Newsom Calls Special Nov. 4 Election to Eliminate GOP CA Congressional Seats
Redistricting Drive Faces Political and Legal Hurdles
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CALIRED NEWS–Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom announced today (at an Aug. 14 press conference in downtown Los Angeles) that he is calling a special election on Nov. 4th to tear up the state’s congressional map in favor of a gerrymandered map that eliminates Republican seats and will counter Texas efforts to remove five Democrat seats despite California voters having voted in a state constitutional amendment to create an “independent” redistricting commission that looks at congressional districts every 10 years.
Newsom is calling his Nov. 4 measure the “Election Rigging Response Act” that he says is “saving democracy” despite the fact that the current 52-member California Congressional delegation is composed of 43 Democrats and only 9 Republicans (17 percent of the elected representatives).
California has 22 million registered voters. Some 25.2 percent of registered voters in California are Republicans according to USAFacts. Donald J. Trump received 38.3 percent of the 2024 presidential vote according to election results reported by NBC Los Angeles on Jan. 8, 2025.
California’s coastal counties (the more heavily populated counties) shown in blue were heavily Democratic and went for Kamala Harris in the 2024 Presidential elections while the inland counties shown in red went for Donald Trump.
California has voted for the Democratic candidate in nine consecutive presidential elections. The last time California threw its support behind a Republican candidate was 1988, when George H.W. Bush defeated Michael Dukakis. Bush’s 1988 victory in California capped a run of six straight presidential elections in which California voted for the Republican candidate, dating back to Richard Nixon who defeated then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey in 1968. California also voted Republican in three of four elections prior to 1968 according to NBC Los Angeles.
Newsom Welcomes Texas Democrats Who Fled State
Gov. Newsom first mentioned a push to schedule a special election to redraw Calfonria’s congressional voting districts during a Sacramento news conference on Friday, Aug. 8 when he welcomed Texas Democrats who had fled their state. These Texas state legislators met not only with Newsom but with other California elected officials.
Newsom’s Redistricting Drive Faces Political and Legal Hurdles
It is unclear whether Newsom has the legal and constitutional authority to tear up the current California Congressional map. However, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office has found a “legal pathway.”
“Governor Newsom’s redistricting scheme sets a dangerous precedent that will collapse the foundational principles of democracy into a zero-sum game of power politics,” said 30-year-old California Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo (R-33, Tulare) to the California Globe.
“Governor Newsom is thumbing his nose at the voters who created the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, not once, but twice. His disregard for the voters’ will is an alarming abuse of power that will cost the state at least $200 million when many Californians are without clean, reliable water or access to adequate health care.
“In a democracy, the power is with the people, not politicians. Otherwise, the public rightfully loses faith in our institutions, elected officials and system of governance.”
California & Texas Gerrymandering; Redistricting Across The Nation
Across the nation, Congressional districts are determined by either the Legislature, a Commission or both Legislature and Commission. Some at-large districts exist. In Texas, as in most states, the legislature controls redistricting. Under Texas current maps, enacted after the 2020 census, Republicans hold 25 of its 38 seats. Democrats have 12 seats. One Texas seat is vacant.
Newsom wants California voters to set aside redistricting done by an independent commission for as many as three election cycles. California has just four days to act once they return from recess on Monday, Aug. 18 under current election law. However the super majority Democrat Legislature has often exempted itself from ballot measure deadlines.
Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who championed the creation of an independent redistricting omission says he will oppose Newsom’s plan and Charles Munger, Jr. who bankrolled two ballot measures to create the commission says he’ll support an opposition campaign.
The legal battles Newsom faces concern what data he will use to draw the new Congressional districts. The state commission used the 2020 census number which showed California’s population at 39,538,223. There are also changes in county populations with coastal counties losing population to inland counties.
After the 2000 census, the threat of federal intervention played a big role in the California Legislature’s previous redistricting efforts which blocked Democrats from drawing partisan maps. Prolonged litigation could block Newsom’s plan from taking effect in 2026 even if voters approve the measure on Nov. 4th.
California Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez, 37-years-old (R-71, Rancho Santa Margarita) has filed an official Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) complaint against Newsom for using taxpayer money to fund his ballot campaign.
(Editor’s Note: Christina Laila of The Gateway Pundit reported that today’s Aug. 14 Gov. Newsom press conference “devolved into profanities” shared against President Donald J. Trump by AFL-CIO Chief Lorena Gonzales and California Democrat Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/08/i-exceeded-number-fcks-today-newsom-presser-democrats/.)
CaliRed News is a column posted on Making California Red by the 2026 elections through reaching Gen Z (ages 13-28), Hispanics, and Christians with biblical traditional values and their pastors. CaiRed News reports on political, business, community, nonprofit, and church news.
Mike Hernandez is co-founder of the Citizens Journal–Ventura County’s online news service and writes for Citizens Journal and Mountain Top Media. He is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor, writer of “CaliRed News” and “Prayer Over News Daily” and edits the weekly “Stories Speak Volumes” and other columns. Mr. Hernandez mentors citizen journalists/podcasters and can be contacted here.
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