Newsom visits LA to announce California redistricting plan

Gov. Gavin Newsom visited Los Angeles on Thursday with other Democratic leaders to announce an effort to quickly redraw the state's congressional districts -- countering a similar move brewing in Texas that could add as many as five Republican seats in Congress.

“You have the power to stand up to Trump,” Newsom said in his press conference. “Wake up, America.”

Speakers during the press conference included Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Labor Federation and David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West, who spoke in Spanish. 

“We are on the precipice of another great threat to our democracy,” Senator Adam Schiff said, “and that is this effort by Donald Trump and Republicans in Texas to take people's vote away, to make the votes of those in California worth less, worth less by taking lines in Texas that are already horribly gerrymandered to elect Republicans and make even worse.”

“Donald Trump, you do not poke the bear, not while we're around,” Schiff added. 

Senator Alex Padilla characterized Trump’s term with three words: “Costs, chaos and corruption.”

“The cost of working families keep going up and up,” Padilla said. “These failed tariff wars are increasing costs for us. When you deport workers in agriculture and construction, you can't wonder why the cost of housing goes up and the cost of food goes up. Billionaires are getting their tax breaks, but working families are paying the price. Chaos. It's not just these on-again, off-again tariff wars out of the White House. It's what's happening as commuters are terrorized in the city of Los Angeles, throughout the state of California and beyond. That's right, when masked agents come out of unmarked cars and disappear people. That is intentionally created chaos, violating the Constitution. That's just bad for democracy. It's also bad for the economy, but worst of all is the corruption, and I won't get into the ways that Donald Trump and the whole family [are] enriching themselves by leveraging this position.”

Padilla also spoke in Spanish. 

“Los líderes de California están listos para defender la democracia nacional,” Padilla said in Spanish that California leaders are ready to defend the nation’s democracy.

Newsom said Los Angeles is the most diverse city in the most diverse state in the most diverse democracy. 

“Right outside at this exact moment are dozens and dozens of ICE agents,” Newsom said after mentioning the 15-year-old who was detained outside of his school in Arleta. 

“Wake up to what’s happening not just here in Los Angeles, where we saw our streets militarized,” Newsom said. “Our due process rights thrown out the window.” 

“I know they say Don't Mess With Texas,” Newsom said. “Don't mess with the great, Golden State.”

He mentioned how Trump tried to “light democracy on fire” on January 6 and he is once again attempting to rig the election. 

“Before one vote is cast in the 2026 midterm election, and here he is, once again, trying to rig the system,” Newsom said. “He doesn't play by a different set of rules. He doesn't believe in the rules. And as a consequence, we need to disabuse ourselves of the way things have been done. It's not good enough to just hold hands, have a candlelight vigil and talk about the way the world should be. We have got to recognize the cards that have been dealt, and we have got to meet fire with fire, and we've got to be held to a higher level of accountability.”

Newsom said this is in reaction to the president’s actions.  

“We're doing this in reaction to a president of the United States who called a sitting governor of the state of Texas and said, find me five seats.”

He also called on other states to stand up to Trump’s administration and their tactics to redistrict Republican states to gain more votes for the House of Representatives. 

“We need to stand up, not just California, other blue states need to stand up. We need to be firm in our resolve,” he said.

Newsom clarified they are going through a transparent process, unlike Texas, which is “drawing maps” and “[jamming] them through against the consent of the people.”

“We're working through a very transparent, temporary and public process. We're putting the maps on the ballot, and we're giving the power to the people. This will be the first redistricting that's ever done. That's the difference,” Newsom said. 

Newsom said they will ask voters for consent to do midterm redistricting in 2026, 2028 and 2030 for the congressional maps

Mimicking President Donald Trump's tendency to write social-media posts in all capital letters, Newsom on Wednesday wrote that there will be a "HISTORIC ... BEAUTIFUL RALLY" in Los Angeles at 11:30 a.m. Thursday with the governor and other "STRONG DEMS."

"DEMOCRATS WILL DESTROY (Texas Gov.) GREG ABBOTT'S `TOTALLY RIGGED MAPS,"' Newsom wrote. "TREMENDOUS WORK IS BEING DONE. DONALD TRUMP (THE CRIMINAL PRESIDENT) GET READY FOR THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PAYBACK YOU'VE EVER SEEN!!! COULD BE THE WORST DAY OF YOUR LIFE AS YOUR PRESIDENCY ENDS (DEMS RETAKE CONGRESS!). AMERICA WILL BE LIBERATED -- `LIBERATION DAY' MANY ARE CALLING IT!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!"

Newsom has repeatedly criticized efforts that are continuing in Texas to redraw that state's congressional districts ahead of next year's mid-term elections, with the new maps potentially adding between three and five Republican seats in Congress, bolstering the GOP's slim majority in the House of Representatives.

The redistricting effort has been on hold due to Texas state Democrats leaving the state, which has blocked the legislature's ability to achieve a quorum and vote on the issue.

But Newsom acknowledged in an interview this week that the move in Texas is likely to ultimately succeed.

"We're going to fight fire with fire," Newsom said.

He said the California legislature will take up the issue next week to call a November 4 special election to put new maps before voters to increase Democratic representation in Congress -- offsetting the actions of Texas. The move would set aside the current California district maps that were drawn by an independent commission

Newsom recently sent a letter to Trump saying California would halt its redistricting effort if Texas agreed to do the same, but Trump did not respond to the request.

Corrin Rankin, chair of the California Republican Party, issued a statement this week saying the party would go to court to fight Newsom's plans to redistrict the state.

"The California Republican Party will fight it in the courts, at the ballot box and in every community," Rankin said.

Abbott told Fox News that if California does move to redraw its district, Texas will simply counter by amending its lines again to add even more Republican seats in Washington.

"If California thinks they're going to move their needle to the extreme and eliminate five Republican numbers of the United States Congress there, Texas is not going to do five: We will add 10 more Republican seats using the same procedure they are using in California," Abbott said.

Additional reporting by City News Service.