Assemblyman David Tangipa explains why he sued state leaders over new congressional maps | California Politics 360
Tomorrow California leaders and Republicans will try to make their case in court as to whether the state should keep its new congressional district maps. California voters approved those maps last month to give Democrats even more of an advantage in future elections. This all comes. As the United States Supreme Court allows Texas to keep its new maps that favor Republicans, earlier this week I spoke with Republican Assembly Member David Tangipa, who was part of the group who sued the state because of the new maps. Here’s our conversation. Assembly Member Tangi Paul, welcome back to the show. It is always great to join you. So what prompted you to want to file this lawsuit and be *** part of it against Proposition 50? Well, really, what we saw through the legislative process when they put this on the ballot was in 4 days, we were able to move mountains for something that I believe nobody was ever asking for here in the state of California realistically. And when you’re moving and jamming through the process as fast as they did, they’re gonna make mistakes, and we, I had actually warned them that if they were doing this and they were doing so as sloppily as they were. You know, they’re gonna have to face potential challenges, and we believe that they have violated the constitution. You know, they used race as *** justifiable means for what they really wanted, and that was *** political gerrymander. But there are very strict guidelines that if you are going to use race as *** justification for why you decided to redistrict, you have to follow the Voter Rights Act, you have to make sure that you’re taking into account all of the The uh, necessary problems and remedies and why it’s necessary to even race-based redistrict in the first place, and we don’t believe that they did any of that. I know they didn’t do *** lot of that, because even in the legislation itself, there’s *** portion where it says the assembly and the Senate Elections Committee prepared these maps. Well, that is *** lie. Because we know, as Paul Mitchell had stated himself, as you had him on your show, he said that he drew the maps. So if they were gonna lie both on who prepared the maps, if they lied on the fiscal impact that was given out to the voters, we were gonna make sure that we bring accountability back to California. And uh just to take *** step back here I mean as you just mentioned your lawsuit alleges California leaders violated the Voting Rights Act by giving Latinos specifically an advantage over other racial groups in those new maps, but the lawsuit against Texas’s maps also alleged Voting Rights Act violations but for suppressing. The vote of some racial groups, I mean, how confident are you with the Supreme Court allowing Texas to keep its maps and justices noting that states, including California, are basically just trying to give their dominant political party the upper hand here? I mean, how confident are you that this lawsuit really goes anywhere? Well, so this lawsuit is actually *** lot closer to the lawsuit that Texas faced in 2021 and that Louisiana had faced in 2021 as well. Talking about how these districts really do suppress other minority groups, and that’s exactly what we’re saying, is if the state of California and the people who drew the maps decided to use the Voter Rights Act to justify how they drew these districts, they need to make sure that they have all of the justifiable reasons. We do not believe they had that. If you look at the state of California, we have *** Latino and *** Hispanic larger population. They are actually the largest ethnic group in the state of California, and yet when Paul Mitchell put out these maps, he said the first thing he did was draw more racially drawn Latino districts. Well, if Latinos do make up the majority or the plurality in this state, then why do they need. More VRA style districts. And does that constitute *** barrier to other minority groups? We believe it does. But not only that, if you look at the Jingles case and the standard that was created under Jingles in 1986, there has to be an ethnic barrier too, that justifies the reason why you race-based redistrict. Well, and this is *** big reason why I decided to bring this lawsuit is I represent one of the whitest districts here in the state of California. I am Polynesian. I am the first Polynesian ever elected to the state legis legislature here in California. So it proves that even in white majority districts here, there is not an ethnic barrier for drawing VRA districts. So, when Paul Mitchell and the other groups in the legislature got together, said that they were gonna use race to justify their gerrymandering. Well, therefore, they violated the constitution. So again, Texas is um maps are significantly different, especially the new ones from 2025, because Texas never came out and said that we were drawing VRA districts. Texas came out entirely and said that we are drawing political districts. That is fundamentally different than what the words that came out of the people who supported Prop 50. My full conversation with Fresno Assembly Member David Tangipa is on Calpolitics 360.com. I invited the map drawer that the assemblyman mentioned, Paul Mitchell, to join the show. He declined citing the court case. The hearing is scheduled to begin tomorrow morning in Los Angeles.
