Federal judges are allowing California to use the new U.S. House map before the 2026 midterm elections

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California can use a new voter-approved U.S. House map designed to boost Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections, a three-judge federal panel ruled Wednesday.

In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel in Los Angeles rejected requests from state Republicans and the US Department of Justice to block the map from being used in upcoming elections. The complaint accused California of violating the Constitution by using race as a factor to favor Hispanic voters when drawing new district lines.

Read more: DOJ and California go to court over new congressional map designed to favor Democrats

The map, intended to give Democrats a chance to flip up to five House seats next year, was decisively approved by voters through Proposition 50 in November. The effort was pushed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is eyeing a presidential run in 2028, to counter a similar effort in Texas backed by President Donald Trump to help Republicans win five House seats. Republicans currently hold nine of California’s 52 congressional seats.

The ruling is a victory for Democrats in a mid-decade state-by-state redistricting battle that could help determine which party wins control of the U.S. House in 2026. In the wake of the tit-for-tat between the nation’s two most populous states, several Republican-led states, including Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, have adopted new district lines that could provide a partisan advantage. A judge has ordered Republican-run Utah to adopt a map that creates a Democratic-leaning district. The Department of Justice has only sued the state of California.

“Republicans’ weak attempt to silence voters has failed,” Newsom said in a statement.

Republicans pledged to appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court.

“The reasoned dissenting opinion better reflects our interpretation of the law and the facts, which we will reaffirm before the Supreme Court,” Corinne Rankin, chairwoman of the California Republican Party, said in a statement.

California Democrats said the new map was legal because it was drawn for partisan gain. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that partisan gerrymandering is a political matter and not for federal courts to decide. The California panel of judges affirmed the state’s characterization, saying there was no solid evidence to support drawing maps based on race.

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

In dissent, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Lee, a Trump appointee, said at least one district had been selected using race as a factor “to gain support from Latino groups and voters.”

The ruling also comes after the Supreme Court ruled in December that Texas should be allowed to use its new map for the 2026 election because it was drawn with partisan goals. The California map was also approved for political gain, suggesting it may also be valid, conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a concurring opinion.

New U.S. House maps are drawn across the country after the census every 10 years. Some states, such as California, rely on an independent commission to draw maps, while other states, such as Texas, allow politicians to draw them. Efforts to create new maps in the middle of the decade are highly unusual.

House Democrats need to pick up a few seats next year to take control of the chamber, which could thwart Trump’s agenda for the remainder of his term and open the way for congressional investigations into his administration. Republicans enjoy a narrow margin of control in the House of Representatives, winning 218 seats compared to 213 for Democrats.