After Texas Republicans announced this week a proposal for a new congressional map to help the GOP win five additional seats in next year’s midterm elections, California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to give President Donald Trump a taste of his own medicine.
Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have slammed him for trying to “equip an election” for attempting to shift district lines that target Democrats in the U.S. House, and said he will rebut on a map of California’s new Congressional Congress, which has more seats in Congress than other states.
“In fact, when California actually managed to advance strength, I’m no longer going to sit in a fetal position, a weakness position.”
Newsom said he and other Democrat officials will analyze the current map to see how they draw a new line to squeeze more Republican seats in Deep Blue State.
Unlike other states that provide constituency authorities to lawmakers, California must pass bipartisan district committees, consisting of voters, and maps are determined every decade when census results are released.
But in order to respond to Texas’ maps in a timely manner, Newsom said this year will present a new map in favor of Democrats in statewide special elections, perhaps in the first week of November this year.
California lawmakers are still on a summer break until August 18th, so there are no new maps in California yet, but the governor said the rezoning process will be “transparent.”
“We’re going to go to the people of this state in a transparent way and ask them to consider the new situation to take into account these new realities,” Newsom said. “This will not be done in the back room, this will not be done by private groups or members of the body.
He also said his plan was not to eliminate the rezoning committee, but to provide a new congressional map path in response to Trump.
“This isn’t happening in Texas. I think he’s making similar calls all over the country,” says Newsom. “That’s a big deal. I don’t think it’s going to be that bitter.”
While all California’s congressional districts are democratic, the state’s red pocket has nine seats, so how little has it been seen that creative newspapers and Democrats redraw the district’s boundaries.
While some districts, including California’s 1st and 5th Congressional Districts, have traditionally been represented by Republicans, other districts, including the 40th California district, narrowly acquired by Rep. Yong Kim in 2024, could have a better advantage over Democrats.
NBC Los Angeles contacted the California Republican Party.
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