California Republicans file legal challenge to redistricting push

A coalition of California Republicans filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently approved redistricting effort, an immediate attempt to thwart Democrats’ gerrymandering plan just hours after their resounding win.

The lawsuit, which was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, claims the state’s move to redraw its congressional lines is unconstitutional and violates the 14th and 15th Amendments for redistricting on the basis of race, “specifically to favor Hispanic voters, without cause or evidence to justify it.”

“While the Constitution entrusts States with designing congressional districts, the Supreme Court has also held that 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,” the lawsuit reads.

California voters Tuesday overwhelmingly passed the Newsom-backed gerrymandering plan, paving the way for California to join a constellation of other states in redrawing their congressional lines to favor the party in power. The move specifically aimed to counter similar redistricting efforts from Texas Republicans.

The lawsuit, filed by the California Republican Party along with a group of California voters and Republican candidates, is the latest pushback in a growing list of litigation across the country attempting to counter gerrymandering in the sweeping redistricting war.

Since the 2020 census, around 100 lawsuits have been filed in attempts to block the redistricting that would threaten either party’s congressional strongholds, including a lawsuit from Virginia Republicans last month and four separate suits in September challenging Missouri redistricting that would favor the GOP.

The prospect of a California gerrymander caught conservatives’ attention prior to Proposition 50’s victory Tuesday night, with former Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon arguing challenging the redistricting plan should be a top priority for the president.

“Two things I would do [if I were Trump],” Bannon told POLITICO Magazine. “Number one, get [Assistant Attorney General] Harmeet Dhillon and the Justice Department to go out and file suit against this scam of [California Gov. Gavin] Newsom on this redistricting plan that went against the constitution of California. I would get the Justice Department to file suit, go get a [temporary restraining order] immediately, and then hit this thing and drag it out for a year.”

But California Democrats have maintained throughout their campaign for Proposition 50 that they’re confident the redistricting efforts could survive legal challenges.

“We haven’t reviewed the lawsuit, but if it’s from the California Republican Party and Harmeet Dhillon’s law firm, it’s going to fail,” Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for Newsom, said in a statement. “Good luck, losers.”