LOS ANGELES California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that his state will hold a special election on November 4 to approve a new district map designed to give Democrats five additional U.S. House seats in the fight for control of Congress.
The move is a direct response to a similar Republican-led initiative in Texas, championed by former President Donald Trump, as his party seeks to maintain its slim House majority in the midterm elections. The nation’s two most populous states have become the epicenter of a partisan battle for seats that could spread to other states — and into the courts — in what amounts to a political proxy war ahead of the 2026 elections.
In Texas, lawmakers are considering a new map that could give them five more Republican representatives. Democrats, who have stalled the vote by leaving the state, announced Thursday they would return if Texas Republicans end their current special session and California unveils its own redrawn map — both expected Friday. However, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott is likely to call another special session to push through the maps.
Newsom Launches New District Campaign in Los Angeles
At an event in downtown Los Angeles, Newsom headlined what was effectively a campaign kickoff for the yet-unreleased maps, joined by state Democratic leaders in an auditorium packed with union members, lawmakers, and abortion rights advocates.
Instead of focusing solely on the technical aspects of redistricting, Newsom and other speakers framed the fight as a broader confrontation with Trump and a defense of the future of American democracy.
“We can’t just stand by and watch this democracy disappear district by district across the country,” Newsom said. “We are not spectators in this world. We can shape the future.”
The central message was an open challenge to Trump — a line that drew loud cheers from the audience as Democrats seek to recover from their 2024 losses.
“Donald Trump, you have poked the bear, and we will punch back,” Newsom declared, seen by many as a potential 2028 presidential contender.
Texas–California Showdown Could Spread
Thursday’s announcement marks the first time a state outside Texas has formally stepped into the mid-decade redistricting battle. The Texas plan was halted when minority Democrats fled on August 3 to Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts to prevent the legislature from passing any bills.
Elsewhere, states from Republican-led Florida to Democratic-led New York are threatening to draw new maps. In Missouri, a document obtained by The Associated Press shows the state Senate received a $46,000 invoice to activate six redistricting software licenses and provide training for up to 10 staffers.
In California, lawmakers must officially declare the special election, which they plan to do next week after voting on the new maps. With Democratic supermajorities in both chambers, the party does not need Republican votes. Newsom expressed confidence in securing the required two-thirds support and urged other Democratic-led states to join in: “Not just California. Other blue states need to stand up.”
House Control Could Come Down to a Few Seats in 2026
Republicans currently hold a 219–212 majority in the U.S. House, with four vacancies. Normally, maps are redrawn once a decade after the census, but in Texas, lawmakers have direct authority to redraw them. California uses an independent commission that is theoretically nonpartisan.
The new California map would take effect only if a Republican-led state moves forward with its own changes and would remain in place through the 2030 elections, after which Democrats say they would return map-drawing authority to the independent commission approved by voters more than a decade ago.
Opposition to California Plan Emerges
Critics have already vowed to challenge the effort in court, and prominent figures such as former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger may campaign against it.
“Gavin Newsom’s latest stunt has nothing to do with Californians and everything to do with consolidating radical Democrat power, silencing California voters, and propping up his pathetic 2028 presidential pipe dream,” said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Christian Martinez in a statement. “Newsom’s made it clear: he’ll shred California’s Constitution and trample over democracy — running a cynical, self-serving playbook where Californians are an afterthought and power is the only priority.”
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Currently, California Democrats hold 43 of the state’s 52 House seats, and the state has some of the most competitive districts in the nation.
Outside Newsom’s press conference, U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted patrols, drawing criticism from the governor and others.
“We’re here making Los Angeles a safer place since we don’t have politicians that will do that,” said Gregory Bovino, chief of the Border Patrol’s El Centro, California, sector, to KTTV in Los Angeles. He said he was unaware that Newsom was inside the nearby building.
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