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California Democrats, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, voted to pass a set of bills to allow voters to decide whether to overturn the preexisting congressional maps and the state’s independent redistricting commission, and usher in a new one with a more partisan bent.
The vote is part of an effort on the part of Newsom and the Democrats to nullify Texas’ new congressional map with one of their own.
The redistricting bills were passed by the California legislature along party line votes in the state Assembly and Senate. The bills allow California voters to decide in a special election on Nov. 4 whether to allow the state to suspend its bipartisan districting commission and replace the current districts with a map drawn up by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
The bill was quickly signed by Newsom on Thursday. In an X post celebrating the legislature passing the bills, Newsom said, “It’s official. California’s special election is ON for November 4th.”
“The People of California will be able to cast their vote for a Congressional map. Direct democracy that gives us a fighting chance to STOP Donald Trump’s election rigging,” wrote Newsom, adding, “Time to fight fire with fire.”
Speaking in a press conference on Thursday, Newsom accused Trump of being “one of the most unpopular presidents in U.S. history” and claimed “he recognizes he will lose the election, Congress will go back in the hands of the Democratic Party next November.”
ABBOTT SCORES BIG WIN IN REDISTRICTING BATTLE AS TEXAS DEMOCRATS’ BLOCKADE COLLAPSES
Newsom’s push for a special session and new map was a call and response to President Donald Trump, Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Republicans, who crafted their own fresh map that passed the Texas House on Wednesday that gives the GOP five new, Republican-leaning districts.
The new maps are slated to turn five Republican districts into Democratic-leaning districts, as part of an effort to cancel out the changes made in Texas. Both states are engaging in a broader battle to gain control of the House pushed by Trump, who wants to buck the pendulum swing trend during off-cycle elections and maintain control of the lower chamber.
“This is about taking back our country,” Newsom told reporters on a press call Wednesday. “This is about the Democratic Party now punching back forcefully and very intentionally.”
Thursday’s legislative session comes on the heels of the California GOP’s attempt to halt the process by charging that they did not have their constitutionally granted 30 days to review the legislation, which was shot down by the California Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Ahead of the opening of the legislature, California Republicans gathered outside of the state house to slam Democrats’ move to change the maps.
“The governor says they’re fighting fire with fire,” Republican Leader James Gallagher said. “Well, the problem when you fight fire with fire is you burn it all down. And that’s what we’ve got going on right now.”
HERE ARE THE 5 GOP HOUSE SEATS THAT COULD BE WIPED OUT WITH NEWSOM’S CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING PLAN
California Gov. Gavin Newsom gives a speech on redistricting in August 2025. (Reuters/Mike Blake)
During Thursday’s session, California lawmakers considered three bills, one to pay for the special session, one containing the new map and another teeing up a constitutional amendment to be considered by voters in November.
Prior to passage on the House floor, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Calif., accused Trump of not believing in democracy, being “terrified of losing, and he will do whatever it takes to cling on to power.”
“We will not let our political system be hijacked by authoritarianism, and today, we give every Californian the power to say ‘no,’ to say ‘no’ to Donald Trump’s power grab and ‘yes’ to our people, to our state and to our democracy,” he said.
The map would likely affect five California Republicans’ districts represented by Reps. Doug LaMalfa, David Valadao, Darrell Issa, Ken Calvert and Kevin Kiley. Earlier this month, Kiley introduced legislation to halt the nationwide redistricting push until after the 2030 census.
Like the Texas map, it’s not guaranteed that Democrats will win the seats, but Newsom and his supermajority in the state legislature are angling to give them a better shot.
TRUMP, ABBOTT VS. NEWSOM: MAD DASH TO REDO CONGRESSIONAL MAPS IN CALIFORNIA, TEXAS
But Trump’s desire to maintain the GOP’s trifecta in Washington has spurred other states to consider a redistricting effort, too.
“Big WIN for the Great State of Texas!!! Everything Passed, on our way to FIVE more Congressional seats and saving your Rights, your Freedoms, and your Country, itself,” he said on his social media platform, Truth Social. “Texas never lets us down. Florida, Indiana, and others are looking to do the same thing.”
While Trump and his allies continue to prod for more changes to state maps, Newsom has found an ally in his own push: former President Barack Obama.
Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a bill signing in the state Capitol on April 23, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
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He argued that Newsom was taking a “responsible approach,” but noted that mid-decade redistricting, particularly of the hyperpartisan nature that Newsom and Republicans were engaged in, was not his preference.
“I’ve had to wrestle with my preference, which would be that we don’t have political gerrymandering,” Obama said on Tuesday at an event in Martha’s Vineyard. “But what I also know is that if we don’t respond effectively, then this White House and Republican-controlled state governments all across the country, they will not stop.”
