Newsom says in letter to Trump California will back off redistricting — if red states do
The Democratic governor is aggressively pursuing a plan to redraw California's congressional maps to counter a similar move by Texas Republicans. Trump has called for Texas to redraw its maps to benefit Republicans in the midterm elections, when a president's party typically suffers losses.
Republicans control a slim majority of seats in the House of Representatives — 219 compared with Democrats' 212. States redraw their congressional maps each decade after the Census, but Texas' Republicans moves to redraw their maps has sparked a rare mid-decade redistricting push.
'This attempt to rig congressional maps to hold onto power before a single vote is cast in the 2026 election is an affront to American democracy,' Newsom wrote to Trump. '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.'
Trump has argued that gerrymandering — the process of drawing districts to benefit a political party — is not unique to red states. In an interview with CNBC last week, he said Republicans 'are entitled to five more seats' in Texas. Republicans currently hold 25 of the 38 congressional districts in Texas.
Most state Legislatures can draw congressional maps according to the preferences of whichever party controls a majority. But in California, where Democrats control three-fourths majorities in both houses of the Legislature, congressional districts are drawn by an independent commission with equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans.
Newsom wants to change that for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections and temporarily enact maps drawn by Democrats in the Legislature to counter efforts in Republican states to redraw their maps. He wants lawmakers to put a measure on the ballot next week and a special election to put the question to California voters in November.
That gives Newsom an incredibly tight timeline to run a statewide campaign to convince voters to temporarily change a state law they passed overwhelmingly in 2010 handing map-drawing power to the independent commission.
Democrats currently hold 43 of California's 52 congressional seats.
Newsom framed his decision as one he was forced into because of Republicans' efforts. He argues his approach of asking voters to approve new maps rather than having the Legislature draw them unilaterally is more democratic than what Texas Republicans are doing.
'California cannot stand idly by as this power grab unfolds,' he wrote in the letter. 'I do not do this lightly, as I believe legislative district maps should be drawn by independent, citizen-led efforts, as we have done in California for the last two decades.'
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