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Los Angeles Times
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Newsom's redistricting move isn't pretty. California GOP leaders are uglier
King Gavin is at it again! That's the cry coming from Republicans across California as Newsom pushes the state Legislature to approve a November special election like none this state has ever seen. Voters would have the chance to approve a congressional map drawn by Democrats hoping to wipe out GOP-held seats and counter Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's Trump-driven redistricting. The president 'doesn't play by a different set of rules — he doesn't believe in the rules,' the governor told a roaring crowd packed with Democratic heavyweights last week at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. 'And as a consequence, we need to disabuse ourselves of the way things have been done. It's not good enough to just hold hands, have a candlelight vigil and talk about the way the world should be. ... We have got to meet fire with fire.' California Republicans are responding to this the way a kid reacts if you take away their Pikachu. 'An absolutely ridiculous gerrymander!' whined Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who represents the state's rural northeast corner, on social media. Under the Democratic plan, his district would swing all the way down to ultra-liberal Marin County. The California Republican Party deemed the new maps a 'MASTERCLASS IN CORRUPTION' (Trumpian caps in the original). National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Christian Martinez said 'Newscum' was giving 'a giant middle finger to every Californian.' Intelligent minds can disagree on whether countering an extreme political move with an extreme political move is the right thing. The new maps would supersede the ones devised just four years ago by an independent redistricting commission established to keep politics out of the process, which typically occurs once a decade after the latest census. Good government types, from the League of Women Voters to Charles Munger Jr. — the billionaire who bankrolled the 2010 proposition that created independent redistricting for California congressional races — have criticized Newsom's so-called Election Rigging Response Act. So has former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a fierce Trump critic who posted a photo of himself on social media working out in a T-shirt that read, 'F*** the Politicians / Terminate Gerrymandering.' I'm not fully convinced that Newsom's plan is the MAGA killer he thinks it is. If the economy somehow rebounds next year, Republicans would most likely keep Congress anyway, and Newsom would have upended California politics for nothing. I also don't discount the moderate streak in California voters that pops up from time to time to quash what seem like liberal gimmes, like the failed attempt via ballot measure to repeal affirmative action in 2020 and the passage last year of Proposition 36, which increased penalties for theft and drug crimes. Nearly two-thirds of California voters want to keep redistricting away from the Legislature, according to a POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab poll released last week. If Californians reject Newsom's plan, that would torpedo his presidential ambitions and leave egg on the face of state Democratic leaders for years, if not a generation. For now, though, I'm going to enjoy all the tears that California Republicans are shedding. As they face the prospect of even fewer congressional seats than the paltry nine they now hold, they suddenly care about rescuing American democracy? Where were they during Trump's fusillade of lawsuits and threats against California? When he sent the National Guard and Marines to occupy parts of Los Angeles this summer after protests against his deportation deluge? When his underlings spew hate about the Golden State on Fox News and social media? Now they care about political decency? What about when LaMalfa and fellow California GOP House members Ken Calvert and Darrell Issa — whose seats the Newsom maps would also eliminate — voted against certifying Joe Biden's 2020 victory? When the state Republican Party backed a ridiculous recall against Newsom that cost taxpayers $200 million? Or when the Republican congressional delegation unanimously voted to pass Trump's Big Bloated Bill, even though it's expected to gut healthcare and food programs for millions of Californians in red counties? Or even when Trump first pushed Abbott to pursue the very gerrymandering Newsom is now emulating? We're supposed to believe them when they proclaim Newsom is a pompadoured potentate who threatens all Californians, just because he wants to redo congressional maps? Pot, meet black hole. If these GOPers had even an iota of decency or genuine care for the Golden State, they would back a bill by one of their own that I actually support. Rep. Kevin Kiley, whose seat is also targeted for elimination by the Newsom maps, wants to ban all mid-decade congressional redistricting. He stated via a press release that this would 'stop a damaging redistricting war from breaking out across the country.' That's an effort that any believer in liberty can and should back. But Kiley's bill has no co-sponsors so far. And Kevin: Why can't you say that your man Trump created this fiasco in the first place? We live in scary times for our democracy. If you don't believe it, consider that a bunch of masked Border Patrol agents just happened to show up outside the Japanese American National Museum — situated on a historic site where citizens of Japanese ancestry boarded buses to incarceration camps during World War II — at the same time Newsom was delivering his redistricting remarks. Sector Chief Gregory Bovino was there, migra cameramen documenting his every smirk, including when he told a reporter that his agents were there to make 'Los Angeles a safer place, since we won't have politicians that'll do that, we do that ourselves.' The show of force was so obviously an authoritarian flex that Newsom filed a Freedom of Information Act request demanding to know who authorized what and why. Meanwhile, referring to Trump, he described the action on X as 'an attempt to advance a playbook from the despots he admires in Russia and North Korea.' Newsom is not everyone's cup of horchata, myself included. Whether you support it or not, watching him rip up the California Constitution's redistricting section and assuring us it's OK, because he's the one doing it, is discomfiting. But you know what's worse? Trump anything. And even worse? The California GOP leaders who have loudly cheered him on, damn the consequences to the state they supposedly love. History will castigate their cultish devotion to Trump far worse than any of Newsom's attempts to counter that scourge.
