California’s Democratic leadership wasted no time this week, racing three redistricting bills through the state legislature in a whirlwind session that ended with Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature. The move sets up a November showdown where voters will decide whether to bless new congressional maps aimed at netting Democrats five extra House seats.
The maneuver is a direct counterstrike against Republican efforts in Texas—championed by Donald Trump—to redraw districts and flip Democratic seats red.
“Time to fight fire with fire,” Newsom posted online as the ink dried on the bills, declaring victory in a high-speed legislative gambit completed just hours before a key deadline.
With Democrats holding a supermajority in both chambers, the vote broke sharply along party lines. Supporters framed the plan as a defensive “emergency” tactic, necessary to block what they called Texas Republicans’ brazen attempt to tilt the playing field ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Senator Lena Gonzalez, who co-authored the plan, told colleagues: “The decks are stacked against us, so what we need to do is fight back.”
Not everyone was persuaded. Republican Senator Tony Strickland blasted the process as secretive, saying the maps had been “drawn behind closed doors.” But objections did little to slow the rapid-fire approvals—within six hours all three bills had cleared both chambers.
If California voters endorse the plan in November, the new maps could wipe out the advantage Texas Republicans are banking on. The Texas legislature already approved its own set of redrawn districts this week, with Governor Greg Abbott expected to sign them soon. Trump hailed that move as a “big win,” but critics argue the Texas maps unlawfully weaken Hispanic and Black voting power.
The clash underscores a dramatic shift in political norms. Traditionally, redistricting takes place once a decade after the census. Now, mid-decade mapmaking has become a weapon in an escalating partisan arms race, as both parties break from long-held custom.
Even former President Barack Obama weighed in, voicing support for California’s counter-move while admitting unease about the long-term costs of tit-for-tat gerrymandering.
The California-Texas showdown may just be the opening skirmish. Other battlegrounds—including Ohio, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Maryland, and Illinois—are already eyeing their own mid-decade redraws.
The fight over lines on a map is rapidly becoming the fight over control of Congress.
