If Texas cheats, Newsom says California might cheat back

A Texas House panel advanced a GOP plan to redraw districts. That kind of move is admitting you can’t win without cheating. In 2022 New York’s Democratic legislature drew a map that courts called unconstitutional and threw it out. That ruling forced a redraw by an independent official.

Is California doing the same? Gov. Gavin Newsom says if Texas tilts its map, California may redraw to add more Democratic seats.
“Governor Gavin Newsom says California must counter GOP efforts to redraw congressional maps.”
https://www.capradio.org/articles/2025/07/28/governor-gavin-newsom-says-california-must-counter-gop-efforts-to-redraw-congressional-maps/

He said California should “fight fire with fire.”
https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/07/california-redistricting-november-ballot/

  • California has an independent redistricting commission created by voters in 2008 and 2010.

  • Newsom plans a November special election to ask voters to approve new maps that override the commission.

  • Critics say this would undermine the fair process voters approved years ago.

That clash is rarely highlighted. Newsom loosely supports the commission. Yet he now tries to sidestep it to match the GOP’s gerrymandering. Some Democrats warn it damages public trust in elections.

So far no map has changed. But Newsom is exploring legal and political ways to make partisan maps if Texas goes first.

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