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Newsom's redistricting plan is a power grab. But the GOP objections are rubbish
SACRAMENTO — One accusation hurled at Gov. Gavin Newsom for his retaliatory redistricting move against President Trump and Texas Republicans is that he's overriding the will of California voters. Rubbish. The flawed argument goes like this: Californians — once upon a time — voted overwhelmingly to ban partisan gerrymandering and strip the task of drawing congressional seats from self-interested legislators. In a historic political reform, redistricting was turned over to an independent citizens' commission. Now, Newsom is trying to subvert the voters' edict. 'It is really a calculated power grab that dismantles the very safeguards voters put in place,' California Republican Party Chairwoman Corrin Rankin said in a statement last week, echoing other party members. 'This is Gavin the Gaslighter overturning the will of the voters and telling you it's for your own good.' Again, baloney. Power grab? Sure. Overturning the voters' will? Hardly. Newsom is asking voters to express a new will–seeking permission to fight back against Trump's underhanded attempt to redraw congressional districts in Texas and other red states so Republicans can retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives after next year's midterm elections. First of all, that anti-gerrymandering vote creating the citizens' commission was 15 years ago. It was a wise decision and badly needed, and still a wonderful concept in the abstract. But that was then, this is now. Just because a ballot measure was passed one or two decades ago doesn't mean it has been cast in stone. Would Californians still vote to ban same-sex marriage or deny public schooling to undocumented children? Doubtful. Circumstances and views change. Second, that 2010 electorate no longer exists. Today's electorate is substantially different. And it shouldn't necessarily be tied to the past. Consider: PPIC researchers recently reported that 'partisanship now shapes the state's migration — with those moving out of the state more likely to be Republican and those moving in more likely to be Democrat. … This process makes California more Democratic than it would otherwise be.' So, Newsom and Democratic legislators are not thumbing their noses at the voters' will. They're asking today's voters to suspend the ban on gerrymandering and adopt a partisan redistricting plan at a Nov. 4 special election. The good government process of map drawing by the citizen's commission would return after the 2030 decennial census. The heavily Democratic Legislature will pass a state constitutional amendment containing Newsom's plan and put it on the ballot, probably this week. It would take effect only if Texas or other red states bow to Trump's demand to gerrymander their congressional districts to rig them for Republicans. Trump is seeking five more GOP seats from Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott is trying to oblige. Republicans already hold 25 of the 38 seats. Newsom's plan, released Friday, counters Texas' scheme with a blatant gerrymander of his own. It would gain five Democratic seats. Democrats already outnumber Republicans on the California House delegation 43 to 9. Neither the governor nor any Democrats are defending gerrymandering. They agree it's evil politics. They support redistricting by the citizens' commission and believe this high-road process should be required in every state. But that's not about to happen. And to stand by meekly without matching the red states' election rigging would amount to unilateral disarmament, they contend correctly. 'It's not good enough to just hold hands, have a candlelight vigil and talk about the way the world should be,' Newsom declared at a campaign kickoff last week. 'We have got to recognize the cards that have been dealt. And we have got to meet fire with fire.' But polling indicates it could be a tough sell to voters. A large majority believe the bipartisan citizens commission should draw congressional districts, not the politicians who they don't particularly trust. 'It'll be complicated to explain to voters why two wrongs make a right,' says Republican strategist Rob Stutzman, a GOP never-Trumper. Former GOP redistricting consultant Tony Quinn says: 'There is no way to 'educate' voters on district line drawing. And Californians vote 'no' on ballot measures they do not understand. … It's sort of like trying to explain the basketball playoffs to me.' But veteran Democratic strategist Garry South doesn't see a problem. 'The messaging here is clear: 'Screw Trump',' South says. 'If the object is to stick it to Trump, [voter] turnout won't be a problem.' Gerrymandering may not be the voters' will in California. But they may well jump at the chance to thwart Trump. The must-read: Newsom's decision to fight fire with fire could have profound political consequences The TK: Trial in National Guard lawsuit tests whether Trump will let courts limit authority The L.A. Times Special: Hundreds of Californians have been paid $10,000 to relocate to Oklahoma. Did they find paradise? Until next week,George Skelton —Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
Politico
4 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Kevin McCarthy reemerges to fight California redistricting
McCarthy recently told his former home-state congressional delegation that he's aiming to raise $100 million for the opposition campaign. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will help fight Democrats' California redistricting campaign. | Pool photo by Kevin Lamarque By Blake Jones 08/15/2025 11:03 AM EDT Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been working behind the scenes to rally his Republican troops against California Democrats' gerrymandering ballot measure, according to three people familiar with the campaign's planning. McCarthy recently told his former home-state congressional delegation that he's aiming to raise $100 million for the opposition campaign, according to two of the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal planning. Close McCarthy ally Jessica Millan Patterson, former California Republican Party chair, is slated to become chair of the Republican-focused campaign committee, longtime political operative Tom Ross said. California state legislators next week are expected to place a constitutional amendment and new congressional maps on a Nov. 4 special election ballot — and the campaign sprint is already shaping up to be one of the most costly in California history, given the national stakes.
