FRESNO, Calif. — California Republicans filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to block a new U.S. House map that California voters overwhelmingly approved at the ballot on Tuesday – and a San Joaquin Valley lawmaker is leading the effort.
Proposition 50, pushed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, was designed to help Democrats flip as many as five congressional House seats in the midterm elections next year.
But the lawsuit – whose plaintiffs include Fresno County Assemblymember David Tangipa, the California Republican Party and a handful of individual voters – claims the map-makers improperly used race as a factor to favor Hispanic voters "without cause or evidence to justify it." The lawsuit claims the maps violate the Constitution and asks the court to block the new boundaries ahead of the 2026 elections.
The lawsuit cites a Supreme Court ruling that declares "states may not, without a compelling reason backed by evidence that was in fact considered, separate citizens into different voting districts on the basis of race.”
Two analyses have shown there were no voting rights problems that warranted the redrawing of the map, the lawsuit adds.
“This whole process was a sham,” said Tangipa at a news conference on Wednesday. “With this lawsuit, we will make sure that we will expose it and we will hold those accountable.”
In the weeks leading up to the special election, the measure had met with considerable opposition in the Valley. Tangipa paid for roadside signs throughout the Valley urging voters to vote “no” on Prop 50.
Boards of supervisors in three counties passed resolutions formally opposing the measure, some of whom lead the region’s right-leaning agricultural community. As of the most recent vote count, most Valley counties went for “No,” although the two sides in Fresno County appeared to be in a dead heat.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, was submitted by The Dhillon Law Group, the California-based firm started by Harmeet Dhillon, who is now an assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. It’s funded by the National Republican Congressional Committee.
The lawsuit also alleges that state lawmakers and a mapmaking consultant admitted in public statements that they intentionally redrew some districts to have a Latino majority. In one of the press releases from state Democrats, lawmakers said that the new map "retains and expands Voting Rights Act districts that empower Latino voters" while making no changes to Black majority districts in the Oakland and Los Angeles areas, the lawsuit says.
"The map is designed to favor one race of California voters over others," said Dhillon Law Group attorney Mike Columbo at a news conference Wednesday. "This violates the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law, and the right under the 15th Amendment."
The mapmaking consultant Paul Mitchell declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation. Newsom's office said on a social media post that the state hasn't reviewed the lawsuit but is confident the challenge will fail. "Good luck, losers," the post reads.
Democrats said the measure is their best chance to blunt Texas Republicans' move to redraw their own maps to pick up five GOP seats at Trump's urging.
It's unclear whether a three-judge panel convened to hear such cases would grant a temporary restraining order before Dec. 19, the date when candidates can start collecting voter signatures to qualify for the ballot. It's essentially the first step in officially running in the 2026 midterm elections.
Columbo said he's hoping to get a decision in the upcoming weeks and predicted the case could reach the Supreme Court. Republicans have filed multiple lawsuits in California to block Democrats' plan with little success so far.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
