Newsom calls GOP’s push to redraw TX congressional maps an ‘existential crisis to democracy’

Gov. Gavin Newsom is doubling down on his threat to overhaul the state’s independent redistricting process.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is doubling down on his threat to overhaul the state’s independent redistricting process.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is doubling down on his threat to overhaul the state’s independent redistricting process.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is doubling down on his threat to overhaul the state’s independent redistricting process.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KGO) — Gov. Gavin Newsom is doubling down on his threat to overhaul the state’s independent redistricting process, escalating a political standoff with Texas Republicans that’s becoming a flashpoint in the fight for control of Congress.

This week, the Texas Legislature kicked off a special session where redistricting is on the table, as Republicans reevaluate their congressional maps to help the GOP retain its slim House majority after the 2026 midterms.

After a Friday meeting with Texas lawmakers at the governor’s mansion in Sacramento, Newsom told reporters the situation is a “five-alarm fire for democracy in the United States.”

MORE: Newsom floats redistricting retribution if Texas GOP redraws its maps as midterm election approaches

“We are committed to this process. This is not a bluff,” he said. “Everything is at stake if we’re not successful next year and take back the House of Representatives.”

Last week, President Donald Trump publicly called on Texas to redraw their maps, even though the state’s boundaries were already updated in 2021 after the 2020 U.S. Census.

In response, Newsom began floating the idea that California could abandon its independent redistricting commission. California voters first signed off on this process through a 2008 proposition that amended the state constitution to relinquish lawmakers’ control of drawing electoral maps.

“We want to play the game on the terms where everybody is playing by the same set of rules. That’s no longer the case,” the governor said.

Since then, the idea has sparked a mix of intrigue and backlash in Sacramento. While some Democrats have expressed quiet openness, others on both sides of the aisle say weaponizing redistricting would erode democratic norms.

MORE: Newsom’s retaliatory redistricting idea gets mixed reaction in California Legislature

“We win elections by a war of ideas, not by manipulating the lines,” said Assemblymember Heath Flora, R-Ripon. “We have to have fair and open elections, and I don’t think that’s a partisan issue.”

Flora – the Republicans’ newly-elected leader in the Assembly – said he is not hearing a lot of eagerness from his colleagues on both sides of the aisle about this provocative proposal.

“I don’t think there’s a huge appetite. I do think that if it gets on the ballot, it’s going to cost everybody a lot of money,” he said. “And for what? Because we want to be reactionary to something that Texas is doing? I just don’t think it’s smart. I don’t think Texas should do it either.”

Newsom considers ballot measure to change California’s maps

Newsom confirmed this week that he’s actively exploring four different legal or political avenues to reassert lawmakers’ control over California’s redistricting, including sending the measure back to voters.

“The cleanest path, to be candid, is asking the voters that enacted this in the first place to consider the new conditions,” he said.

California’s current process is overseen by a 14-member independent citizens’ commission, which redraws state and congressional districts every 10 years based on U.S. Census data. The Commission is made up of five Republicans, five Democrats, and four who are not affiliated with either party.

In Texas, redistricting is controlled by the Legislature, which is currently controlled by a Republican supermajority. Trump’s push to revisit the maps comes amid ongoing legal challenges to the state’s current boundaries, which allege that the lines discriminate against Latino and Black voters.

Redistricting expert Paul Mitchell says that creating five new GOP-stronghold districts in Texas would be difficult and could require targeting Democratic-held seats and shifting large numbers of voters.

MORE: Gov. Newsom returns to Trump resistance rhetoric amid Los Angeles protests clash

“The only way to do that is to find Democratic congressional districts and shove more Republicans into those districts,” Mitchell said. “And then with the next election cycle, voila, a seat that looked like it was kind of a safe Democratic seat is now a Republican pickup.”

Still, Texas Democrats worry that even modest changes could entrench GOP control in ways that reverberate nationally.

“It is going to cause great harm,” said Texas state Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas. “Not only to the people that we represent, but also potentially to all Americans.”

What happens next will likely depend on whether Texas lawmakers follow through on redrawing the maps.

Newsom made clear that if Texas plays partisan hardball, California could too – even if it means scrapping a system he once rallied behind.

“We’re not going to play by a different set of rules anymore,” Newsom said.