Newsom is considering asking voters to approve new maps for the 2026 midterms despite the fact that the state’s maps already tilt heavily in Democrats’ favor.
Orange County’s top Democratic elected officials are indicating they are on-board with California Governor Gavin Newsom’s controversial proposal to redraw the state’s congressional maps to reduce the number of Republican-friendly seats ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Newsom announced he is considering multiple legal pathways to do so after Texas Republicans unveiled a similar proposal to reduce the number of Democrat seats earlier this month, including calling a special election to ask voters to sign off on his plan. Newsom would have to find a way around the state constitution, which gives the authority to redraw districts to an independent citizens’ commission, which can only do so at the beginning of each decade.
Democratic members of Congress from Orange County expressed support for Newsom’s idea despite the uncertainty around the plan’s chances of succeeding and what it might mean for their own districts.
“I think all of us want to see a fair process, but if Republicans are going to try to cheat and redistrict, I think Democratic states are going to consider all options,” Democratic Rep. Dave Min (CA-47), who represents a swing coastal Orange County district, told Politico. Meanwhile, neighboring Democratic Rep. Derek Tran (CA-45) said he is “looking at it and keeping an open mind.”
Democratic Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49), who represents a portion of Orange County, told Spectrum news that he would support Newsom’s plan. “I think if Texas actually moves forward and does this, that California has no choice but to respond,” Levin said.
California voters approved a ballot measure in 2008 that created an Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission tasked with redrawing the state’s district lines every ten years. Any attempt by the state legislature to change the maps on its own would likely face legal challenges. Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters this week that a special election asking the voters to override the constitution and approve new maps is “what’s being contemplated” and “what the legal pathway is.”
Critics of Newsom’s plan point out that the maps in California are already drawn in Democrats’ favor and that a redraw could add new uncertainty in the 2026 midterms. While Republicans won 39% of the popular House vote in California in 2024, they won just nine, or 18%, of the state’s 52 congressional seats in 2024. Republicans hold just one of the five congressional districts that cover a significant portion of Orange County, one of the top battlegrounds in recent years.
The Orange County Republican Party slammed Newsom’s proposal in a statement released on X.
“Newsom’s plan, though, will apparently attempt to artificially eliminate 5-7 California Republicans from Congress,” the OC GOP wrote. “He could do that only by splitting cities and communities to stretch districts into Democrat heavy neighborhoods to flip districts. One map being floated online connects Orange County to Inglewood.”
“Voters will reject Gavin’s partisan power grab if courts don’t do it first,” the OC GOP said.
