GOP challenges Prop. 50 in court, hours after Democrats’ decisive victory
Twelve hours after California voters overwhelmingly passed the Proposition 50 ballot initiative to rewrite the state’s congressional district, the state Republican Party filed a lawsuit challenging the measure in federal court.
Assemblymember David Tangipa, R-Clovis, announced the complaint, in which he’s a plaintiff, at a press conference Wednesday morning at the state GOP headquarters on K Street. The suit, which is being funded by the National Republican Congressional Committee, names Gov. Gavin Newsom and Secretary of State Shirley Weber as defendants and claims Prop. 50 violates the 14th and 15th Amendments.
The Dhillon Law Group, whose founding partner is Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, is representing Tangipa and the state Republican Party, along with 18 plaintiffs that include Los Angeles County GOP chair Roxanne Hoge, former Republican congressional candidates Eric Ching and Peter Hernandez, McFarland Mayor Saul Ayon, and Newsom recall proponent Mike Netter.
The suit charges that in adopting the Prop. 50 map, which is expected to flip five House seats from Republican to Democrat next year, the California Legislature violated the Equal Protection Clause and the 15th Amendment by favoring Hispanic residents, who at 40% make up the largest voting bloc in the state.
“Due to California’s marvelous diversity, of which we are all proud, Hispanics make up the most voters in the state,” plaintiff attorney Michael Columbo said. “There is no majority race in California more than Hispanics. Hispanics have had fantastic success in electing candidates of their choice.”
Under a provision of the Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court allows states to draw districts along racial lines, but Columbo and fellow Dhillon attorney Mark Meuser argue that cannot apply to California because Hispanics make up such a large population of the state.
Paul Mitchell, the chief architect behind the map, referred a request for comment to Newsom’s office, which said it had not yet reviewed the lawsuit but predicted it would fail like Republicans’ previous efforts to block Prop. 50.
“Good luck, losers,” the office said on X.
Voters decisively passed Prop. 50 on Tuesday with roughly 64% of the vote, according to preliminary results.
The lawsuit, which Meuser and Columbo filed Wednesday in the federal Central District court, comes as Trump claimed the California election was “rigged” and the Supreme Court is considering a case from Louisiana that could upend parts of the Voting Rights Act on the basis that it discriminates against “non-African American voters.”
California GOP Chair Corrin Rankin said she was “proud” the party signed onto the lawsuit, which asks the federal court to block the maps before they go into effect for the 2026 midterms. Bill Essayli, President Donald Trump’s top legal prosecutor in California, oversees that court.
“It’s about the right that our ancestors have fought so hard for in this country, it’s about sticking with the Constitution, and it’s about equality and fair and equal treatment, Rankin said.
“And we believe that Californians, no matter what color your skin is, no matter what your socioeconomic background is, you deserve to be treated fair. You deserve to be treated equally, and that’s what this lawsuit is about, fair and equal representation for every Californian, no matter the color of your skin.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2025 at 11:21 AM.
