California Democrats led by Gov. Gavin Newsom may upend the state\u2019s mandate for independently drawn political districts as part of a brewing, national political brawl over the balance of power in Congress and the fate of the aggressive, right-wing agenda of President Trump and the GOP.<\/p>\n
The effort being considered by state Democratic leaders is specifically intended to reduce the number of Republicans in California\u2019s congressional delegation, retaliation for the ongoing actions by GOP leaders in Texas to unseat Democratic representatives<\/a> in its state, reportedly at Trump\u2019s behest.<\/p>\n \u201cI think this whole thing is a horrible idea all the way around \u2026 and I don\u2019t think people fully understand the ramifications of what they\u2019re talking about,\u201d said Republican redistricting expert Matt Rexroad. \u201cOnce we get to the point where we\u2019re just doing random redistricting after every election \u2026 redistricting won\u2019t be used as a tool to reflect voter interests. It will be used to just bludgeon minority political interests, whether it be Republican or Democrat, after every election.\u201d<\/p>\n Newsom already has been in talks with Democratic legislative leaders and others about reconfiguring California\u2019s congressional district boundaries before the 2026 election. <\/p>\n Doing so probably would require a statewide ballot measure to scrap or temporarily pause the voter-approved, independent California Citizens Redistricting Commission charged with drawing the boundaries of congressional districts based on logical geography, shared interests, representation for minority communities and other facets. In 2010, Californians voted to create the commission<\/a> to take partisan politics out of the redistricting process for Congress, two years after they did so for the state Legislature.<\/p>\n Newsom said California may have to take the emergency action if Texas and other GOP-controlled states this year decide to redraw their congressional districts to ensure that Republicans keep control of Congress in the upcoming election. Redrawing of congressional districts typically occurs after the decennial census to reflect population shifts across the nation.<\/p>\n \u201cSo they want to change the game,\u201d he said last week. \u201cWe can act holier-than-thou. We can sit on the sidelines, talk about the way the world should be, or we can recognize the existential nature that is this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Newsom on Friday plans to meet with six Democratic Texas state lawmakers visiting the state and members of California\u2019s congressional delegation \u201cto push back on Trump and Texas Republicans\u2019 redistricting power grab,\u201d according to the governor\u2019s office. Another group of Texas lawmakers reportedly will meet with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker in Chicago.<\/p>\n Redistricting experts in both parties agree that reverting to partisan redrawing of congressional lines in California would make several GOP incumbents vulnerable. The state\u2019s congressional districts could be reconfigured to increase the share of Democratic voters in districts currently represented by Republicans, or in a way that forces Republican officeholders to face off against one another.<\/p>\n Rexroad sees a scenario in which Republicans are so packed into districts that the party would have only three safe seats. Only nine of the state\u2019s 52 congressional districts are currently represented by the GOP.<\/p>\n Democratic redistricting expert Paul Mitchell said five of nine GOP-held districts could be flipped. He said Democrats are in a good position to gain seats because of California\u2019s history of nonpartisan redistricting. In Texas, by comparison, districts already are gerrymandered to favor Republicans.<\/p>\n In California, \u201cDemocrats haven\u2019t had partisan line-drawing since the \u201890s,\u201d he said. \u201cSo there\u2019s all this partisan gain left on the table for decades. If you ever do crack open the map, there\u2019s just many available to bolster\u201d the party\u2019s existing grip on the delegation.<\/p>\n Rexroad warns that there would be unintended consequences, including weakening safe Republican districts in Texas and leading to a broken system in which lines are redrawn after every election to benefit whichever party controls the White House or various legislative bodies.<\/p>\n