Assemblyman David Tangipa explains why he sued state leaders over new congressional maps | California Politics 360
Updated: 8:36 AM PST Dec 14, 2025
On Monday, a three-judge panel in the U.S. Central District Court of California will begin hearing arguments for and against California’s new congressional district maps, which were drawn to help more Democrats win future elections. Republicans have sued state leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Secretary of State Shirley Weber, for the newly drawn maps, which voters approved through Proposition 50. Assemblyman David Tangipa, R-Fresno, is among the group that sued. Attorneys on behalf of Republicans said California violated the U.S. Constitution by favoring Latinos over other racial groups when the maps were quickly put together. “In four days, we were able to move mountains for something that I believe nobody was ever asking for here in the state of California, realistically,” said Tangipa in an interview on California Politics 360. “When you’re moving and jamming through the process as fast as they did, they’re going to make mistakes.” Monday’s hearing will come weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Texas to keep its maps, which were drawn to favor Republicans. Justices noted that states, including California, are redistricting to help their dominant political party. Experts have said that with its order on Texas, the nation’s highest court will likely allow California to keep its maps. When asked how confident he is that the lawsuit against California’s maps will go anywhere, Tangipa said the case is significantly different than Texas’. “When Paul Mitchell and other groups got together to say they were going to use race to justify gerrymandering, they violated the state constitution,” Tangipa said. “Texas never came out and said that ‘we were drawing VRA districts.’ Texas came out and said we are drawing political districts. That’s fundamentally different.” President Donald Trump didn’t do much to fight Proposition 50 and enabled the redistricting fight playing out among states across the country, which could ultimately benefit Republicans but sacrifice party seats in California in the process. When asked if California Republicans feel supported by the Trump administration, Tangipa said, “I really just want to focus on California.” “I am not for the gerrymandering,” Tangipa said. “When it comes to the President of the United States, it’s not up to me to police the President, it’s up to me to do my job as a Californian and as an elected official to make California better.” Watch the full interview with Assemblyman David Tangipa in the video player below:KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. She is also the host of “California Politics 360.” Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
On Monday, a three-judge panel in the U.S. Central District Court of California will begin hearing arguments for and against California’s new congressional district maps, which were drawn to help more Democrats win future elections.
Republicans have sued state leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Secretary of State Shirley Weber, for the newly drawn maps, which voters approved through Proposition 50. Assemblyman David Tangipa, R-Fresno, is among the group that sued. Attorneys on behalf of Republicans said California violated the U.S. Constitution by favoring Latinos over other racial groups when the maps were quickly put together.
“In four days, we were able to move mountains for something that I believe nobody was ever asking for here in the state of California, realistically,” said Tangipa in an interview on California Politics 360. “When you’re moving and jamming through the process as fast as they did, they’re going to make mistakes.”
Monday’s hearing will come weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Texas to keep its maps, which were drawn to favor Republicans. Justices noted that states, including California, are redistricting to help their dominant political party. Experts have said that with its order on Texas, the nation’s highest court will likely allow California to keep its maps.
When asked how confident he is that the lawsuit against California’s maps will go anywhere, Tangipa said the case is significantly different than Texas’.
“When Paul Mitchell [who Democrats paid to draw California’s maps] and other groups got together to say they were going to use race to justify gerrymandering, they violated the state constitution,” Tangipa said. “Texas never came out and said that ‘we were drawing VRA districts.’ Texas came out and said we are drawing political districts. That’s fundamentally different.”
President Donald Trump didn’t do much to fight Proposition 50 and enabled the redistricting fight playing out among states across the country, which could ultimately benefit Republicans but sacrifice party seats in California in the process.
When asked if California Republicans feel supported by the Trump administration, Tangipa said, “I really just want to focus on California.”
“I am not for the gerrymandering,” Tangipa said. “When it comes to the President of the United States, it’s not up to me to police the President, it’s up to me to do my job as a Californian and as an elected official to make California better.”
Watch the full interview with Assemblyman David Tangipa in the video player below:
KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. She is also the host of “California Politics 360.” Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel