Newsom's retaliatory redistricting idea gets mixed reaction in California Legislature

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KGO) -- California lawmakers are grappling with Gov. Gavin Newsom's bold proposal to scrap the state's independent redistricting system in favor of a partisan power play.

Newsom's threat is in direct response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's mid-decade redistricting efforts, on the agenda in a special legislative session that commenced Monday. Lawmakers in the Lone Star state are meeting in part to consider President Donald Trump's request for the state to add up to five GOP-leaning congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Newsom, frustrated by what he calls a "rigged" process in red states, says California should consider doing the same to boost Democrats' representation in Congress.

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

"If these guys are literally going to rig, de facto, the outcome of November next year, I can't just sit back passively," the California governor said in a recent episode of his podcast, This is Gavin Newsom. "When I look at the ground that these guys are leveling and the core tenets of our democracy, our republic being literally taken down in real time, I'd be in peril of being judged not to have lived if I don't at least explore an alternative to save our country."

Typically, states draw new maps every 10 years to account for population changes accounted for in the U.S. Census report. However, Texas is facing lawsuits over the districts legislators drew after the 2020 census that allege the maps discriminate against Latino and Black voters, giving the state an opportunity to adjust its maps. While racial gerrymandering is unlawful, the courts have ruled partisan gerrymandering is legal.

Since the discussions began in Texas, Newsom has obsessively floated the idea on social media, in other podcast appearances, and to reporters. Last Wednesday in an unrelated press conference, he told KABC, our sister station in Los Angeles, that he is considering asking the Legislature to redraw the state's U.S. House maps due to a "legal gray zone." He said he's also looking at asking the Democrat-controlled legislature to pass a constitutional amendment for a hypothetical special election ballot in which voters re-evaluate California's independent redistricting commission.

The citizen-led redistricting commission was designed to remove partisan influence from how political maps are drawn. Voters first signed off on the creation of an independent commission with Prop 11 in 2008. Changing that would likely require another constitutional amendment - something many state lawmakers say is a steep and expensive hill to climb. Still, the governor says he is considering all possible options.

"Figuratively, or there are some other theories of the case, and that's what we're also exploring as it relates to the independent commission. It states in the [California] constitution explicitly that every census, they will do one redistrict. It doesn't say what happens in-between and the legislature is then afforded some latitude in-between and that's a legal theory that a lot of legal scholars have advanced," Newsom said.

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

Bipartisan skepticism on Newsom's redistricting suggestions

The provocative proposal is already drawing sharp criticism from members of his own party.

"Democrats have stood for fair and free elections against gerrymandering and a universal suffrage," said Assemblymember Alex Lee, D-Milpitas. "It is a betrayal of the party platform... I understand we want to recapture the House, but it frustrates me that we would rather cheat on the elections."

Lee said he understands his party's desire to regain Congressional power in order to thwart Trump's agenda, but ultimately is against the precedent it would set for California.

"I think that's one thing that turns off a lot of people, and that's not what we want," he said. "There are lots of ways which we should resist the federal government. I don't believe cheating the elections and, making elections a sham is the right way to go."

Across the aisle, some Republicans aren't on board either.

"Whether it's for Republicans or Democrats, it's not something that I support," said Assemblymember David Tangipa, R-Fresno. "I don't want Texas to gerrymander and redistrict... Republicans should be prepared to say and offer something valuable without having to cheat the lines."

MORE: Newsom's approval rating surges after clash with Trump, UC Irvine poll finds

Tangipa said he initially dismissed the governor's remarks, but was surprised to hear the redistricting idea getting "shopped around."

"If you go out and you talk to the people of California, their number one issue isn't 'let's redistrict the lines in California so we have less Republican representation,' and that's not what they're asking for," he said. "We may disagree on so many different things, but what we do agree is that there are problems here in California that actually need priority."

Both lawmakers say there are factions within their parties that might be willing to consider the proposal - especially as California risks losing more congressional seats in the next census.

"Last census in 2020, California's population shrank and we lost one seat," said redistricting expert Paul Mitchell. "If we don't grow at the same rate as the rest of the country, our relative share of congressional districts will go down."

Recent forecasts from partisan and non-partisan groups predict California is at risk of losing political power as the state's population declines. A new report from the National Democratic Redistricting Committee and another report from the American Redistricting Project project California is on track to lose at least three Congressional seats. An additional projection from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University projects it could be as high as four seats lost.

"The only caution is that this far out, we don't know what's going to happen with population growth in states like Texas and Arizona that are growing, or in Florida that is also growing," Mitchells said. "And we could see their population diminish the remainder of the decade in California grow. And we're not in this trouble. So it's really an open question of what's going to happen."