawn by an independent redistricting commission while the Supreme Court hears their appeal.

The plaintiffs want an injunction granted by Feb. 9, citing the start of the filing period for candidates running for a House seat in California.

Plaintiffs in the case include the state Republican Party, individual California Republicans and the U.S. Department of Justice.

They alleged the new maps — which give Democrats the advantage — are illegal because they took race into consideration and were drawn to favor Latino voters.

“California cannot create districts by race, and the state should not be allowed to lock in districts that break federal law,” California Republican Party Chair Corrin Rankin said in a statement.

“Our emergency application asks the Supreme Court to put the brakes on Prop. 50 now, before the Democrats try to run out the clock and force candidates and voters to live with unconstitutional congressional districts,” she added. “Californians deserve fair districts and clean elections, not a backroom redraw that picks winners and losers based on race.”

California Democrats, meanwhile, say the new maps are legal, maintaining that they were drawn for partisan advantage. And last week’s three-judge panel concluded that there wasn’t strong evidence to support Republicans’ claim that the maps were drawn based on race.

“Republicans’ weak attempt to silence voters failed,” Newsom said following last week’s ruling.

The nation’s redistricting war started last year after Texas Republicans, prompted by President Donald Trump, began considering redrawing their congressional maps to give Republicans an advantage in the 2026 midterm elections. Newsom then proposed a similar scheme in California to counter the Texas move.

Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have also adopted new maps, but those favor Republicans, and the Justice Department has only sued California.

In December, the Supreme Court ruled that Texas could use its new maps for the 2026 election because they were drawn with partisan goals. Conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a concurring opinion that California’s maps were also approved for political advantage, signaling it may also stand.

The congressional maps that California voters approved in November position Democrats in the state to potentially pick up five additional House seats.

Should Democrats regain control of the House after this year’s midterm elections, it could thwart Trump’s agenda for the remainder of his term and pave the way for congressional investigations into his administration.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.