Politico
4 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
SCOOPS: McCarthy, House maps and the man behind them
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: MCCARTHY REEMERGES — Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been working behind the scenes to rally his Republican troops against California Democrats' gerrymandering ballot measure, three people familiar with the campaign's planning tell Playbook. McCarthy recently told his former home-state congressional delegation that he's aiming to raise $100 million, according to two of the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal planning. Close McCarthy ally Jessica Millan Patterson, former California Republican Party chair, is slated to become chair of the Republican-focused campaign committee, longtime political operative Tom Ross said. Ross, who helped campaign for California's independent redistricting commission, is helming the nascent campaign against the measure targeting center-left voters — with funding from independent redistricting commission champion Charles Munger Jr. Munger is said to be considering putting upward of $30 million toward the cause, bringing the total war chest from conservative forces against Gov. Gavin Newsom and leading Democrats to something approaching $130 million. FIRST IN POLITICO: WHO'S UP AND DOWN — Legislative Democrats were briefed again Thursday evening on the proposed new district boundaries. Paul Mitchell presented lawmakers with slides of new maps, which were described as not final but largely settled among members of the state's Democratic congressional delegation, according to a person familiar with the call granted anonymity to describe internal conversations. Also on the call was Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the delegation chair, and Rep. Dave Min, as well as a brief cameo from Democratic House Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar. Lofgren emphasized that the maps were the product of hard work with the legislative leadership and spoke about how some members of Congress were giving up areas they had represented for years for the larger cause. Some Democratic legislators on the call expressed a desire for more data about the proposed changes to the district, the person said. The call took place hours after Melanie and Jeremy B. White scooped a chart breaking down the redrawn congressional map that is set to be released today. State lawmakers had been briefed on the expected partisan tilt of all 52 congressional districts, providing the clearest view yet of which Republican districts they are targeting. The sweeping changes, designed to help Democrats counter President Donald Trump and Texas Republicans' power play, were confirmed by multiple lawmakers and their staffers. Read more of POLITICO's industry-leading reporting. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: THE WIZARD OF ODD DISTRICTS — Over thirty years ago, the aforementioned Paul Mitchell was an energetic community-college student who smelled of patchouli oil and wore hair so long he could 'tuck it into his back pocket.' Last week, he became the most powerful person in California politics, our Will McCarthy writes in an illuminating profile out this morning. A student government campaign innovator turned legislative staffer turned political data nerd, Mitchell was tapped this summer by the state's Democratic leaders to engineer Newsom's audacious attempt to match Texas's mid-decade partisan gerrymander of its U.S. House map with one that gives Democrats offsetting gains in California. Mitchell is one of the rare few with the skills to execute what is now a lost art — using technology to carve California's natural and human geography into politically useful units. But his maps will likely raise outrage from the left and the right, serving as the progenitors of a hundred-million-dollar political proxy battle between Newsom and Trump. Beneath a high-minded debate about principle and hypocrisy will sit Mitchell's handiwork, the bizarre and distorted lines that could determine control of Congress. Read the rest of Will's piece on Mitchell. GOOD MORNING. Happy Mapday. Thanks for waking up with an especially scoopy Playbook this Friday. Like what you're reading? Sign up to get California Playbook in your inbox, and forward it to a friend. You can also text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as 'CA Playbook' in your contacts. Or drop us a line at dgardiner@ and bjones@ or on X — @DustinGardiner and @jonesblakej. WHERE'S GAVIN? Nothing official announced. BIG NEWS: On Wednesday, Aug. 27, POLITICO is hosting its inaugural California policy summit. At The California Agenda, some of the state's most prominent political figures including Sen. Alex Padilla, Katie Porter and Xavier Becerra will share the stage with influential voices in tech, energy, housing and other areas to chart the path forward for a state at the forefront of critical policy debates. The live and streamed event is free, but advanced registration is required. Request an invite here. CAMPAIGN YEAR(S) FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: