Newsom mulling special election to redraw state congressional districts

By Lia Russell, Nicole Nixon, David Lightman, The Sacramento Bee

The Sacramento Bee

Gov. Gavin Newsom is considering calling a special election to redraw congressional districts in California to counteract similar efforts in Texas that would favor the Republican Party in the 2026 midterm elections.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump asked Texas Republicans to redraw their congressional maps so the party would pick up five more seats in the midterms as the Democratic Party tries to make a political comeback next year. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session in the Republican-majority Texas Legislature in response.

Newsom, who has been publicly soul searching amid his party’s defeat last year, said Tuesday on the “This is Gavin Newsom” podcast that he was exploring the possibility of calling a special election doing the same in heavily blue California.

“Maybe we’ll do it here in California,” he said in response to Trump’s mandate that Texas Republicans redistrict to win the GOP five more seats. Newsom is believed to be exploring a run for president in 2028 after he terms out of the governor’s mansion next year.

On Wednesday Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, D-Bakersfield, announced that she would challenge Republican Rep. David Valadao, whom Democrats perceive as vulnerable because he voted for Trump’s tax bill to gut Medicaid, which two-thirds of his Central Valley district relies on.

At 31 million people, Texas is the U.S.’s second-most populated state and has 38 congressional districts, 25 of which are held by Republicans. California, with 39 million people, is the most populous state, and has 43 Democratic and 9 Republican members of Congress.

Newsom compared Trump’s request to his pressuring of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn his loss to Joe Biden in the state’s 2020 election results.

“Not dissimilar to him saying, ‘find me 12,000 votes,’” the governor quipped.

In most states, members of the Legislature redraw political maps following new census numbers every decade, but California voters in 2008 delegated the task to an independent, citizen-led commission.