Gov. Gavin Newsom officially began his push on Thursday for California voters to approve mid-decade redistricting in a special election later this year.
Republicans are looking for ways to try to gain seats in Congress in a rare mid-decade redistricting shuffle ahead of the 2026 midterms, and Newsom has been a leading proponent of blue states pushing back with their own new maps. For weeks, California Democrats have warned that if Texas takes steps to make its map more red, they will respond with their own redistricting.
“We’re doing it in reaction to that act. We’re doing it mindful of our higher angels, and better angels. We’re doing it mindful that we want to model better behavior, as we’ve been doing for 15 years in the state of California,” Newsom said, referring to the state’s popular independent redistricting commission.