The Supreme Court delivered a win to California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday, rejecting a Republican challenge of a redistricting in the state that was passed overwhelmingly by voters last November.
The high court denied an injunction that would have put the redistricting plan on hold. The appeal was presented to Justice Elena Kagan, but the court reported no dissents.
In January, a lower court ruled that Republicans failed to show that the new maps amounted to illegal racial gerrymandering, drawn to favor Latino-majority districts.
Newsom led the effort to get the proposition on the November ballot, billed as a temporary replacement for the state’s drawing districts via commissions. He argued that the new map — in which Democrats may gain five additional seats — was necessary to counter the mid-decade redrawing of districts by Republicans in Texas, meant to make it more favorable to the party for the upcoming midterms. Donald Trump had urged state lawmakers to redraw their districts, something that is typically done after a census count each decade.
More to come.
