A panel of federal judges on Wednesday rejected Republicans' claim that California's new congressional maps are unconstitutional.
"We find that Challengers have failed to show that racial gerrymandering occurred, and we conclude that there is no basis for issuing a preliminary injunction," Judge Josephine Staton wrote in the 2-1 ruling.
"Our conclusion probably seems obvious to anyone who followed the news in the summer and fall of 2025."
Judge Kenneth Lee dissented.
"California sullied its hands with this sordid business when it engaged in racial gerrymandering as part of its middecade congressional redistricting plan to add five more Democratic House seats," Lee's statement read.
"We know race likely played a predominant role in drawing at least one district because the smoking gun is in the hands of Paul Mitchell, the mapmaker who drew the congressional redistricting map adopted by the California state legislature," it continued.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, cheered the news, saying, "Republicans' weak attempt to silence voters failed."
"California voters overwhelmingly supported Prop 50 – to respond to Trump's rigging in Texas – and that is exactly what this court concluded," he said in a statement.
California in 2025 took the unusual step of approving Proposition 50, a constitutional amendment that allows the Democrat-controlled Legislature to replace the commission's map for the 2026, 2028, and 2030 election cycles, effectively enacting a new congressional map ahead of the usual 2031 redraw.
The new district boundaries are expected to be used starting with the 2026 elections.
California Republicans filed a federal lawsuit in November to block implementation of the map.
The lawsuit argued that the mapmakers improperly used race as a factor to favor Hispanic voters "without cause or evidence to justify it," and asked the court to block the new boundaries ahead of the 2026 elections.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, is funded by the National Republican Congressional Committee.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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