California Democrats led by Gov. Gavin Newsom may overturn state mandates to independently portrayed political districts as part of the national political brawl, brewing against the balance of power in Congress and the fate of President Trump and the GOP’s aggressive right-wing agenda.
The efforts being considered by state Democratic leaders are aimed at reducing the number of Republicans in California Legislature delegations. Retaliation for ongoing actions by Texas GOP leaders is to take Democrat representatives in that state.
“I think this is a whole lot more of a scary idea, and I don’t think people fully understand the impact of what they’re talking about,” said Republican constituency expert Matt Rex. “We’re just running random districts for each election, and the districts are not used as tools to reflect voters’ interests. Each election is used simply by blating the political interests of minorities, whether they’re Republicans or Democrats.”
Newsom has already spoken with Democratic legislative leaders and others about restructuring the boundaries of California’s Congressional districts prior to the 2026 election.
Doing so would likely require statewide voting measures to destroy or suspend an independent, independent California Civic Constituency Commission approved by voters charged with drawing boundaries of congressional districts based on logical geography, shared interests, representation of minority communities, and other facets. In 2010, Californians voted for the state legislature two years after doing so for the state legislature to establish a committee to remove partisan politics from the legislature’s rezoning process.
Newsom said California may have to file an emergency lawsuit if Texas and other GOP-controlled states decide this year to redraw Congressional districts and ensure Republicans maintain control of Congress in the upcoming elections. Repainting of Congressional Districts usually occurs after the 10th Census and reflects changes in the population across the country.
“So they want to change the game,” he said last week. “We can act more than that. We can sit on the sidelines and talk about the way the world should do, or we can recognize the existential nature that is this moment.”
The newspaper on Friday will meet six Democratic state lawmakers visiting the state, according to the governor’s office, as well as those visiting the state and saying “throw the power of rezoning Trump and Texas Republicans.” Another group of Texas legislators reportedly will meet with Chicago’s Illinois Gov. J.B. Pretzker.
Rezoning experts of both parties agree that returning to partisan redrawing the boundaries of California’s legislative boundaries, some GOP institutes become vulnerable. State legislative districts could be restructured in ways that would increase the share of Democrat voters in districts currently represented by Republicans, or that would force Republican office holders to each other.
Rex sees a scenario where the party only has three safe seats as Republicans are packed into the district. Currently, only nine of the state’s 52 council districts are represented by the GOP.
Democrat district expert Paul Mitchell said five of the nine GOP-owned districts could be turned over. He said Democrats are in a good position to win seats because of the history of California’s nonpartisan constituency. By comparison, Texas has already become gerrymanders in districts to support Republicans.
In California, “Democrats have not been partisan linedrawing since the ’90s,” he said. “So, for decades, this partisan interest has been left on the table. If you’ve ever opened the map, there are a lot of people who can just use it by strengthening the Bolster.”
Rex warns that there are unintended consequences, including weakening Texas’ safe Republican districts and leading to a broken system in which lines are redrawn after the election.
Before the establishment of an independent civic district commission, California was similar to most other states. The political district was created by state legislators of both parties, who often prioritize existing protections, and made the gerrymandered quarters of the oddly shaped district, including the infamous “ribbon of shame,” in which 200 miles of coastal tiny pieces of the council district between the Oxnard and the Monterey County line disappeared during the high rise period.
Former US Atty. General Eric Holder said such districts were the reason why they launched the National Democratic Constituency Committee in 2017 with former President Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco).
“For our work, we now have the most equitable national assembly map the country has seen in a generation, allowing both parties to compete for a majority in the House,” Holder said Wednesday at a virtual event hosted by the “Stop the Texas Acquisition.”
But it could fall on the roadside, but if some states open a rezoning process for the benefit of partisans, and states controlled by opposing parties will retaliate by doing the same.
California Democrats are considering revisiting independent line drawings after President Trump and his administration urged the Texans to redraw their districts in ways that would improve the GOP’s ability to retain Congressional control in next year’s midterm elections.
The house is slightly divided, and parties who win the White House often lose their seat two years later. The loss of a handful of GOP seats could hinder Trump’s plans and make him a lame duck for two years.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began Monday in sought a special session for the state legislature, including a change of district.
On Tuesday, Abbott said last year’s court ruling prompted the decision. This said the state no longer needs to attract “coalized districts” made up of multiple minority communities.
“The new map will work to ensure that Texas maximizes its ability to vote for selected candidates,” he said in an interview with Fox 4 Dallas-Fort Worth.
“This is shameless, shameless, and we’re making the mid-term what they’re doing on Donald Trump’s order,” Pelosi said Wednesday at the “Stop the Texas Acquisition” event. “And this is what we’re doing in California. We’re telling the Texans, “You shouldn’t go down this path. We’ll go down this path and go together.” ”
If California Democrats pursue partisan districts in time for next year’s midterm elections, Congress, where Democrats hold a supermajority, could put the issue of voting in the special elections that will likely take place in November. State legislators could also choose to make changes through the law, but that is likely vulnerable to legal challenges.
The nonpartisan parliamentary constituency was one of the GOVs of the time. A priority when Arnold Schwarzenegger was approved by voters in 2010. Schwarzenegger places no emphasis on nations that could hinder reform. However, the director of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute warned that such political reforms among its top priorities and weakening the California system is not in sync with the state’s values.
“With all this talk of this gerrymandering arms race between Texas and California, we are in a horrifying position,” said Conairs Davis, global director of the USC Schwarzenegger State and the Institute for Global Policy. “It’s really a race to the bottom for voters across the state and across the country. We should celebrate California’s Civic Constituency Change Commission and try to expand that model to other states.
State Republicans who opposed the creation of the Rezoning Committee are now supporting the body in the face of a proposal to sacrifice seats.
“To ruin it right away at this point, it just undermines the entire independent constituency committee that everyone has relied on,” said California Republican Party Chairman Colin Rankin. “And I don’t know what that would look like in the Constitution.”
Asked about Texas, she got in the way by saying she was focusing on California.
State Democrats who also opposed the creation of the committee supported a potential response to Texas.
“Trump and Republicans from DC to Texas are trying to rewrite our democratic rules,” said Rusty Hicks, chairman of the California Democrats. “As we are at a crisis, California may have little choice but to fight fire with fire to protect and protect our democracy.”
Sacramento staff writer Talyn Luna contributed to this report.
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