How the Supreme Court emboldened Democrats in California and elsewhere redrawing US House maps

By Fredreka Schouten, CNN

(CNN) — The Supreme Court’s endorsement of how Texas Republicans redrew the state’s congressional map is offering hope to California Democrats as they prepare to defend their map in court this month – and emboldening other states to move ahead.

The high court allowed Texas to use a congressional map giving Republicans a better chance at five additional US House seats, staying a district court’s ruling that the new boundaries were likely unconstitutional because they were drawn based on race.

Texas Republicans argued that partisan gain, not race, drove their decisions. In a short order issued Thursday, the Supreme Court’s majority wrote that the lower court “failed to honor the presumption of legislative good faith” in blocking the map. And in a concurrence, conservative Justice Samuel Alito explicitly linked Texas’ redistricting to what California Democrats did.

It was “indisputable,” Alito wrote, that “the impetus for the adoption of the Texas map (like the map subsequently 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 statements could give Democratic- and Republican-led states the green light to try to create as many seats friendly to their side as possible ahead of next year’s midterms. It also undercuts the US Department of Justice’s push to throw out California’s map producing up to five new Democratic-friendly seats, legal experts said.

“It’s going to be an uphill battle for the Department of Justice in California after this decision,” said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, who specializes in election law. “The court went out of its way to mention California – a case that’s not before them – to put it in symmetry with Texas.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office and Justice Department officials tussled on social media after the Supreme Court’s action.

Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated the high court’s decision, writing on X that it demonstrated that “federal courts have no right to interfere with a State’s decision to redraw legislative maps for partisan reasons.”

Newsom’s press office responded: “So you gonna drop your lawsuit against us right, Pam?”

“Not a chance, Gavin — we will stop your DEI districts for 2026,” retorted the DOJ’s official account.

A district court hearing in the California case is set for December 15.

Despite the online bravado, the Justice Department’s case in California “has a bunch of new roadblocks in its way” after the Supreme Court’s action, said Justin Levitt, a Loyola Law School professor who has worked on election issues in Democratic administrations. “You can’t actually win a case through marketing. The courts aren’t doing TikTok.”

The debate over the Texas and California maps is part of an ever-widening battle between the political parties to gain an upper hand 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 the midterm elections.

To help protect the GOP’s majority, Texas redrew its maps at Trump’s behest in an effort to gain five more seats that are favorable to Republicans. California responded with its map redraw, which voters endorsed by a wide margin last month.

Other states also have enacted new maps – with new Republican-friendly districts now in place in North Carolina, Ohio and Missouri. (Opponents of the Missouri redraw are slated to deliver petitions to state officials next week, aimed at blocking the map and putting it 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 an advantage in all nine of its congressional districts, although its fate is uncertain in the state Senate. Democrats currently control two US House seats from Indiana, and Republicans hold seven.

National Democratic leaders continue to press for new maps in deep-blue Illinois and Maryland. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries argued this week that Democratic incumbents such as Rep. Henry Cuellar, recently pardoned by Trump, still could win reelection in Texas districts that have been redrawn to favor Republicans.

The biggest gains for Democrats could come in Virginia, where the party next year will control the governor’s office and both legislative chambers. Democrats currently hold six of 11 US House seats. Virginia House Speaker Don Scott recently argued that a map giving Democrats an edge in 10 of 11 districts “is not out of the realm.”

Virginia Senate Pro Tem Louise Lucas responded to Thursday’s ruling clearing Texas’ map with two posts on her X account.

“I got something waiting for Texas…,” she wrote, followed by: “I will give a follow back to every person who I see tweet 10-1 tonight.”

Marina Jenkins, executive director of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Texas map demonstrates that her party can’t rely on the court to stop redistricting efforts targeting Democrats.

“It’s clear that no one else is coming to save us,” Jenkins said. “No cavalry is coming. If we are going to fight for our democracy, we have to do it ourselves.

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