The Supreme Court\u2019s endorsement of how Texas Republicans redrew the state\u2019s congressional map is offering hope to California Democrats as they prepare to defend their map in court this month \u2013 and emboldening other states to move ahead.<\/p>\n
The high court allowed Texas to use a congressional map<\/a> giving Republicans a better chance at five additional US House seats, staying a district court\u2019s ruling that the new boundaries were likely unconstitutional because they were drawn based on race.<\/p>\n Texas Republicans argued that partisan gain, not race, drove their decisions. In a short order issued Thursday, the Supreme Court\u2019s majority wrote that the lower court \u201cfailed to honor the presumption of legislative good faith\u201d in blocking the map. And in a concurrence, conservative Justice Samuel Alito explicitly linked Texas\u2019 redistricting to what California Democrats did.<\/p>\n It was \u201cindisputable,\u201d Alito wrote, that \u201cthe impetus for the adoption of the Texas map (like the map subsequently adopted in California) was partisan advantage pure and simple.\u201d He wrote for himself and two other conservatives, Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch.<\/p>\n The court\u2019s 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\u2019s midterms. It also undercuts the US Department of Justice\u2019s push to throw out California\u2019s map producing up to five new Democratic-friendly seats, legal experts said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be an uphill battle for the Department of Justice in California after this decision,\u201d said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, who specializes in election law. \u201cThe court went out of its way to mention California \u2013 a case that\u2019s not before them \u2013 to put it in symmetry with Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n California Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s office and Justice Department officials tussled on social media after the Supreme Court\u2019s action.<\/p>\n Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated the high court\u2019s decision, writing on X that it demonstrated that \u201cfederal courts have no right to interfere with a State\u2019s decision to redraw legislative maps for partisan reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n Newsom\u2019s press office responded: \u201cSo you gonna drop your lawsuit against us right, Pam?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot a chance, Gavin \u2014 we will stop your DEI districts for 2026,\u201d retorted<\/a> the DOJ\u2019s official account.<\/p>\n A district court hearing in the California case is set for December 15.<\/p>\n Despite the online bravado, the Justice Department\u2019s case in California \u201chas a bunch of new roadblocks in its way\u201d after the Supreme Court\u2019s action, said Justin Levitt, a Loyola Law School professor who has worked on election issues in Democratic administrations. \u201cYou can\u2019t actually win a case through marketing. The courts aren\u2019t doing TikTok.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s midterm elections. Republicans hold a paper-thin majority in the US House, and the president\u2019s party typically loses ground in the midterm elections.<\/p>\n To help protect the GOP\u2019s majority, Texas redrew its maps at Trump\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Other states also have enacted new maps \u2013 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.)<\/p>\n The Republican-controlled Indiana House on Friday approved<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> by Trump, still could win reelection in Texas districts that have been redrawn to favor Republicans.<\/p>\n The biggest gains for Democrats could come in Virginia, where the party next year will control the governor\u2019s office and both legislative chambers. Democrats currently hold six of 11 US House seats. Virginia House Speaker Don Scott recently argued<\/a> that a map giving Democrats an edge in 10 of 11 districts \u201cis not out of the realm.\u201d<\/p>\n Virginia Senate Pro Tem Louise Lucas responded to Thursday\u2019s ruling clearing Texas\u2019 map with two posts on her X account.<\/p>\n \u201cI got something waiting for Texas\u2026,\u201d she wrote<\/a>, followed by<\/a>: \u201cI will give a follow back to every person who I see tweet 10-1 tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n Marina Jenkins, executive director of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said the Supreme Court\u2019s decision upholding the Texas map demonstrates that her party can\u2019t rely on the court to stop redistricting efforts targeting Democrats.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s clear that no one else is coming to save us,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cNo cavalry is coming. If we are going to fight for our democracy, we have to do it ourselves.<\/p>\n