Californian Democrats led by Governor Gavin Newsom could upset the state’s mandate for political districts that were independently taken in the context of a national political fight and the National Brawl at the Congress and the fate of the aggressive and right agenda of President Trump and the GOP.
The effort examined by state democratic leaders is specifically intended to reduce the number of Republicans in the California Congress Delegation, reprisals for the actions in progress by GOP leaders in Texas to overthrow democratic representatives In his condition, would have been at Trump’s request.
“I think all of this is a horrible idea all around … and I don’t think people understand the ramifications of what they are talking about,” said republican expert expert Matt Rexroad. “Once we come to the point where we simply make a random redistribution after each election … The redistribution will not be used as a tool to reflect the interests of voters. It will be used to snuggle up minority political interests, whether republican or democrat, after each election. ”
Newsom has already been in talks with democratic legislative leaders and others on the reconfiguration of the district of the California Congress before the 2026 elections.
This would probably require a measurement of state bulletin to the level of the state to eliminate or temporarily interrupt the independent commission for redepracting Californian citizens approved by the voters responsible for drawing the limits of congress districts according to logical geography, shared interests, representation of minority communities and other facets. In 2010, The Californians voted to create the Commission To withdraw the partisan policy from the redistribution process for the congress, two years after having done so for the state legislature.
Newsom has said that California may have to take emergency measures if Texas and other GOP controlled states decide this year to redraw their congress districts to ensure that Republicans keep control of the congress in the next elections. The restarting of congresses districts generally occurs after the ten -year census to reflect changes in population across the country.
“So they want to change the game,” he said last week. “We can act more holy than that. We can sit on the sidelines, talk about how the world should be, or we can recognize the existential nature that is this moment. ”
Rediscussing experts in both parties agree that the return to the partisan restart of the convention lines in California would make several holders of the vulnerable GOP. The districts of the State Congress could be reconfigured to increase the share of democratic voters in the districts currently represented by the Republicans, or in a way that obliges the Republican occupants to compete against each other.
Rexroad sees a scenario in which the Republicans are so excited in the districts that the party would only have three safe seats. Only nine of the 52 districts of the State Congress are currently represented by the GOP.
Democratic redistribution expert Paul Mitchell said five of the nine GOP districts could be returned. He said that Democrats are in good position to take seats due to the history of California of non -partisan redistribution. In Texas, in comparison, the districts are already Gerrymandered to promote Republicans.
In California, “Democrats have not had a supporter cartoon since the 90s,” he said. “So there is all this partisan gain on the table for decades. If you ever open the card, there is just a lot available to strengthen” the existing control of the party on the delegation.
Rexroad warns that there would be involuntary consequences, in particular weakening the republican districts safe in Texas and leading to a broken system in which the lines are redesigned after each election for the benefit of the party which controls the White House or various legislative organs.
Before the creation of the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, California was similar to most other states. Political districts were created by legislators from both parties who have often prioritized the protection of the holders “Ribbon of Shame”, “ Where a 200 mile coastal ribbon from a congress district between Oxnard and the County of Monterey line disappeared during the high tide.
Former American Atty. General Eric Holder said that these districts are the reason why he launched the National Democratic Rediscovery Committee with former President Obama and the former speaker of the Nancy Pelosi Chamber (D-SAN Francisco) in 2017.
“Due to our work, we now have the most equitable national congress card that the country has seen in a generation, which allows the two parties to compete for the majority in the House,” said a virtual event on Wednesday “Stop The Texas Takeover” organized by the Rediscussion Committee.
This could fall by the way, however, if some states will open their redistribution process for the partisan gain and the states controlled by the opposing party which holds the same thing.
California Democrats are planning to try to revisit the independent line drawing after President Trump and his administration urged Texans to redraw their districts in a way that would likely improve the ability of the GOP to take control of the congress in the mid-term elections next year.
The house is closely divided, and the party that wins the White House often loses seats in the body two years later. The loss of a handful of GOP seats would hinder Trump’s plans, which potentially makes him a lame duck for two years.
The Governor of Texas Greg Abbott called for a special session of the state legislature which includes redistribution and started on Monday.
On Tuesday, Abbott said that the decision was made by a court decision last year which said that the state no longer had to draw “coalition districts”, which are made up of several minority communities.
“New cards will work to ensure that we will maximize Texas’ ability to vote for the candidate of their choice,” he said in an interview with Fox 4 Dallas-Fort Worth.
“It is shameless, shamelessly, the redistribution of mid-December that they do at Donald Trump’s orders,” said Pelosi on Wednesday at the “Stop The Texas Takeover” event. “And that’s what we do in California. We say to Texans:” You shouldn’t follow this path. We take on this path, we will descend together. “”
If the Californian Democrats are continuing the partisan partisan redistribution for the mid-term elections next year, the legislative assembly, in which the Democrats hold a supermajority, could place the question on the ballot in a special election which would probably take place in November. State legislators could also choose to make the change through legislation, although this would probably be vulnerable to a legal challenge.
The redistribution of the non -partisan congress was one of the Goov at the time. The priorities of Arnold Schwarzenegger when they were approved by the voters in 2010. Schwarzenegger did not weigh on the state potentially canceled the reform. But the director of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, which includes such political reforms among its main priorities, warned that the weakening of the California system would be out of synchronization with state values.
“We are in a frightening position with all these speeches on this arms race in Gerrymandering between Texas and California,” said Conyers Davis, World Director of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy. “It is really a downward race for voters of the two states and the whole country as a whole. We should celebrate the California citizens’ redistribution commission and seek to extend this model in other states, without looking for political means to dismember it and erode its powers. “
The State Republican Party, which opposed the creation of the Redecoupage Commission, now supports the body in the face of a proposal that would cost it seats.
“To start playing with this at that time, it sort of undermines the whole independent redistribution commission on which everyone came to count,” said Corrin Rankin, president of the Republican Party of California. “And I don’t know what it will be constitutionally like.”
Asked about Texas, she dismantled, saying that she was focused on California.
The State Democrats, who also opposed the creation of the Commission, applauded the potential response to Texas.
“Trump and the Republicans – DC in Texas – try to rewrite the rules of our democracy,” said Rusty Hicks, president of the California Democratic Party. “With so much play, California may no longer have a choice only to fight fire with fire to protect and preserve our democracy.”
The staff writer Taryn Luna in Sacramento contributed to this report.
