California Gov. Newsom signs legislation calling special election on redrawn congressional map

Source: KRON-TV San Francisco, CA/AP

Posted: Aug 21, 2025 / 04:20 PM PDT
Updated: Aug 21, 2025 / 04:25 PM PDT


SACRAMENTO, Calif (AP) — California voters will decide in November whether to approve a redrawn congressional map designed to help Democrats win five more U.S. House seats next year, after Texas Republicans advanced their own redrawn map to pad their House majority by the same number of seats at President Donald Trump’s urging.

California lawmakers voted mostly along party lines Thursday to approve legislation calling for the special election. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has led the campaign in favor of the map, then quickly signed it — the latest step in a tit-for-tat gerrymandering battle.

“We don’t want this fight and we didn’t choose this fight, but with our democracy on the line, we will not run away from this fight,” Democratic Assemblyman Marc Berman said.

Republicans, who have filed a lawsuit and called for a federal investigation into the plan, promised to keep fighting it. California Assemblyman James Gallagher, the Republican minority leader, said Trump was “wrong” to push for new Republican seats elsewhere, contending the president was just responding to Democratic gerrymandering in other states. But he warned that Newsom’s approach, which the governor has dubbed “fight fire with fire,” was dangerous. “You move forward fighting fire with fire and what happens?” Gallagher asked. “You burn it all down.”

Read more: https://www.kron4.com/news/ap-the-texas-house-okd-gop-favored-redistricting-california-intends-to-counter-with-map-of-its-own/