By Andrew Oxford and Greg Giroux / Bloomberg Yahoo / August 15, 2025
Top Democrats released a draft congressional map Friday that may lead to Republicans losing five US House seats as Gov. Gavin Newsom pushes to offset possible GOP gains from redistricting in Texas.
The California map released Friday by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee would imperil the 2026 re-election bids of Republicans including Reps. Doug LaMalfa, Kevin Kiley, David Valadao, Ken Calvert, Young Kim and Darrell Issa. It would also bolster some swing-district Democrats who won close 2024 elections.
“We will not stand by as Republicans attempt to rig the election in their favor and choose their voters,” Julie Merz, executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement.
Newsom (D) said he will ask California voters to approve new congressional districts in a special election on Nov. 4 if Republican lawmakers in Texas or any other state go ahead with redrawing congressional maps at President Donald Trump’s urging. The governor was joined by other federal and state Democratic officials Thursday at an event to build support for the plan.
Kiley, a leading Newsom critic who represents some Sacramento suburbs and Lake Tahoe, would receive Democratic voters in Sacramento now represented by Rep. Doris Matsui (D) and Rep. Ami Bera (D). Kiley said he expects voters will reject the Democratic proposal, keeping his district intact. He’s sponsoring federal legislation to prohibit mid-decade redistricting nationwide. “We will defeat Newsom’s sham initiative and vindicate the will of California voters,” he said in a post on X.
Campaign Shakeups
The proposed map would shake up several races ahead of a June 2, 2026, primary election, likely spurring additional candidates to jump into newly competitive seats while emboldening Democrats who have already launched campaigns targeting vulnerable Republicans such as Valadao, who represents a Central Valley swing district that would become a few points more Democratic.
The most conspicuous Republican targeted may be Calvert, a House member since 1993 and the most senior Republican in California’s congressional delegation. Calvert, who heads the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, won close re-elections in 2022 and 2024 in a Riverside County district that the draft map dismantles.
The map pairs Calvert with Kim in a Republican-leaning district in western Riverside County and eastern Orange County. Calvert presently represents about half of the people in that district, compared to about one-third for Kim. It also includes some of Issa’s Riverside County constituents.
Part of Calvert’s district, including the progressive bastion of Palm Springs, would be shifted to Issa’s district. Issa, who’s in his 12th House term, was the Oversight Committee Chair during Barack Obama’s presidency.
In the San Diego area, Democratic Reps. Scott Peters and Sara Jacobs, who represent safe districts, would see some surplus Democrats shifted out of their districts to weaken Issa and also bolster Rep. Mike Levin (D), who was re-elected by 4 points in 2024.
In the northern end of the state, LaMalfa would see his district stretched from Republican-leaning corners of California’s interior to include more liberal-leaning areas around Santa Rosa, closer to the coast and the Democratic bastion of San Francisco.
The map would also boost Reps. Adam Gray and Josh Harder, the only California Democrats from districts that favored Trump in 2024. Gray would receive voters in the Stockton area now represented by Harder, whose San Joaquin County-centered district would move westward to take in more Democrats from Contra Costa County.
First-term Reps. Derek Tran (D) and Dave Min (D) would see their Orange County-centered districts shift more in their favor.
Tight Timeline
Democrats hold 43 of California’s 52 congressional districts, which were drawn by an independent commission under a process approved by voters in 2010 that was meant to take power over redistricting away from politicians.
Newsom is proposing to get around that process by asking voters to approve the new map directly.
California lawmakers, who return from summer recess Aug. 18, will have until Aug. 22 to pass legislation with support from supermajorities in the Senate and Assembly to formally call for the election, according to the secretary of state’s office.
Assembly and Senate committees plan to hold Aug. 19 hearings on the redistricting plan.
Democratic leaders in the legislature said Friday they will rush three separate measures to a vote by Aug. 21: a constitutional amendment authorizing new maps; a bill detailing the proposed maps; and a measure to call the election, change existing deadlines to make it possible to hold the vote, and provide funding.
The map would only take effect if approved by California voters, and if Texas or other states go ahead with redistricting plans, Newsom said. The redistricting commission would redraw the districts after the next census in 2030.
