California Democrats have released a plan to give their party potentially five more seats in the House of Representatives – further marginalizing Republicans in a state that is notorious for one-sided liberal government.
The push, championed by Governor Gavin Newsom (D), is meant to “neutralize” Republican gains from a redistricting effort in Texas that has sparked furious backlash from the left.
Despite receiving nearly 40% of the vote in 2024, California Republicans currently represent just nine out of the state’s 52 House seats.
California gerrymander
Newsom’s gerrymander would expand the Democrats’ supermajority even further, eroding Republican strength in five districts and flipping three of those outright.
The gerrymander targets California Reps. Doug LaMalfa, Ken Calvert, Darrell Issa, Kevin Kiley and David Valadao, all Republicans.
Rep. LaMalfa represents a large, rural stretch of northern California that borders Oregon and Nevada. The 1st district has been reliably Republican for years, but under Newsom’s plan it would switch to safely Democratic.
The new map would also dethrone Ken Calvert, another veteran lawmaker representing a onetime GOP stronghold in Southern California. Calvert’s 41st district is now considered a swing seat.
Kevin Kiley, a relative newcomer in his second term, would lose his seat in the 3rd district, which spans from the Sacramento suburbs to Lake Tahoe.
The Newsom gerrymander would also tilt Darrell Issa’s safely Republican 48th district, in Southern California, and David Valadao’s 22nd district in the Central Valley, making them both Democrat-leaning.
Newsom’s bid for 2028
The redistricting battle has given Newsom an issue to seize on to elevate his national profile ahead of the 2028 presidential cycle.
“We have the opportunity to de facto end the Trump presidency in less than 18 months. That’s what’s at stake,” Newsom said Thursday.
The governor is putting his map up for a vote in November. A poll found that California voters support the state’s redistricting commission, however.
“Governor Newsom is trying to grab power away from the citizens on the commission and give it to Sacramento politicians to gerrymander their own districts,” the state’s Republicans wrote in a statement. “Our delegation will stand with the citizens of California and defend their rights as they stand today in our state constitution by opposing Newsom’s ballot measure. All Californians, regardless of their political affiliation, should vote NO on this attempt to eliminate the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission’s ability to draw fair congressional districts.”
The proposed maps were drawn up by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is based in Washington D.C. If approved, the maps would apply for 2026, 2028 and 2030.
California is losing population, a trend that is projected to cost the states House seats after the next census in 2030.
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Author: Matthew Boose
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