DRAFT A GOVERNOR — With Kamala Harris out of the picture, the once-sleepy California gubernatorial race is suddenly buzzing. For now, former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter is the early leader in polls, but the race is still wide open. With politics-watchers from Sacramento to Washington reeling from the uncertainty, we decided to indulge in a little game of fantasy football — or fantasy California governor, if you will. We asked journalists, academics, political operatives and other experts from inside and outside our newsroom who would be their ideal candidate, even if they never would — or even legally could — make a bid in real life. Don't miss today's Friday read from POLITICO Magazine. Among the hypothetical dark horse names tossed out by our expert panel: Hollywood stars Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal; Attorney General Rob Bonta; former Gov. Jerry Brown; former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown; OpenAI CEO Sam Altman; and the politics-loving head coach of your Golden State Warriors (let's be honest, there's really only one NBA team in this state that matters). FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: HEALTH CARE WARRIOR — Real-life gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra, the former Biden Cabinet official, state AG and Congress member, is increasingly focusing on his health care policy resume as he jockeys for attention in the crowded field of actual candidates. Becerra later today will tout his role in negotiating Medicare's first agreement with pharmaceutical companies to lower the cost of certain prescription drugs when he was Health and Human Services secretary during the Biden administration. 'It's one of the most important steps we've taken as a country to lower the cost of health care,' Becerra said, marking the one-year anniversary of those negotiations. He added, 'Ten of the most expensive prescription drugs for seniors with cancer, diabetes, heart disease, blood clots and more will now cost them far less out of pocket.' HOUSING FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: LIKE A PRAYER — California's Department of Housing and Community Development is expected to unveil $144.5 million in federally funded grant awards today — money that will help build affordable housing and provide rental assistance to tenants. But the grant announcement comes with a warning — the state's news release emphasizes that the program is dependent on ongoing federal funding. 'The awards also highlight the importance of sustained federal funding to deliver much needed housing stability and important resources to those most at need,' Director Gustavo Velasquez said. In other words, he's praying the Trump administration keeps affordable housing funds flowing. While the feds haven't cut off funding for the program, state officials are anxious about the future. CLIMATE AND ENERGY BLUSTERY DAYS — California leaders have been pushing to streamline the state's notoriously byzantine permitting processes for years. But it's not easy to teach an old dog new tricks. Read last night's California Climate to learn why one of the state's hallmark initiatives to speed up renewable energy projects has instead made wind farm developers furious. Top Talkers HISTORY REPEATS — Continued immigration raids in the state have shone a spotlight on San Francisco's ICE office and its controversial, decadeslong history with immigrant detention practices, Mission Local reports. An unknown number of people are currently detained in the building, similar to 80 years ago. LEGACY LOYALTY — Stanford University, in an effort to continue legacy admissions, has declined Cal Grants just three weeks before the state's ban on giving admissions preference to students who are related to alumni or relatives who have given money to the school was set to take effect, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. AROUND THE STATE — School district officials in San Francisco told teachers, days before the start of classes, that they cannot express political opinions at work. (San Francisco Chronicle) — Tech giant Oracle America is set to cut more than 188 jobs in the Bay Area, the latest in a series of recent tech layoffs to hit the region. (The Mercury News) — The California Energy Commission will spend $55 million to expand the construction of fast chargers for electric vehicles across the state. (The San Diego Union-Tribune) Compiled by Juliann Ventura PLAYBOOKERS BIRTHDAYS — Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) … Melinda Gates (6-0) … Lex Fridman … actress Debra Messing … Rachel Sterne Haot … Benjamin Silverman … Matt Silverstein … Tyler Grimm … Matt Spence BELATED B-DAY WISHES — (was Thursday): Adam D'Angelo WANT A SHOUT-OUT FEATURED? — Send us a birthday, career move or another special occasion to include in POLITICO's California Playbook. You can now submit a shout-out using this Google form.
Boston Globe
10-08-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Trump attacked California's congressional maps. Republicans want to save them.
