The agency intervened in a lawsuit brought by the California Republican Party seeking to throw out a map, approved last week by the state’s voters, that would redraw House districts to favor Democrats.
On Thursday, the Justice Department announced it would join a lawsuit filed by the California Republican Party that aims to block new voter-approved congressional maps championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat.
The state’s top Republicans wanted to join President Trump’s push to redraw congressional maps. But plans for a special session fell apart when some lawmakers resisted.
The judge instead adopted a map drawn by a centrist coalition. Democrats celebrated the ruling ahead of the 2026 midterms, but Republicans vowed to fight it.
Celebrating his recent redistricting victory, the California governor swooped into a state led by a Republican rival and sent the latest signal about his presidential ambitions.
Representatives Ken Calvert and Young Kim will vie for the same district, underscoring the dilemma faced by state Republicans as their territory dwindles after the passage of Proposition 50.
First, Texas redistricted. Other states followed, and now California. Some legal experts say it’s a crisis: “The wheels are coming off the car right now.”
California voters on Tuesday passed Proposition 50, which could create as many as five new Democratic-leaning districts for the 2026 midterm elections.
California voters on Tuesday approved Proposition 50, a ballot measure that redrew the state’s congressional districts to help Democrats flip up to five seats next year.
The seat, long held by Black Houston leaders, has been vacant since March. The winner is likely to face Representative Al Green in a district altered by Republican gerrymandering.
“What a night for the Democratic Party — a party that is in its ascendancy, a party that’s on its toes, no longer on its heels,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday night.
In Virginia, New Jersey and beyond, Democratic voters powered their candidates to victory and sent a warning sign to President Trump and his Republican Party.
The aggressive gerrymander could help Democrats flip as many as five House seats next year. While that could neutralize new maps in Texas, Republicans are redrawing more district lines elsewhere.
Prominent conservatives, including the president, sounded familiar alarms about voter suppression and other efforts to manipulate the vote on Election Day, without presenting evidence.
Gov. Wes Moore said in a statement on Tuesday that the state would “explore every avenue possible to make sure Maryland has fair and representative maps.”
The mayor’s race in New York will gauge voters’ desire for a left-wing shift, and Democrats running for governor in New Jersey and Virginia again made fighting the president central to their bids.
President Trump is imploring lawmakers to redraw their congressional maps to stave off Democratic control of the House. But the debate over redistricting has revealed fissures within both parties.
What began with Texas drawing what could be five new Republican districts in the House of Representatives at President Trump’s behest has spiraled into a nationwide redistricting race. Nick Corasaniti, a New York Times reporter covering national politics, gives an overview.
As redistricting efforts spread across the country, an Indiana state senator said he isn’t sure how he will vote on a plan that President Trump supports.
Greg Goode, a Republican state lawmaker from Indiana, asked constituents to tell him what they think of drawing new political maps to favor Republicans in Congress.
Democrats are concerned that the immigration crackdown will hurt Latino turnout on Tuesday. Republicans dispute that the raids will play any role in the election.
Proponents say voters are motivated by stopping President Trump. Republicans have already begun pointing fingers over lackluster fund-raising and coordination.
David Huerta, the president of S.E.I.U.’s local chapter, right, and other union members have told voters that Proposition 50 was their chance to stop President Trump.
The Republican candidate for governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, who is the current lieutenant governor, had to leave the campaign trail to preside over the State Senate.
Republicans hold 10 of the state’s 15 seats in the House. The new map improves the party’s odds of picking up two more in next year’s midterm elections.
State Senator Nickie Antonio, a Democrat, who serves on the Ohio Redistricting Commission, presented a proposed map at the panel’s meeting last week in Columbus.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has attracted support for his redistricting ballot measure from voters outside of California. He could reap the benefits for a 2028 presidential run.
Small donors from across the country combined to give Gov. Gavin Newsom $38 million for a ballot measure intended to stop Republicans from retaining complete control of the federal government in 2026.
Republicans in Texas, North Carolina and Missouri have passed new maps while Democrats in California, Illinois and Virginia are pursuing similar efforts in response.
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