by In order to create excitement for their party’s brand and counteract any additional Republican-friendly congressional seats in other states, California Democrats are looking to their own state.
This November, they hope to use their campaign to get voters to adopt new congressional district designs to turn the vote against President Donald Trump into a referendum. Many of them believe that Democrats could build momentum before the midterm elections with the help of this strategy.
Building momentum is the goal here. Regaining our nation is the goal here. In response to a question from NOTUS on Wednesday, Governor Gavin Newsom told reporters, “This is about the Democratic Party now punching back forcefully and very intentionally.”
Never in my experience have members in this party come together so swiftly, so intensely, and so intently to overcome their differences. Therefore, I believe that the mind never returns to its original state after it has been stretched. According to Newsom, this is a different party at the moment.
In response to Texas’ redistricting attempts at Trump’s request, California senators filed legislation Monday that would present a congressional map proposal to voters this autumn. By a party-line vote of 30-8 in the Senate and 57-20 in the Assembly, the California Legislature approved the proposal on Thursday.
The constitutional change was opposed by just one Democrat in the Assembly.
This creates the possibility of Democrats winning five congressional seats in the national redistricting contest if voters pass a ballot initiative in November that would temporarily circumvent the independent commission that creates California’s congressional maps.
Democrats have had a hard time showing their supporters that they are doing enough to block Trump’s agenda since he took office. California Democrats contend that Proposition 50, as it would be introduced to California voters this fall, would be an attempt to demonstrate to voters who are fed up with the Democratic brand that they are prepared to use tough tactics in order to win the 2026 elections, in addition to being a response to Texas redistricting.
Not only are Democrats retaliating, but they are also taking the initiative and realizing that we must fight and not get rolled or driven over. “And this is what our constituents want us to do,” Rep. Maxine Waters told NOTUS, “they want us to fight against the Republican moves.”
In response to those who claim that Democrats are not fighting hard enough, this is our way of letting them know that we will not stand by and let the Republicans do whatever they want. “The battle is underway,” Waters continued.
Lawmakers in California are also arguing that this is a problem that goes much beyond their state’s boundaries.
But California has more to do now than just look out for itself. Assemblyman Isaac Bryan of California told NOTUS that we have a duty to the nation. We must act now if we are concerned about our democracy. We must rise to the occasion and fight fire with fire. Our adversary is an authoritarian who does not follow the norms. He doesn’t think rules exist, and if they do, he should be able to change them on his own, which is not American.
Democrats are making it clear that they are reacting to Trump’s aggressive bid for increased authority.
President Trump is aware that the results of his careless policies will be felt during the midterm elections. At a press conference on Monday, Mike McGuire, the president pro tempore of the California state Senate, stated, “We see the same damn polling that he sees.”
McGuire told voters, “This election is going to be all about giving you a chance to make things right if you’re sick of corruption, sick of criminality, sick of the crazy, sick of the cruel, and for heaven’s sake, if you’re sick with cancer and waiting for a cure.”
The idea would temporarily circumvent the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, the independent body responsible for creating congressional boundaries in the state, until 2030 because Texas moved forward with its redistricting plans early Saturday.Californians still largely support the commission, and Democrats must tread carefully in order to maintain attention on Trump and take advantage of the state’s dissatisfaction with the president.
According to Axios,According to internal polls that Newsom commissioned, Democrats had a clear lead in favor of a Trump-focused redistricting proposal on Wednesday. However, this plan would be presented to voters during municipal elections, which usually draw few people in an off-cycle year. Democrats will therefore need to develop a successful plan if they hope to reach high-propensity voters who are already inclined to be politically active.
In terms of messaging, the upcoming weeks will be crucial. Christian Grose, a pollster in California, told NOTUS that Newsom is currently portraying this as a battle against Trump, and it will be enormously popular. It could not be as well-liked if it is presented as something else, such as gerrymandering or something else.
Rep. Ami Bera of California and other incumbents are already beginning to adapt to the potential implications of a new map.
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Congressman Bera will be among the few Democratic incumbents running in a more competitive district if voters accept the new plan. In order to support the team, he voluntarily chose this more difficult route. He will concentrate on ensuring that Democrats control every seat in California and flipping five Republican seats to thwart Donald Trump’s attempt to seize power in Texas, Bera spokesperson Louie Kahn told NOTUS in a statement.
Republicans in California, such as Representative Kevin Kiley, have emphasized the method Democrats are employing to implement these new maps.
“The world burns when you fight fire with fire,” Kiley stated on CNN. Voters in California should not be denied their elections, districts, or the representation they desire just because another state is acting in a way that we find objectionable.
Republicans at the state level in California are attempting to thwart the proposal, opposing it in court and attempting to block the new ballot designs.
“This is just a convenient excuse to get what they want, and I think voters are going to see through it,” California Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, one of the most vocal opponents of the new congressional map in the Legislature, told NOTUS. “They’ve always wanted to have the power back.” On November 4, we must be ready to defeat this at the polls, and I believe we will do so.
NEWSWELL, the home of the Times of San Diego, Santa Barbara News-Press, and Stocktonia, collaborated with NOTUS, a publication from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute, to produce this story.