'I would argue that independent redistricting benefits Republicans in California,' said Matt Rexroad, a Republican political consultant and redistricting expert. Advertisement The commission is receiving more scrutiny as a fierce tit-for-tat over redistricting ricochets across the country. At Trump's request, Texas lawmakers have drafted new maps to help Republicans win five additional seats in the US House of Representatives. Governor Gavin Newsom of California has vowed to respond in kind, by redrawing congressional districts in his state to create more seats that Democrats are likely to win. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Newsom's plan would toss the independent commission's maps through 2030 and replace them with intentionally partisan districts created by Democratic lawmakers. That has California Republicans working to preserve the maps Trump criticized as they try to block Newsom's attempt at a Democratic gerrymander. 'The California Republican Party will fight it in the courts, at the ballot box and in every community,' Corrin Rankin, the party chair, said in a statement. Advertisement She added that Democrats are 'trying to claw back power' that voters took from them when they created the commission. The Citizens Redistricting Commission is made up of five Democrats, five Republicans and four independents. They apply for their positions through a process run by the state auditor that screens out people who have run for office, made political donations or work for elected officials. After whittling down the pool of applicants from each party, the state auditor randomly draws names of the first eight commissioners, who then select the final six. Commissioners are not allowed to consider voters' parties or where incumbents live when determining district boundaries. Arizona, Colorado, and Michigan use a similar system. A few other states have commissions that are appointed by politicians. In most states, though, the party that controls the legislature has the power to draw political maps. Research shows that states with maps drawn by independent commissions or through court intervention are more representative than those in states where politicians control the process. But that does not mean they always wind up being perfectly balanced. An analysis by Planscore, a consortium of redistricting experts affiliated with the Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School, found that California's system gives Democrats a slight advantage. The model rates maps based on four different measurements, two of which show that California's plan is balanced and two that show it skews in Democrats' favor. Some Republicans, including Vance, have criticized California's system because the share of seats Republicans hold in the House (17 percent) is less than the share of votes Trump won in California last year (38 percent). Steve Hilton, a Republican running for governor of California, said Newsom's proposal would take California 'from a 'rigged' to an 'ultra-rigged' electoral system.' Advertisement But such discrepancies between the share of seats one party holds and the share of votes it receives are not uncommon, experts said, even in states that are not gerrymandered. And the numbers alone do not prove that a system is intentionally biased. 'Partisan advantage is separate from intent,' said Eric McGhee, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, who worked on the Planscore analysis. 'It's not clear that there is purposeful bias in the California system,' he said. He pointed out that California's maps were approved by a unanimous vote of the redistricting commission, including the Republican members, and that commissioners drew the boundaries without looking at data on voters' party affiliation. A different analysis by the Gerrymandering Project, a research group at Princeton University, gave California a grade of B, saying its redistricting plan is 'better than average, with some bias.' The California electorate is heavily Democratic, with registered Democrats outnumbering registered Republicans by nearly 2-1. So giving both parties equal representation on the redistricting commission technically gives Republicans outsize influence, said Matt Barreto, a Democrat, who directs the Voting Rights Project at UCLA. Commissioners are laypeople, not political operatives, and they serve for one round of map-drawing at the start of each decade. They take input from the public in drawing boundaries, and must consider keeping communities together based on their shared interests, such as economic ties or languages spoken. From the perspective of Rexroad, a veteran Republican redistricting expert, California's system has actually been good for his party. Before voters approved the independent commission in 2008, California's maps were drawn by the legislature, with the process dominated by partisanship and politicians' desires to protect their seats. Advertisement And despite its flaws, Rexroad said, that's better than putting politicians in charge. California's commission created several congressional seats that Republicans won that would likely not exist if the state's Democratic-controlled legislature drew the maps, Rexroad said. Many will probably vanish if California enacts Newsom's proposal to counter Texas' Republican gerrymander with a similar move to help Democrats. The plan calls for a ballot measure asking voters to amend the state Constitution to allow the partisan mid-decade redistricting. Lawmakers are scheduled to consider Newsom's proposal the week of Aug. 18. If they approve it, the measure will likely go before voters in a Nov. 4 special election. Newsom has said he wants the state to return to independent redistricting after the 2030 census. The governor gathered Democratic lawmakers for a news conference in Sacramento on Friday to demonstrate their solidarity in favor the plan. On Saturday, he appealed for donations that could be used to fund the redistricting campaign. Meanwhile, the California Republican Party is sending emails requesting donations to fight what it says is Newsom's latest corrupt scheme. Charles Munger, a Republican donor whose father was a billionaire investor, funded campaigns for the 2008 and 2010 ballot measures that created California's independent redistricting system and has said he will back efforts to maintain it on the ballot and in court. This article originally appeared in Advertisement
