California Governor Gavin Newsom has formally launched a redistricting counter-campaign designed to neutralize Republican gains in Texas.
On August 15, 2025, Newsom announced California’s “Election Rigging Response Act,” calling for a special election on November 4 to seek voter approval for new congressional maps drawn to potentially flip five GOP-held House seats to Democrats. This move directly responds to a parallel Republican effort in Texas.
“We will meet fire with fire,” Newsom said.
At the request of President Donald Trump, the Texas Senate passed new mid-decade congressional redistricting maps by a 19-2 vote that could potentially give Republicans five additional House seats. However, these maps have not yet been approved by the Texas House, as Texas House Democrats broke quorum by leaving the state, preventing the necessary 100-member minimum required to conduct legislative business.
Trump publicly stating he believes Republicans are “entitled” to five additional House seats from the Lone Star State. Texas Governor Greg Abbott called two consecutive special legislative sessions to advance the redistricting plan, despite fierce Democratic opposition.
The changes would create 30 districts that would have voted for Trump in 2024 by at least 10 percentage points.
“He doesn’t play by a different set of rules. He doesn’t believe in the rules,” Newsom said.
More than 50 Texas House Democrats fled the state in early August, staging a nearly two-week walkout that prevented the Republican-controlled legislature from achieving the quorum necessary to pass the redistricting maps. The Democrats relocated primarily to Illinois and other Democratic-led states.
Unlike Texas, where the Republican-controlled legislature can directly redraw maps, California faces a more complex process due to its independent redistricting commission established in 2010. To implement new maps, California voters must approve a constitutional amendment temporarily suspending the commission’s authority for three election cycles (2026, 2028, and 2030).
“We didn’t receive a phone call from the president of the United States to then quietly go in the back room and start drawing maps and legislatively try to jam them through against the consent of the people,” Newsome said. “We’re doing precisely the opposite. We’re working through a very transparent, temporary, and public process.”
“We’re putting the maps on the ballot and we’re giving the power to the people. This will be the first redistricting that’s ever done [this way].”
The California Legislature, where Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers, must approve the ballot measure by a two-thirds vote before the August 22 deadline. Democratic leaders expressed confidence they have the votes needed to place the measure before voters.
California Democrats released their proposed maps on Friday, August 15, targeting five Republican-held districts while potentially making some safe Democratic seats slightly more competitive. The plan would concentrate Republican voters into fewer districts while expanding Democratic voting populations in targeted GOP strongholds.
Newsom’s redistricting initiative faces significant opposition from an unexpected coalition of figures who traditionally support different political causes. Former Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who championed the original independent redistricting commission, has publicly opposed the plan. Billionaire Charles Munger Jr., who invested $12.4 million supporting the 2010 redistricting reform, is organizing opposition efforts.
The California-Texas battle has sparked redistricting discussions in multiple other states. Missouri Republicans are preparing for their own special session focused on congressional redistricting, with documents showing the state Senate received bills for redistricting software licenses and staff training. New York Democrats have proposed legislation to facilitate mid-decade redistricting, though new maps couldn’t take effect until 2028.
Maryland House Democratic Leader David Moon announced plans to sponsor redistricting legislation if Texas or other states undertake redistricting ahead of the census. Wisconsin Democrats are pursuing judicial remedies to compel redistricting before the 2026 midterms.
On Wednesday, Texas Democrats announced from Chicago that they will return to the state under two specific conditions: the Texas Legislature must end its first special session (which occurred Friday), and California must introduce its own redistricting map proposal to counter the Texas Republican plan.
Trump, whose approval rating has fallen to 38%, according to the Pew Research Center, has implemented policies such as high tariffs, deporting legal immigrants, and hiding the Epstein files, and has a chance of losing the Republican-controlled House and Senate in the 2026 elections. Newsom said this is why he’s trying to gain seats in the House in Texas, Indiana, and Missouri.
“They know what Donald Trump knows,” Newsom said. “He’s going to lose the midterms. He knows de facto his presidency ends in 17 months when Speaker [Hakeem] Jeffries is back in office. He knows it.”
