Congressional Cartography

The Supreme Court has okayed California’s Democrat-friendly redistricting map.

On Wednesday, the Supremes declined an emergency appeal from California Republicans seeking to block the Golden State’s voter-approved congressional map, which is designed to flip five House seats blue in the 2026 midterms.  

The justices rejected claims that the map was unconstitutional racial gerrymandering meant to boost Latino voting power, instead aligning with their December thumbs-up to Texas’s new Republican-friendly maps. In both cases, the Court signaled that political—rather than racial—gerrymandering is legally permissible. 

The rulings likely cancel each other out in House math. Meanwhile, seven other states are exploring redistricting—an unusual mid-decade surge, since maps are typically only redrawn post-census—making this the biggest map-editing flurry since the 1800s.  Republicans currently hold a narrow House majority (218-214); see a map of states’ redistricting statuses here.

Verse to consider whether you’re battling for congressional seats, competing with a co-worker, or officiating sibling squabbles… “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.”
Philippians 2:3-4 (CSB) (read full passage)

(Need to catch up on the ins and outs of gerrymandering? Check out this edition of TPO Explains.)

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