California Republicans aren’t taking Tuesday’s landslide victory for redistricting sitting down, instead announcing the morning after the statewide special election that they have filed a federal lawsuit to challenge Proposition 50.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs alleged the ballot measure violates the 14th and 15th amendments by unconstitutionally gerrymandering congressional districts to favor one race.
Although the U.S. Supreme Court has in the past permitted gerrymandered maps in limited instances to protect minority voters under the Voting Rights Act, the attorneys said there was no proof that gerrymandering to favor Hispanics, in the case of Proposition 50, was necessary.
Aside from the California Republican Party, Assemblymember David Tangipa, R-Clovis, and 18 California voters are parties to the lawsuit. It named as defendants Gov. Gavin Newsom, who pushed for Proposition 50, as well as California Secretary of State Shirley Weber.
“We haven’t reviewed the lawsuit, but if it’s from the California Republican Party and (U.S. Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General) Harmeet Dhillon’s law firm, it’s going to fail,” said Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for Newsom’s office. He added: “Good luck, losers.”
Shortly after polls closed Tuesday, the special election was called in favor of Proposition 50, a resounding victory for Newsom and the effort to increase safe Democratic House seats in California. Supporters of the measure have said it is meant to counter similar gerrymandering plans in other states that would benefit Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.
Mike Columbo, an attorney with the Dhillon Law Group, which filed the lawsuit, said Democrats who drew the Proposition 50 maps, as well as members of the California Legislature, have acknowledged that the new maps would increase the power of Latino voters.
“When states racially gerrymander their voting districts, the Supreme Court has permitted a limited exception to the Constitution,” Columbo said during a press conference on Wednesday, Nov. 5. “That exception requires, among other things, that the favored voters are a minority whose preferred candidates cannot get elected because of the votes of another majority race.”
“Hispanics make up the most voters in the state. … Hispanics have had fantastic success in electing candidates of their choice. Accordingly, California cannot meet this exception,” Columbo said.
Of note, the Dhillon Law Group was founded by Harmeet Dhillon, who is now an assistant attorney general in the civil rights division at the U.S Department of Justice. Dhillon stepped down from her role at the law firm in April to work for the Justice Department.
As part of the lawsuit, the attorneys are asking for an injunction on the Proposition 50 maps, saying that congressional candidates must know in about six weeks, when they start filing papers to run for office, which maps will be used for the 2026 elections.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, decried Proposition 50 on Wednesday, calling it “a sign of desperation” by the Democratic Party.
“They had to trample over their own independent redistricting commission. … It was a game to try to rig the election — as if you could gerrymander California anymore,” he said, noting that 43 of California’s 52 congressional districts are already held by Democrats. “It’s just a blatant example of Gavin Newsom’s immoral leadership,” Johnson said.
This is developing news. Check back later for updates.
