California voters have voted to approve a new congressional map drawn by state Democrats, giving the party the chance to gain up to five House seats in next year’s midterm elections and counter Republican redistricting efforts.
The approval of the measure allows California Democrats to temporarily move around the independent commission that controls the redistricting process and enact a more partisan map.
The green light from voters will help Democrats limit, but not eliminate, the political disadvantage they’re set to face in the 2026 elections after Republicans in several other states, mainly Texas, redrew maps this year to boost their party’s chances.
President Donald Trump has continued to push GOP-led states like Indiana and Kansas to redistrict their states to ensure his party keeps the majority in both chambers next year.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom pushed hard for Democrats’ redistricting plan, accusing Trump and Republicans of “rigging” the midterm elections.
“What a night for the Democratic Party, a party that’s in its ascendency, a party that’s on its toes, no longer on its heels. From coast to coast, from sea to shining sea,” Newsom said in remarks from Sacramento.
“We’re proud here in California to be part of this narrative this evening,” he continued. “We’re proud of the work that the people of the state of the people of California did tonight to send a powerful message to a historic president. Donald Trump is a historic president; he is the most historically unpopular president in modern history.”
California already sends 43 Democrats and nine Republicans to Congress, but multiple nonpartisan analyses of the new maps show that the new lines could allow Democrats to flip as many as five seats by making it harder for Republican Reps. Doug LaMalfa, Darrell Issa, Ken Calvert, Kevin Kiley and David Valadao to win re-election.
