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California Democrats have a new plan to combat GOP in the next election [1]
['Daily Kos Staff']
Date: 2025-07-17
California Democrats say they are looking for ways to extract as many as seven Democratic congressional seats out of the state, Punchbowl News reported, and are currently debating the legal avenues to make that happen.
It’s Democrats' effort to combat Republicans' naked attempt to rig the 2026 midterms.
Related Texas Republicans are trying to rig the map for the next election
“We’re ready,” Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) told Punchbowl. “If Texas goes, we are going.”
President Donald Trump has demanded that Texas and Ohio redraw their congressional maps to make more Republican-leaning seats, offsetting potential losses in other states across the country to ensure Republicans keep their House majority. He fears that if Democrats retake the House, it will both thwart his legislative agenda as well as open him up to investigations of his corrupt and illegal actions.
Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott has acquiesced to Trump’s demand, calling a special session of the legislature to get the Republican-led body to redraw Texas’ U.S. House districts. Texas Republicans could try to extract as many as five seats from a new map—though experts say doing so could backfire on the GOP. Distributing Republican voters across more districts would create some marginally Republican seats that could flip in a Democratic wave election.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
Ohio is also doing a mid-decade redraw of its egregiously gerrymandered districts, and could wipe out as many as three Democratic lawmakers.
In California, in order to redraw the districts, Democrats would have to find a way to negate the state's independent redistricting commission, which was added to the state constitution in 2010 after voters passed a ballot measure.
Punchbowl reported that Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom could call a special election for voters to strip the commission from the state constitution—paving the way for a redraw.
"Democrats believe voters would back their proposal if they frame it as the key to thwarting what they see as a congressional power grab by President Donald Trump. Democrats would need to go on the airwaves to message the issue, and this would be extremely expensive. Republicans will try to fight this dramatic redraw of the map, of course," Punchbowl reported, saying that Democrats may sell it to voters by saying that the independent commission would return if states like Texas and Florida pass independent commissions of their own.
If California is successful, it would be a step in the right direction for Democrats, who need to fight fire with fire.
"Any Democrat in the California state legislature in a safe blue district that opposes this should be primaried with the fire of a thousand suns," Democratic pollster Adam Carlson wrote in a post on X. "Oh they’re a [Yes In My Backyard]? Run another YIMBY against them who actually cares about preventing another federal Republican trifecta."
California’s Democratic lawmakers seem to understand that.
“We want our gavels back,” Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) told Punchbowl. “That’s what this is about.”
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[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/17/2333851/-California-Democrats-have-a-new-plan-to-combat-GOP-in-the-next-election?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_6&pm_medium=web
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