This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.
By Jeanne Kuang and Maya C. Miller, CalMatters
California voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s measure that allowed the state to redraw its congressional map in favor of Democrats, pushing back against President Donald Trump’s effort to hold onto a Republican-controlled Congress by urging redistricting in Texas.
Tuesday capped off a whirlwind, hyper-partisan two-and-a-half-month campaign for one of the most expensive ballot measures in state history. Supporters poured more than $120 million into Newsom’s committee supporting the measure. Opponents raised just $44 million. Outside groups spent $27 million to try to sway the vote.
Here’s what you missed.
Newsom declares victory
In a triumphant speech, Newsom proclaimed that Prop. 50’s victory was not just a win for California, but a win for the entire country. He called on leaders in other Democratic-held states — Illinois, Virginia, Maryland and New York — to “meet the moment” and redraw their congressional districts, too.
“Instead of agonizing over the state of our nation, we organized in an unprecedented way,” Newsom said. “Tonight, I’m proud. But I’m very mindful and sober of the moment we are living in. Donald Trump does not believe in fair and free elections, period and full stop.”
Prop. 50’s passage marked a significant victory for the governor, who took a political risk on the measure, calculating that it would give the state’s Democratic voters who are frustrated with the Trump administration a way to “fight back.”
Though opponents criticized him for using the measure to burnish his national profile, Newsom was joined in his effort by numerous liberal groups, who argued that helping Democrats win the House could counter the administration’s aggressive immigration raids, cuts to social services and erosion of democratic norms.
Republicans vowed they will still challenge Democrats statewide, and said the election distracted from issues like the cost of living.
“Even under this new map, Republicans have clear opportunities to flip seats because Californians are fed up with Democrat chaos,” National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Richard Hudson said in a statement.
What this means for incumbent Republicans
Five GOP congressmembers now face steep odds to re-election and are more likely to lose their seats after next year’s midterms:
- Rocklin Rep. Kevin Kiley reaffirmed Tuesday night he’ll run for re-election despite his 3rd District becoming more liberal: “Politicians can change the lines on a map, but they can’t tell you how to vote.”
- Chico Rep. Doug LaMalfa, whose 1st District in the vast rural northeast corner of California, will lose several conservative counties and take in liberal Santa Rosa, has also said he will run again.
- Corona Rep. Ken Calvert will have to decide whether to run in a primary against a fellow Republican after his Riverside County district moves completely. He’ll instead be in the safe Republican 40th District held by Rep. Young Kim.
- Hanford Rep. David Valadao’s district in the southern Central Valley will become slightly more Democratic and stretch closer to Fresno. The race could still be competitive; the Republican has held onto his seat despite a Democratic registration advantage.
- Escondido Rep. Darrell Issa’s eastern San Diego County district will lose conservative pockets and gain liberal voters in the Coachella Valley. He said Tuesday night that he’s “not quitting.”
What this means for Democrats
Five Democratic House incumbents have seen their districts grow safer under Prop. 50:
- Rep. Josh Harder, a Stockton Democrat, was swept into Congress during the 2018 Democratic wave and he has held onto his Stockton-based seat despite being a perpetual Republican target.
- Rep. Adam Gray of Turlock had the closest 2024 House race in the country. With more Democratic voters from Stockton, it will be much easier for him to hold the seat next year.
- Rep. George Whitesides of Santa Clarita represents northern Los Angeles suburbs in the 27th District that have grown gradually more liberal. His new seat brings in more Democratic voters from the San Fernando Valley.
- Rep. Derek Tran of Cypress should have an easier time defending his seat in the heavily Asian 45th District, which straddles Orange and Los Angeles counties.
- Rep. Dave Min of Costa Mesa won his 47th District seat by fewer than three percentage points last November. The new map shifts his district away from Huntington Beach and Newport Beach.
While numerous Democrats have been running assuming the new maps would apply, several are poised to switch districts now:
- Rep. Ami Bera in Sacramento County, will shift from the 6th District to challenge Kiley in the 3rd District.
- In turn, Dr. Richard Pan, a prominent former state senator who had already declared a challenge against Kiley, said he will now run in the 6th District.
- Two candidates challenging Calvert in his current district — Brandon Riker and Anuj Dixit — have said they will instead challenge Issa in the newly drawn 48th District.
Trump threatens ‘legal and criminal’ review
Trump threatened Tuesday to challenge California’s mail-in ballot results, claiming without evidence that it was fraudulently conducted — even before any results were in.
The president said there would be “very serious legal and criminal review” of the state’s use of universal mail ballots. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt later said Trump was working on an executive order to strengthen elections and assure there isn’t “blatant fraud” in California’s universal mail-in ballots.
About 7 million Californians had already voted by Election Day, 4.6 million of whom put their ballots in the mail. Another 2.3 million put a ballot they received in the mail at a ballot drop-off box or at an elections office. For more than a decade, the majority of voters in California elections have participated by mail. Voter fraud is extremely rare, and studies have found no evidence that voting by mail increases fraud.
