California’s Proposition 50 on redistricting to pass in blow to Trump

In a counterattack against Republican-controlled gerrymandering, California has passed a ballot measure that will redraw the boundaries of congressional districts in favor of Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections.

In what was seen as a significant victory for Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, early results from Tuesday’s vote showed that voters had a two-to-one margin to support Proposition 50, increasing his party’s chances of taking control of the US Congress in the upcoming election and thus halting Trump’s agenda.

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Democrats could win up to five additional House seats with the passage of the legislation, compared to the five that Texas Republicans are considering replacing after Trump pressured them to redraw their own maps. Republicans anticipate that new maps in Ohio and Missouri will add one seat, possibly two, to the mix.

Trump yelled out a furious response to Newsom’s protest. On Tuesday, he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that the entire process, especially the Voting itself, is a GIANT SCAM.

Newsom rebuffed his criticism, calling the Republican response the “ramblings of an old man who knows he’s about to LOSE,” saying that he is putting his claim to the presidency of the Democratic Party ahead of the 2028 presidential election on his willingness to stand up to Trump. He claimed that voters had “sent a powerful message” to Trump in X after the victory.

California delivered Donald Trump a powerful message this evening. Our democracy will be fought for. And we’ll triumph. pic. twitter.com/tEcPlxVbi4

The elections of 2026, 2028, and 2030 will use the new district boundaries. The electoral map is based on the population there and is typically created by an independent commission following a national census that is conducted every ten years. Most parties in power actually rejigger the boundaries.

In some cases, the recast districts combine rural, traditionally conservative areas of northern California with Marin County, a renownedly liberal coastal stronghold across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.

The proposal was intended to counteract Trump’s efforts to erode democracy, according to Newsom, who had attempted to nationalize the campaign. An angry Trump was depicted in a television campaign throwing French fries at the TV as he watched the results.

Barack Obama, the former president, backed the decision. Republicans want to rig the next election by snub a seat in Congress, according to one advertisement. You can stifle Republican sentiment.

Critics claimed that a wrong does not equal a right. Even if Californians have reservations about Trump’s actions in Republican-led states, they urged Californians to reject what they perceive as a Democratic power grab.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former Republican governor who had overseen the establishment of the independent commission, was one of the most well-known critics.