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California Gov. Gavin Newsom is preparing to open a new political front in the national fight over congressional maps, threatening to redraw districts in his state to offset a Republican-led redistricting push in Texas.
Newsom’s office announced plans for a “major state announcement” Thursday, signaling that California Democrats may take unprecedented steps in response to Texas Republicans’ proposal to reshape five congressional districts currently held by Democrats to favor the GOP.
“If you will not stand down, I will be forced to lead an effort to redraw the maps in California to offset the rigging of maps in red states,” Newsom warned in a recent letter to President Donald Trump.
The confrontation underscores how congressional boundaries — traditionally adjusted only once per decade after the U.S. Census — have become an intensely partisan weapon ahead of next year’s midterm elections, which could determine control of the House for the remainder of Trump’s second term.
California’s Strategy Talks
Newsom has been in discussions with California’s Democratic congressional delegation and legislative leaders about possible map changes. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said early talks focused on whether such a maneuver was “even conceptually possible.” Democrats concluded they could potentially gain five seats — matching the GOP’s target in Texas.
“I’m confident that if we need to move forward, we will do that successfully. There’s tremendous unity on the Democratic side,” Lofgren said.
Republicans currently control Congress and the White House, but Democrats would need to flip only three seats to regain the House. That narrow path could be blocked if Republican-led states such as Texas, Indiana and Missouri succeed in altering Democratic-leaning districts.
Texas Stalemate
Texas Republicans have struggled to pass their proposed maps. Earlier this month, Democratic state lawmakers fled to deny the House a quorum during a special legislative session, stalling the plan. Republican state Sen. Phil King was blunt about the effort’s intent: “To support a plan that, simply put, elects more Republicans to the U.S. Congress.”
National Democrats have seized on the Texas battle to spotlight GOP tactics, but the fight has drawn accusations of hypocrisy from Republicans, who note that blue states like Illinois also drew maps favoring Democrats after the 2020 Census.
Hurdles in California
California’s path to a mid-decade redistricting is far more complicated than Texas’s. Only nine of California’s 52 House districts are held by Republicans, and an independent citizens redistricting commission — enshrined in the state constitution — currently controls mapmaking.
Changing that process before the 2026 midterms would require a constitutional amendment, passing both chambers of the Legislature by a two-thirds vote and winning approval from voters in a statewide election. The cost and political stakes of such a campaign would be significant.
California lawmakers return to Sacramento on Aug. 18, where they are expected to hold five days of public hearings to formalize any redistricting process changes.