The One Party Ruler of Twitter/X is threatening to out-rig the other rigging, in an effort to rig his own Presidential bid. And of course, because two wrongs always make a right, right?
Newsom spends more time on social media than a 14 yr old girl with a brand new iPhone. Meanwhile our state has become an absolute corrupted mess.
If you have received the 8 1/2×11 4-page mailer headed in giant black type “Weakening our Democratic Process”, do not believe the claims, or the several false quotes that I know of so far.
The President of the League of Women Voters of California is quoted as calling to reject what the mailer says is a dangerous idea. This is not true. The LWV/CA has not taken a position and the President did not say that, per an email received by me today from the LWV/CA.
On the back page, the Executive Director is quoted as calling the mid-decade redistricting, supposedly said in a press release on 7/21/25. This also is not true. There is no such press release on the website.
The Common Cause, instead, has a lengthy statement that includes this quote from the Common Cause Director Darius Kemp:
“Statement of Common Cause’s California Director Darius Kemp
“After a careful analysis of the process, we have determined California meets our fairness criteria. Given this meets Common Cause’s standards, we will not support nor oppose the efforts going forward and will focus on election protection, voter education, and empowerment. While our criteria have been met, we continue to oppose any reduction in election funding and language access proposed in SB 280.” https://www.commoncause.org/press/california-meets-texas-fails-to-meet-common-causes-redistricting-fairness-criteria/
This mailer is funded primarily by Charles T. Munger Jr., a major Republican donor. The mailer is a deliberate attempt to keep voters from approving the mid-cycle redistricting that is likely to be on the November ballot, and enable Texas to add 5 Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives, blocking California from matching, and cancelling, this attempt to “pack the House”.
Be sure to read Representative Sarah Jacobs’ statement published here in the Rag, and tell your neighbors and friends that the mailer is a rotten red herring.
My third paragraph should have read “the Executive Director of Common Cause”.
Look at the redistricting lines on the map. Two wrongs do not make a right. I believe in democracy, it is a ludicrous proposition and I am a liberal. Mailer or no mailer there is nothing more American than dissent and regardless of Sarah Jacobs has to say, look at the maps for Christ sake!
If this was being imposed by a Republican Governor on Democrats like it is in Texas you would be absolutely losing your sh1t right now!
Rural voters deserve representation as much as any Californian does.
This week I called all 15 State Senators on the Committee list to oppose SB79.
Only 4 out of the 15 are Republicans. And Newsom proposes to gerrymander what few representatives they do have away from them? BY WHAT DECREE?
Imposing and discriminating districting based solely on ideology will solve nothing but it will crate a boatload of hardcore resentment, and more importantly will infuriate a still large segment of the State’s population that hold the 2nd amendment in fairly high regard.
This is idiotic short sided, unconstitutional and yet another glaring example of overreach by a Governor that has rolled back decades of generational public activism that produced meaningful environmental protections., fast tracked Hyper-Gentrification of the entire state, and is Hell bent on dissolving the California Coastal Commission.
It is wholly unfair for you to indiscriminately decide what anyone “should” believe and decide for us to whom we should listen. And impose your views that we should just “trust” Gavin Newsom because he has proven so benevolent and trustworthy over his political career.
This is especially true when your only criteria is “because it’s our guy.” It is hypocritical and oppressive.
We’re in the mess that we are with the current President because the Pelosi and Schumer Dem legislators lavished an enormous expansion of Executive powers onto the Executive Branch under Obama by using the “it’s ok voters, we can trust him because it’s Barrack, right?” Even when Barbara Lee, Bernie Sanders, Angus King, Patrick Leahy and others wisely cautioned against it and pointed out that these lopsided accumulation of executive powers would be abused by future administrations. (Like today)
I am an American which means that I believe in everyones right to their own ideology. Deliberately targeting and subjugating conservative Californians to silence them all, through the abuse of absolute power is wrong and it EPITOMIZES THE RECKLESSNESS OF ONE PARTY RULE!
Mateo, these are not normal times and we need to fight fire with fire; Trump is planning right now to rig the 2026 elections — and you’re not dealing with that in your position. So, I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree on this one.
Mateo – there’s a HUGE difference between dissent and lies. The mailer falsely advertises that both the President of the Ca League of Women Voters and a Director of Common Cause are strongly against the redistricting measure.
