California Democrats are hoping that their home state will help offset any new Republican-friendly congressional seats in other states and generate excitement for their party’s brand.
They’re hoping to turn their push for voters to approve new congressional district maps this fall into a referendum on President Donald Trump. Many of them think that this playbook could help Democrats gain traction ahead of the midterms.
“This is about building momentum. This is about taking back our country. This is about the Democratic Party now punching back forcefully and very intentionally,” Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters in response to a question from NOTUS on Wednesday.
“I’ve never seen people come together across their differences in this party so quickly and in such an intense and focused way. So I think once the mind is stretched, it never goes back to its original form. This is a different party right now,” Newsom added.
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State lawmakers in California introduced legislation on Monday that would put a congressional map proposal before voters this fall in response to Texas’ redistricting efforts at the request of President Donald Trump. If approved by voters, this new map could add five additional Democratic seats to the California congressional delegation.
Since Trump took office, Democrats have struggled to figure out ways to demonstrate to their base that they’re doing enough to stymie his agenda. California Democrats argue that Proposition 50, as it would be presented to California voters this fall, would not only be a reaction to redistricting in Texas but also an effort to show voters disenchanted with the Democratic brand that they’re willing to pursue hardball tactics ahead of the 2026 elections.
“This is Democrats not only fighting back but taking leadership and understanding that we don’t have to get rolled and we don’t have to get run over, that we’ve got to fight. And this is what our constituents want us to do, they want us to fight against the Republicans’ moves,” Rep. Maxine Waters told NOTUS.
“To all of those who are saying that Democrats are not fighting hard enough, this is our reaction to our way of saying we’re not going to allow the Republicans to run over us and do whatever they want to do. The fight is on,” Waters added.
California lawmakers are also making the case that this is something that extends far beyond the borders of their state.
“At this moment, California has a greater responsibility than just to itself. We have a responsibility to the country,” California Assemblyman Isaac Bryan told NOTUS. “If we care about our democracy, we have to step into this moment. We have to fight fire with fire and step up to the plate. We are in a fight with an authoritarian who does not play by the rules. He does not believe there are rules, and if there are, he should be allowed to unilaterally rewrite them — and that is not American.”
Democrats are emphasizing that they’re responding to Trump’s aggressive reach for more power.
“President Trump knows that his reckless policies are going to come back to bite him in the midterms. We see the same damn polling that he sees,” Mike McGuire, president pro tempore of the California state Senate, said at a press conference Monday.
“If you’re sick of the corruption, sick of the the criminality, sick of the crazy, sick of the cruel and for heaven’s sake if you’re sick with cancer and waiting on a cure, you’re going to have a chance to make things right and this is what this election is going to be all about,” McGuire said, addressing voters.
If Texas proceeds with its redistricting plans, the proposal would temporarily sidestep the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, the independent entity in charge of drawing congressional maps in the state, until 2030. The commission remains overwhelmingly popular among Californians, and Democrats need to walk a fine line to keep focus on Trump and capitalize on the president’s unpopularity in the state.
Axios reported on Wednesday that internal polling commissioned by Newsom gives Democrats a secure margin in support of a redistricting proposition centered around Trump. This proposal, however, would come before voters in municipal elections, which typically attract low turnout during an off-cycle year. This means Democrats will have to craft an effective strategy if they want this issue to break beyond high-propensity voters who are already prone to be engaged with politics.
“The next couple of weeks will be really important for messaging. Right now, Newsom is framing this as a fight against Trump, and that’s going to be really popular,” California pollster Christian Grose told NOTUS. “If it’s framed as something else, like gerrymandering or some other things, it could be less popular.”
Incumbents like California Rep. Ami Bera are already starting to adjust to what a new map could mean for them.
“If voters approve the new map, Congressman Bera will be one of the few Democratic incumbents running in a more competitive district. He willingly took on this tougher path to help the team and will focus on making sure Democrats hold every seat in California while flipping five Republican seats to counter Donald Trump’s power grab in Texas,” Louie Kahn, a spokesperson for Bera, told NOTUS in a statement.
California Republicans like Rep. Kevin Kiley have focused on the process that Democrats are using to enact these new maps
“I’d say when you fight fire with fire, the whole world burns,” Kiley said on CNN. “Just because some other state is doing something that we don’t like, it doesn’t mean that California voters should be deprived of their elections and their districts and having the representation that they choose.”
State-level Republicans in California are trying to stop the proposition, fighting it in court and trying to defeat the new maps on the ballot.
“They’ve always wanted to have the power back, and 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 loudest opponents of the new congressional map in the Legislature, told NOTUS. “We have to be prepared to beat this at the ballot box on November 4, and I think we will beat it at the ballot box.”
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This story was produced as part of a partnership between NOTUS and NewsWell, home of Times of San Diego, Santa Barbara News-Press and Stocktonia.
Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Louie Kahn’s name.
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