Court-approved California House map boosts Democrats for 2026

California can move forward with a new U.S. House map that would boost Democrats’ chances in the 2026 midterm elections, a federal court ruled Wednesday.

A three-judge panel in Los Angeles ruled 2-1 denying requests from both state Republicans and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to block use of the map, giving Democrats a realistic chance of flipping up to five House seats in the midterm elections.

In November, California voters passed a ballot initiative, known as Proposition 50, that radically changed the state’s congressional districts. The pursuit of the new map was largely seen as an attempt to make up for recent redistricting in Texas, which generated more Republican-leaning districts.

“Republicans’ weak attempt to silence voters has failed,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “California voters overwhelmingly supported Proposition 50 — to respond to Trump’s fraud in Texas — and that is exactly what this court concluded.”

Federal judges block Texas from using redrawn congressional map

The complaint challenged California’s efforts to redraw the state’s congressional map, with lawyers for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division arguing that race “has been used as a proxy” to justify creating districts that benefit Democrats.

But California Democrats said the map was legal because it was drawn for partisan gain.

In 2019, the US Supreme Court ruled that partisan gerrymandering is a political matter and not for federal courts to decide. On Wednesday, the California panel backed the state’s argument, saying there was insufficient evidence that the maps were drawn based on race.

The red state is moving forward in a Trump-backed campaign for a new congressional map

“After reviewing the evidence, we conclude that it was exactly as one might think: it was partisan,” the judges wrote.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Lee, an appointee of President Donald Trump, said in dissent that at least one district had been selected using race as a factor “to curry favor with Latino groups and voters.”

However, Republicans are expected to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

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The committee’s ruling represents a major victory for Democrats after the implementation of new congressional maps in many Republican-led states.

Last year, Missouri moved forward with congressional redistricting in favor of Republicans, and North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature signed off on a new map that could lead to an additional GOP victory in Congress.

“Californians voted overwhelmingly in favor of Proposition 50,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “Today’s decision upholds the will of the people. It also means that, so far, every challenge against Proposition 50 has failed.” “I could not be more proud of my team for successfully defending this ballot initiative in court on behalf of Governor Newsom and Secretary Weber. We remain confident in the legitimacy of Proposition 50.”

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Household maps are typically redrawn every 10 years after the census, and rarely in the middle of a decade. California relies on an independent commission to draw the maps, while other states, including Texas, allow lawmakers to lead the effort.

In order to regain control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, Democrats need to gain only a few seats. Republicans currently have a narrow majority of 218 seats, compared to 213 for Democrats.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser, Ashley Oliver and The Associated Press contributed to this report.