As I wrote, the LWV president emailed all California members that the claim is false and that she did not authorize the use of her name and a fake quote.
A search of the Common Cause website makes clear that the claim that the named director did not and could not make a negative statement about the upcoming measure, based on the current position of Common Cause. Did you read the statement by Common Cause at the link I posted? Here it is again: https://www.commoncause.org/press/california-meets-texas-fails-to-meet-common-causes-redistricting-fairness-criteria/
Judy, having been gerrymandered from my own District 2 by the succubus Jen Campbell and then painfully watching her re-election that would have been prevented by those of us gerrymandered out of our own district; my opinion is based on the content of the proposal. And this is insane.
Distraction by design. Your mailer that has your bloomers in a bunch about is nothing more than a stupid ruse distracting all of us now from real dialogue, thoughtful analysis or meaningful debate by focusing on the contents and sponsor of yet another idiot mailer that I care absolutely nothing about.
See how this mind-warp works? We are fully engaged, but mired in arguments about the contents of a mailer and who sent it. OB Rag has even dispatched staff to dispute the contents of a mailer while ignoring the entire subject matter.
It’s “Toilet to tap” rather than “reclaimed water” all over again. For the record I do not need a mailer, nor do I need common cause or Ballotpedia to tell me what it is that I think.
I have not read one iota from you nor anyone else expressing any reasonable criteria for supporting this 8 year moratorium of democracy to produce a Republican Free California through gerrymandering.
California voters are not to blame for what’s going on in Texas and Newsom isn’t the Governor, Greg Abbott is. That’s Texas, and we shouldn’t be browbeat into doing a Goddamn thing in California including condoning biased gerrymandering based SOLELY on political ideology. This is dangerous and shameful.
Do onto others… What comes around.
Frank, where is the “These aren’t normal times, so it’s just gonna be this one time, I swear” provision that legally returns the independent district mapping powers back to the People of California?
It is only through unity that we’ll get through this, consensus not subjugation. Leaders forge alliances, the Allies won the war, there is strength in numbers. Despots divide and concquer.
This is a Trojan Horse. You will find that it does not pass the smell test as you look deeper.
“….where is the “These aren’t normal times, so it’s just gonna be this one time, I swear” provision that legally returns the independent district mapping powers back to the People of California?…”
This will be explicit in the ballot measure, as has been stated multiple times by Governor Newsom and others. If the measure is approved by the voter for a short-term suspension, the State of California will be obligated to return to the standard decennial redistricting based on the 2030 census (if there even in one….). Not doing so will not be optional.
Mateo – Ballotpedia is an excellent objective source of information about candidates and ballot measures. Check out their page on the redistricting proposal and note that:
“Replacement: The proposed congressional map (AB 604) would replace the existing maps, which the 14-member Citizens Redistricting Commission adopted on December 27, 2021, for elections from 2022 through 2030.
Post-2030: Proposition 50 would provide that the Citizens Redistricting Commission will redraw congressional districts in 2031.”
https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_50,_Use_of_Legislative_Congressional_Redistricting_Map_Amendment_(2025)
Even if you’re absolute in your own opinion, I hope this link will be informative to others who are likely to vote on the measure in November.
Judy,
“How ludicrous is this? How fricking Group Think & Group Speak is this fantasy? 2022-2030 would cover a Newsom presidential campaign and re-election campaign and somehow that doesn’t at all seem politically expedient? No conflict of interest here, no…
It is patronizing to imply that I somehow just don’t understand. I can read, I can comprehend, thankfully, I can think for myself and I understand what is offensively being pressured upon me and any other free thinking Californian. Forfeit a right afforded to all Californians because it is the sacrifice I must make, out of obligation in order to somehow crookedly preserve democracy for everyone by alienating and negating other American voters?
It is total B.S. and you know that these untrustworthy schmucks are going to exploit this to it’s most profitable end, THE ELIMINATION OF THE COASTAL PRESERVATION ACT AND A $TRILLION(s) worth of high rise California coastal real estate! Henceforth all the pre-prepared shilling.
It is naive, if not utterly stupid, to assume we’ll be able to trust any of this and think this is one and done. By your own admission this will cover 4 elections over the next 8 years2022-2030. But that’s all good, thumbs up Gav!
