California is projected to approve new congressional lines after voters approved the Proposition 50 ballot initiative on Tuesday, a move that Democrats are hoping will gain them up to five House seats in next year’s midterms.
The Associated Press projected the initiative would pass before midnight on the East Coast, minutes after the polls closed in California.
“Tonight, after poking the bear, this bear roared,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a somber press conference focused on what Newsom characterized as Trump’s creeping authoritarianism.
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Newsom also called on other Democratic states to join the redistricting push, saying that the party can “de facto end Donald Trump’s presidency as we know it, the minute Speaker Jeffries gets sworn in as Speaker of the House of Representatives.”
“We all must contribute a verse. We need the state of Virginia, we need the state of Maryland, we need our friends in New York, Illinois and Colorado. We need to see other states, the remarkable leaders, that have been doing remarkable things, meet this moment head on as well,” Newsom said. “It is all on the line—a bright line—in 2026.”
Newsom launched the campaign behind the redistricting measure in August, in response to Republican redistricting in Texas aimed at gaining more seats at President Donald Trump’s request. It’s the first major push from Democrats to fight back against the power grabs.
Unlike the Texas redistricting push, Proposition 50 was presented to voters following its passage in the state Legislature. The new maps in California are temporary — the state’s independent redistricting commission will get power to draw maps back following the 2030 census.
“By overwhelmingly voting to pass Proposition 50, Californians are fighting back against the GOP’s disastrous record of raising costs and ripping away health care from millions, all to give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy,” Rep. Suzan DelBene, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement.
“The path to the Democratic majority includes flipping critical seats throughout California, and Democrats are on offense to hold newly vulnerable Republicans accountable,” DelBene continued.
The maps approved by voters on Tuesday target the districts of five Republican members of the California congressional delegation, including Reps. Doug LaMalfa, Kevin Kiley, David Valadao, Ken Calvert, and Darrell Issa.
In the first shake-up following the successful ballot measure, Rep. Ami Bera, who currently serves the 6th Congressional District, announced he would run in the newly drawn 3rd Congressional District, which is currently represented by Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley.
“The path to a Democratic House majority runs through California,” Bera said in a release. “I’m stepping up in CA-03 to help deliver that majority and to keep fighting for the hardworking families who call the greater Sacramento region home.”
National figures jumped in to campaign for the measure in recent weeks, from in-person appearances on the campaign trail to ads featuring Democrats on the other sides of the country. Former President Barack Obama and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are two of many high-profile figures that have been seen on the campaign trail for the statewide initiative.
Proposition 50 raised a record amount of money, with Newsom telling supporters in an Oct. 27 email to stop donating to the campaign because it had hit “budget goals and raised what we need in order to pass Proposition 50.” According to The Hill, the campaign raised $38 million dollars through 1.2 million individual online small donations.
The ballot measure is seen as a victory for Newsom, who has said he is considering a 2028 presidential campaign. And it has unlocked a new set of donors from across the country, with many seeing the measure as a way to push back against Trump.
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