The Supreme Court’s approval of how Texas Republicans reduced the state’s congressional map is giving California Democrats hope as they prepare to defend their maps in court this month — and encouraging other states to step up.
The high court allowed Texas to use the congressional map, giving Republicans a better chance at five more U.S. House seats, blocking a district court ruling that the new boundaries were likely unconstitutional because they were drawn along racial lines.
Texas Republicans argued that partisan advantage, not race, drove their decisions. In a short order issued Thursday, the Supreme Court majority wrote that the lower court “failed to respect the Legislature’s presumption of good faith” in blocking the map. And in a concurrence, conservative Justice Samuel Alito clearly linked Texas redistricting to what California Democrats did.
It was “undeniable,” Alito wrote, “that the motivation for adopting the Texas map (like the map later adopted in California) was partisan advantage pure and simple.” He wrote for himself and two other conservatives, Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch.
The court’s ruling could give Democratic- and Republican-led states the green light to try to create as many seats as possible in their favor before next year’s midterms. It also eases pressure from the U.S. Justice Department to reshape California’s map to produce five new Democratic-friendly seats, legal experts said.
“It’s going to be an uphill battle for the California Department of Justice after this decision,” said Derek Mueller, a University of Notre Dame law professor who specializes in election law. “The court went out of its way to refer to California — a case not before them — to put it on par with Texas.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office and Justice Department officials clashed on social media after the Supreme Court action.
Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated the high court’s decision, writing in X that it says “federal courts have no authority to interfere with state decisions to redraw legislative maps for partisan reasons.”
Newsom’s press office responded: “So you’re going to drop the case against us, Pam?”
“No chance, Gavin — we’ll block your DEI districts for 2026,” the DOJ’s official account responded.
A district court hearing in the California case is scheduled for Dec. 15.
Despite the online bravado, there are “new obstacles in its way” after the Supreme Court’s action in the California Department of Justice case, said Justin Levitt, a Loyola Law School professor who works on election issues in Democratic administrations. “You can’t really win a case through marketing. Courts aren’t doing TikTok.”
The debate over the Texas and California maps is part of an ongoing, broader battle between political parties for power ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Republicans hold a paper-thin majority in the US House, and the president’s party typically loses ground in midterm elections.
To help preserve the GOP’s majority, Texas redrawn its map at Trump’s behest in an effort to gain five more seats favorable to Republicans. California responded with a redrawing of its map, which voters approved by a wide margin last month.
Other states have also implemented new maps — with new Republican-friendly districts now in North Carolina, Ohio and Missouri. (Opponents of the Missouri redraw plan to send petitions to state officials next week, aiming to block the map and put it up to voters to decide. But months of political and legal wrangling are still expected.)
The Republican-controlled Indiana House on Friday approved a map pushed by Trump that would give the party gains in all nine of its congressional districts, though its fate in the state Senate is uncertain. Democrats currently hold two seats in the US House from Indiana, while Republicans hold seven seats.
National Democratic leaders continue to push for new maps in deep-blue Illinois and Maryland. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries argued this week that redrawn Texas districts that favor Republicans, such as Rep. Henry Cuellar, who was recently pardoned by Trump.
The biggest gains for Democrats could come in Virginia, where the party will control the governor’s office and both legislative chambers next year. Democrats currently hold six of the 11 seats in the US House. Virginia House Speaker Don Scott recently argued that a map that gives Democrats an edge in 10 of 11 districts “is not out of bounds.”
Virginia Senate Pro Tem Louis Lucas responded to Thursday’s ruling Texas map with two posts on his X account.
“I got something waiting for Texas…,” he wrote, adding, “I’ll be giving a follow back to everyone who sees the 10-1 tweet tonight.”
Marina Jenkins, executive director of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Texas map shows her party cannot rely on the courts to block redistricting efforts targeting Democrats.
“It’s clear that no one else is going to come to our rescue,” Jenkins said. “No cavalry is coming, if we are to fight for our democracy, we must do it ourselves.
Create an account at CNN.com for more CNN news and newsletters