Judy, look how fast this proposition materialized. Record time from shock and awe announcement, the legislation took shape un-debated and unchallenged, yet crafted, and miraculously passed both houses to land on Newsom’s desk, POOF! All in less than 30 hours.
This is a setup. Dig deeper Judy I respect you and I know that you and everyone else is smarter than to carry water for this.
Read the proposal with an open mind and think for a minute what you’re being badgered into doing.
Contemplate for a minute what it is going to mean for Democrats like yourself in red states getting tanked in the same way by Republican legislators because our sophomoric Governor of Social Media and his minions, mindlessly acted before they thought about the national ramifications: chaos and retaliation.
Please try to remember when it is too late because ginned up Newsom needlessly took the tension up several notches, amplified and inflamed an avoidable conflict, instead leading us down a corrosive path that we all could have COLLECTIVELY stopped if we paused and thought thsi all the way through. This is irresponsible.
Discrimination in all forms is wrong. No gray area here.
Couple of reminders of some gems of promises by Dems to us:
“Oh no, (what became Measure C and sold to San Diego voters as “homes for working families”) this is only about removing the 30ft height limit On the West side of 5 in the Midway area. Not at the beach, that is what makes San Diego, San Diego. We would never touch the 30 ft coastal height restriction.”
– Jen Campbell, OB Democratic Club Meeting
How many times has the Patriot Act been re-authorized? It’s never been allowed to expire.
How many times has the Authorization for the Use of Military Force bypassed congressional approval for indiscriminate killing and acts of war against a sovereign nations? Yup.
How many times was the AUMF exploited by Obama, Trump, Biden and Trump again? Dunno, can’t be sure.
Emails still getting vacuumed up per Snowden? Yup. And data contained therein is most likely been sold. Oh, but you’ll never know.
Gavin Newsom is in no place to ask me nor anyone else in this state to “trust him”.
As for me, I’ll wait for Michelle Obama to tell Californians “When they go low, WE GO EVEN LOWER!” I’ll wait for Michelle to tell me that “it’s perfectly ok to discriminate, subjugate, marginalize and alienate all conservatives because they don’t think like “we” do.
This is antithetical to all things democratic and it is shameful.
I have now received three (3) expensive mailers within one week. Sponsored by Republicans, and either quoting Republicans or falsely quoting (lying about) opposition to Prop 50 by the president of the Ca. League of Women Voters and a director of California Common Cause.
The biggest lie is that approving Prop 50 will end the Independent Redistricting Commission. The change from Prop 50 will be temporary, for 2026, 2028 and 2030 only, and is one of the few ways we have as individuals to fight back against Republican rigging of elections in many states.
Other states, red and blue, will now be undertaking mid-cycle redistricting to fight for or against the president’s need to control our government. I am not willing to hand over control to the Trump regime. Voters in California approved the independent redistricting commission and voters in California are legally allowed to change the original act, whether temporary or permanently.
I urge voters to ignore the expensive campaign of Republican lies about “ending” the California Independent Redistricting Commission. Approval by California voters is essential to counter the effort by Texas and, soon, other Republican-controlled states which also will undertake mid-cycle redistricting in their effort to stack the U.S. House of Representatives with a Republican majority.
Keep in mind that the California voters who adopted the independent redistricting commission in 2010 are now being asked to approve a *temporary* change to fight against Trump’s efforts to ensure that Democrats cannot win a majority of the House. Voters of California will make the final decision. Unlike in Texas, where Trump’s request of the Texas legislature to find 5 more Republican representatives, was shoved through by Republican-controlled houses of their legislature and signed by the governor of Texas.
Ballotpedia is an excellent source of *objective* information about candidates and ballot measures. Take a look at their evaluation of Prop 50 which includes: “Proposition 50 would also add language to the California Constitution declaring: “It is the policy of the State of California to support the use of fair, independent, and nonpartisan redistricting commissions nationwide. The people of the State of California call on the Congress of the United States to pass federal legislation and propose an amendment of the United States Constitution to require the use of fair, independent, and nonpartisan redistricting commissions nationwide.”
https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_50,_Use_of_Legislative_Congressional_Redistricting_Map_Amendment_(2025)