They pointed to statements from Paul Mitchell, who led the effort to redraw the districts, that he hoped to \u201cbolster\u201d Latino representatives in the Central Valley. <\/p>\n
But the court turned down the appeal in a one-line order with no explanation<\/a>. <\/p>\n Share via Close extra sharing options <\/p>\n It was unusual for the Justice Department and the U.S. solicitor general to intervene in a state election dispute, especially after staking out the opposite view in a similar dispute from Texas.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s lawyers said the Texas redistricting favoring Republicans should be upheld, but the California redistricting favoring Democrats should be blocked. <\/p>\n The Trump arguments were met by silence from the court, including its six conservatives. <\/p>\n In defense of California\u2019s new map, the state\u2019s attorneys told the court<\/a> the GOP claims defied the public\u2019s understanding of the mid-decade redistricting and contradicted the facts regarding the racial and ethnic makeup of the districts. <\/p>\n Newsom proposed redrawing the state\u2019s 52 congressional districts to \u201cfight back against Trump\u2019s power grab in Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n He said that if Texas was going to redraw its districts to benefit Republicans so as to keep control of the House of Representatives, California should do the same to benefit Democrats. <\/p>\n Voters approved the change in November. <\/p>\n While the new map has five more Democratic-leaning districts, the state\u2019s attorneys said it did not increase the number with a Latino majority. <\/p>\n \u201cBefore Proposition 50, there were 16 Latino-majority districts. After Proposition 50, there is the same number. The average Latino share of the voting-age population also declined in those 16 districts,\u201d they wrote. <\/p>\n It would be \u201cstrange for California to undertake a mid-decade restricting effort with the predominant purpose of benefiting Latino voters and then enact a new map that contains an identical number of Latino-majority districts,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s lawyers pointed to the 13th Congressional District in Merced County and said its lines were drawn to benefit Latinos. <\/p>\n The state\u2019s attorneys said that too was incorrect. \u201cThe Latino voting-age population [in District 13] decreased after Proposition 50\u2019s enactment,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770318861_396_.jpeg\")
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