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Liberals are increasingly viewing California as key to countering President Donald Trump's push to net five additional GOP-friendly districts in Texas by further gerrymandering the state's congressional maps ahead of next year's midterm elections.
As recent polling data has shown widespread public backlash to Trump-backed policies — everything from his anti-immigrant agenda to his economic policies — the president has ramped up his redistricting efforts in Texas in what some Democrats say is an attempt to rig next year's elections. Many liberals called on Democrat-led states — like California, Oregon and Illinois — to blunt the impact by conducting redraws of their own.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is all in on the idea and explained how he thinks the plan could work during an interview with the political podcast Pod Save America that aired on Tuesday.
“Trump said he’s going to steal 5 Congressional seats in Texas and gerrymander his way into a 2026 win. Well, two can play that game,” Newsrom wrote in a post on X that featured a clip of his “Pod Save America” appearance. “Special sessions. Special elections. Ballot initiatives. New laws. It’s all on the table when democracy is on the line.”
Punchbowl News reported Thursday that California Democrats, who recently huddled with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to discuss potential redistricting plans, foresee redistricting proposals possibly creating between five and seven additional Democrat-friendly districts. And multiple Democrats told the outlet they support plans to counter Trump's gerrymandering plan with what would effectively amount to a gerrymander of their own in California. Naturally, the idea of Democrats lowering themselves to Trump’s level in this way — even though they’d be doing so in response to Trump’s growing authoritarian style — has some Democrats feeling uneasy.
That includes California Assemblymember Alex Lee, the head of the state Legislature's Progressive Caucus, who has so far rejected the plans. Republicans "resort to cheating to win,” Lee wrote on X, adding that Democrats should want to win by running on a “clear platform for the working class & delivering.”
The counterpoint to that is, allowing Trump and the Republican Party to run on a map that’s further gerrymandered in their favor will inevitably make it harder for liberals concerned about working class interests to get elected, let alone deliver on any promises they’ve made. And while one may understandably be concerned about the civil rights implications of California’s responsive gerrymander, the implications of sitting idly as Texas implements its own are arguably worse.
The gerrymandering plan Trump is pushing in Texas is functionally racist in that it largely targets — and aims to disempower — Black and Latino Democrats. It is essentially a blueprint for entrenching conservative rule nationwide, and Democrats doing nothing in response could understandably be seen as a tacit endorsement.