Reps. Calvert, Issa Join Fellow Republicans In Outcry Against Prop. 50 Changes

CORONA, CA — One day after California voters approved Proposition 50, redrawing the state's congressional district lines to boost Democratic representation in Washington, state Republicans filed a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles on Wednesday challenging the constitutionality of the measure.

In Riverside County and across the state, opponents, including Rep. Ken Calvert of the 41st District and Rep. Darrell Issa of the 48th District, launched complaints against the new direction decided upon by voters.

Calvert released a statement over social media saying that Proposition 50 "creates one of the most extreme partisan gerrymanders in modern American history" and is a "threat to democracy and fair elections in California," according to the campaign against the measure.

"With the passage of Prop 50, Californians were sold a bill of goods, allowing Gavin Newsom and his radical allies in Sacramento an unprecedented power grab to redraw the Congressional map and silence those who disagree with his extreme policies," Calvert wrote. "Gerrymandering districts because you don’t like the results of an election is politics at its absolute worst. Governor Newsom pouring millions into this ballot initiative while crime goes unchecked, housing costs skyrocket, and taxes, as well as gas prices, remain among the highest in the nation, shows he’s more interested in protecting his party’s stranglehold on the state than delivering on the issues families face. Despite the passage of Prop 50, I am determined to keep fighting for the families I represent in Congress."

Rep. Calvert represents one of the districts in the crosshairs of the battle over Prop 50. The 41st district, which he serves, covers areas from Corona to Palm Desert. By passing Prop 50, the district will gain more Los Angeles County voters. The new district would include Corona, Norco, Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, Canyon Lake, Menifee, Calimesa, Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, La Quinta, Indian Wells, as well as parts of Eastvale and Riverside.

Proposition 50 would increase Democratic registration in the 41st Congressional District, which Calvert represents, by adding Downey, Norwalk, Whittier, and Lakewood in Los Angeles County.

Calvert is "strongly considering" running in the redrawn 40th Congressional District, where he would face fellow Republican Rep. Young Kim, Blake Jones of Politico reported Monday night, citing information from "a person close to" Calvert he did not name.
There was no immediate response to an email sent to Calvert's press contact before the customary start of business hours on Wednesday.

According to statistics from TheDownballot, the Corona area of District 41, where Calvert lives, was won by President Trump in the 2024 presidential election by 6%. The revised district map for Calvert's Corona would be District 40. Analysis by The Downballot found that Trump would have likely won the new district by 12%, swinging that area into a more conservative direction.

To the south, Rep. Darrell Issa will also see redistricting change. Issa represents the 48th District, which includes San Diego and the Temecula Valley, stretching from Murrieta to the border with Mexico. Now, his district would extend north to Menifee, Hemet, as well as part of Palm Springs.

Issa combatted the new direction in a Tuesday statement obtained by NBC Los Angeles, saying:

“California is my home. And it’s worth fighting for," Issa said. "I know how many of my friends and constituents feel about tonight’s election results and the unprecedented purely partisan campaign that pitted neighbor against neighbor and divided the state as never before. It was difficult to watch as Gavin Newsom and Sacramento’s special interests set about shredding the state constitution, disenfranchising millions of Californians solely because of how they vote, and delivering what they know is an undeserved advantage to Democrats," Issa wrote. "But here’s something Newsom and his cronies don’t know: It won’t work. The worst gerrymander in history has a fatal flaw. Voters get to pick their representatives. Not the other way around. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll continue to represent the people of California — regardless of their party or where they live. I’m not quitting on California. And neither should anyone else."

According to The Downballot, District 48's Temecula and Murrieta areas, which Trump won in the 2024 presidential election by 15% may see significant voting changes if the Proposition stands. "After redistricting changes, analysis by The Downballot found that Harris would have likely won the 48th district by 3%."

About the Lawsuit against Prop 50:

Assemblyman David Tangipa, R-Fresno, the California Republican Party, and 18 district voters brought the lawsuit, which asks a judge to block the new district lines at least temporarily so California's original map stays in effect for the 2026 midterm elections.

The suit, which also names California Secretary of State Shirley Weber as a defendant, argues that the new Proposition 50 maps are unconstitutional because they improperly use voters' race as a factor in drawing districts and asks the court to block them from taking effect.

"Proposition 50 represents a mid-decade redistricting, precisely the kind of legislative interference that the California Constitution was designed to prevent," the 26-page complaint contends. "It attempts to substitute a legislative map for the one lawfully adopted by the (state redistricting) commission, without any intervening census or constitutional authorization. It attempts to create a third option way for legislators to interpose themselves on a process in which they otherwise were barred from participating in."

The plaintiffs are represented by the Dhillon Law Group, founded by Harmeet Dhillon, who is now the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice under President Donald Trump.

"I'm appalled by what has happened -- what the Legislature really pushed through, what the governor has done to violate and break the Constitution," Tangipa said at a news conference Wednesday announcing the lawsuit. "And when I said that the fight for California has just begun, I hope everybody knows I meant that."

Voting Results From Prop. 50:

Voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved Proposition 50, which supporters dubbed "The Election Rigging Response Act." As of Wednesday morning's latest vote tally, the measure was leading 63.8%-36.2%, according to the Secretary of State's Office.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who conceived of what would become Proposition 50 after Texas adopted a mid-decade congressional redistricting plan favorable to Republicans, on Tuesday night called its passage "not just a victory tonight for the Democratic Party, it was a victory for the United States of America, for the people of this country and the principles that our Founding Fathers lived and died for."

Proposition 50 establishes new congressional district maps for the 2026 midterm elections that will also be used for the 2028 and 2030 elections. An analysis by the election news website Ballotpedia said it would shift five Republican-held congressional districts toward Democrats.

Democrats hold a 43-9 advantage in the state's House delegation.

The measure came in response to an effort in Texas for a mid-decade congressional redistricting that analysts said would give Republicans five additional seats. Other Republican-controlled states such as Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Nebraska and South Carolina are also considering efforts to approve mid-decade redistricting.

Backers of Prop 50 said it "draws fair maps that represent California's diverse communities and ensure our voices aren't silenced by Republican gerrymandering in other states."

Mike Columbo, a plaintiffs' attorney in the federal lawsuit filed Wednesday, said the proposition will be found unconstitutional because the Legislature had no legal basis to move forward with a redistricting effort.

"The record we have establishes that ... before the maps were voted upon and after, analyses were conducted that concluded that there was no voting rights problem in California's prior maps for the Legislature to remedy," he said. "Further, there is no evidence whatsoever that the California Legislature in fact circulated any such analysis to the legislators for them to consider when they cast their votes to launch Proposition 50."