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
Also Read
- As The Great Wealth Transfer Begins, Most Families Remain Unprepared
- SUV Rear-Ends School Bus in Solvang; CHP Investigating Possible Hit-and-Run
- He Spent 7 Weeks In ICE Detention. Why His Case Shows New Legal Obstacles For Immigrants
- Caltrans Removes Encampment Along Highway 101 in Santa Barbara
- New Thrift Store Opens in San Luis Obispo County
Talk about a blue wave last night! Wow. What a wholesale rejection of MAGA we saw. Even down to the PA Supreme Court justices’ race. ALL stayed on the bench despite Trump begging his cult to remove them. Victory for ALL Americans is finally in sight!
I wonder if this sets off many other states, both blue and red, to follow suit. Carve up every state with gerrymandering gain gain political advantage and game the system.
That is what Texas did, sparky.
Yep. Thanks, Trump.
And his Keystone Cowards GOP State Legislatures all over
Trump and Texas and now other red states
Trump and Texas and now other red states
Trump and Texas and now other red states
Trump and Texas and now other red states
Trump and Texas and now other red states
Trump and Texas and now other red states
Trump and Texas and now other red states
Trump and Texas and now other red states
Trump and Texas and now other red states
Trump and Texas and now other red states
…
Shall I go on, you appallingly dishonest troll?
Cue up the comments from the sad MAGAcan white males playing the perpetual victim card.
Im not sad. Makes me happy to know people will be out celebrating by eating a whole bottle of Tylenol.
SAIL – who celebrates by eating Tylenol? Weird.
Oh wait….. you think Tylenol causes autism because a heroin addict told you so 🤣🤣😂😂🤣🤣😂😂🤣🤣
And SAIL, how f*ed up can you be to be “happy” to imagine an entire group of people are harming themselves?
Sick AND stupid. Are your teeth soft as well?
Nothing wrong with eating a bottle of Tylenol. I’ve been watching pregnant people on YouTube doing it to show Trump it can be done safely.
SAIL – no, you have not seen that. YouTube isn’t science. Eating a whole bottle of Tylenol won’t give you autism, but it WILL mess up your stomach and can cause real risks. No pregnant women are guzzling hundreds of pills to prove anything.
You are wishing harm on people and I find that even more disgusting than lying about it.
Follow up and emulate what you see in nitwit social media with regard to acetaminophen, and you’ll find yourself in the liver transplant waiting list. But, then, most of us have realized by now that sail posts garbage.
Democrats have continuously proposed legislation to prevent gerrymandering at all levels and in all states. Republicans refused to ever vote for it. Why? Because cheating is how they win.
Also, SOTUS had a chance in 2019 to rule on partisan gerrymandering (Rucho vs Common Cause) but John Roberts’s slim 5-4 majority (this was before RBG passed) ruled that there was no politically neutral way to determine if a gerrymandering claim was unconstitutional. They ruled that way because they lacked the intellect to understand the mathematical arguments they were presented with. There are *very* clear ways to achieve fair voting districts using math and geography and all the data provided by the U.S. Census. They didn’t get it, so they just punted and said there aint no way to do it.
The same people who were saying ‘No Kings’ have allowed the State of California to redistrict and disenfranchise about 40% of the voters. Hardly democratic.
How many voters did President tiny hands disenfranchise?
ZIPS – they VOTED for it, so yeah, it IS democratic.
Texas didn’t give their citizens a choice. You know, where there are many more registered democrats but somehow the state always votes red? Go cry about that.
WIpe your tears and buy some handkerchiefs. It’s going to be a frustrating few years for you MAGAts who thought you could endlessly assault our constitution and get away with it.
You guys and your Dictator changed the rules and broke a bunch of stuff. And you only think it’s bad when other people do it–so incredibly short sighted. Just remember, anything Trump does a future Democratic President can do because “precedent.” I
I don’t see how you got 40%, since only about 25% of CA voters are registered R’s. And you can’t assume they all voted along with the party, anyways, just like some D’s voted “no”. But even Orange County voted yes, along with many other rural counties, many of which are currently served by a Republican, so there were a lot of Republicans who approved of the measure, making it even less than 25%. Chances are excellent that anyone whose state Rep changed from R to D will be much better represented anyway, and not “disenfranchised”.
We voted for it, you lying pin head … that’s democracy. Now go complain to Texas, which *didn’t* have a vote.
The voters approved the measure.
Dang it! I thought it would fail. Oh well. Life goes on.
BASIC – of course you did, because you have no idea what the MAJORITY of people in this country really want. Actually, over 63% is more like a VAST MAJORITY or a LANDSLIDE if you will….
You see, when someone/something wins OVER 50% of the votes, that is what is called MAJORITY. You know, like how every race and almost every ballot measure passed this week.
Wait, Trump is still President and Newscum is still destroying California right? Whew, for a second there I thought things had changed,
Here’s what you missed…
JIMBO – yeah, you didn’t understand it at all. Not surprising given your comments here. You see, Trump was elected last year. That means this year was not a presidential election. Nor was it a gubernatorial election year. That means the Governor was not up for election.
So no, neither Gov. Newsom or your failed fatty fatty dumb dumb were on the ballot and therefore (that means “as such” or “in conclusion” – you should look those big words up on your own), both are still in office.
Now, stop eating tide pods and learn some adult stuff.