The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a last-ditch effort by California Republicans to block a congressional map projected to secure five additional House seats for Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections, allowing the measure enacted through Proposition 50 to advance.
In a single-sentence order, the justices rejected an emergency appeal from a coalition of Republican advocates seeking to maintain the current districting scheme while their legal challenge progressed. The ruling follows the court’s December decision in Abbott v. League of United Latin American Citizens, where it greenlit Texas’ partisan redistricting map after finding its adoption driven by “partisan advantage pure and simple.”
California’s legislative path to the new map proved more complex than Texas’. After the state legislature approved the redistricting plan in August, lawmakers turned to voters via Proposition 50—a constitutional amendment initiative—to bypass the state’s independent redistricting commission. The measure gained approval by a roughly two-to-one margin in November’s special election.
“While I am disappointed that the Supreme Court decided not to issue an injunction in the Proposition 50 case, this is not the end of the road,” said attorney Mark Meuser, representing California Republicans. “This case will move back to the district court where we resolve the merits of the lawsuit. It will likely return to the Supreme Court very soon.”
Meuser emphasized that the initiative’s purpose was to counter what he described as President Donald Trump’s “power grab” in Texas, which passed its own map targeting five Republican congressional seats. Both Governor Gavin Newsom and Republican Governor Greg Abbott have asserted their maps were politically motivated without racial predominance. Yet California Republicans argued the initiative constituted a “pernicious and unconstitutional use of race” designed to amplify Latino voting strength for Democrats.
The Supreme Court’s decision effectively nullifies the recent mid-cycle redistricting maneuvers in both states, cementing California’s map as the framework for elections through 2030.
