Redistricting tug-of-war bounces back to Texas after California lawmakers counterpunch

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — California has landed its counterpunch. The nationalist tug-of-war implicit redistricting and voters successful the 2026 midterm elections shifts erstwhile again backmost to Texas, wherever it each started.

California lawmakers voted mostly on enactment lines Thursday to o.k. authorities calling for a peculiar predetermination successful November to o.k. a redrawn legislature representation designed to assistance Democrats triumph 5 much U.S. House seats adjacent year.

That determination came a time aft Texas Republicans precocious their ain redrawn representation to pad their House bulk by the aforesaid fig of seats astatine the urging of President Donald Trump.

Texas lawmakers conscionable again Friday, erstwhile the Republican bulk successful the Senate could springiness last support to their map, sending it to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had rallied Democrats successful his authorities to antagonistic Texas' archetypal moves, rapidly signed the peculiar predetermination measure successful a tit-for-tat gerrymandering conflict that is rippling done respective states.

“This is not thing six weeks agone that I ever imagined that I’d beryllium doing,” Newsom said astatine a property conference, pledging a run for the measurement that would scope retired to Democrats, Republicans and autarkic voters. “This is simply a absorption to an battle connected our ideology successful Texas.”

California Republicans person filed a suit and called for a national probe into the plan. They committedness to combat the measurement astatine the ballot container arsenic well.

California Assemblyman James Gallagher, the Republican number leader, said Trump was “wrong” to propulsion for caller Republican seats elsewhere, contending the president was conscionable responding to Democratic gerrymandering successful different states. But helium warned that Newsom’s approach, which the politician has dubbed “fight occurrence with fire,” was dangerous.

“You determination guardant warring occurrence with occurrence and what happens?” Gallagher asked. “You pain it each down.”

A conflict for the US House power waged via redistricting

On a nationalist level, the partisan constitution of existing districts puts Democrats wrong 3 seats of a majority. The incumbent president’s enactment usually loses legislature seats successful the midterms.

The president has pushed different Republican-controlled states including Indiana and Missouri to besides revise their maps to adhd much winnable GOP seats. Ohio Republicans were besides already scheduled to revise their maps to marque them much partisan.

Redistricting typically occurs erstwhile a decade, instantly aft a census. While immoderate states person their ain limitations, determination is nary nationalist impediment to a authorities trying to redraw districts successful the mediate of the decade.

The U.S. Supreme Court has besides said the Constitution does not outlaw partisan gerrymandering, lone utilizing contention to redraw territory lines.

Democrats person sought a nationalist committee for redistricting

Republicans and immoderate Democrats championed the 2008 ballot measurement that established California’s nonpartisan redistricting commission, on with the 2010 1 that extended its relation to drafting legislature maps.

Newsom backed the archetypal redistricting committee ballot measures. On Thursday, helium contended his authorities was inactive mounting a model.

“We’ll beryllium the archetypal authorities successful U.S. history, successful the astir antiauthoritarian way, to taxable to the radical of our authorities the quality to find their ain maps,” Newsom said earlier signing the legislation.

Former President Barack Obama, who has besides backed a nationwide nonpartisan approach, has besides backed Newsom’s bid to redraw the California map, saying it was a indispensable measurement to stave disconnected the GOP’s Texas move.

California's program is temporary

The measurement would person the California representation past lone done 2030, aft which the state’s committee would gully the adjacent decade’s map. Democrats are besides mulling reopening Maryland’s and New York’s maps for mid-decade redraws.

However, much Democratic-run states person committee systems similar California’s oregon different redistricting limits than Republican ones do, leaving the GOP with a freer manus to swiftly redraw maps. New York, for example, can’t gully caller maps until 2028, and adjacent then, lone with elector approval.

In Texas, outnumbered Democrats near the authorities for 15 days to artifact a vote. Once they returned, they were assigned round-the-clock constabulary monitoring.

California Republicans didn’t instrumentality specified melodramatic steps but complained bitterly astir Democrats muscling the bundle done the statehouse.

“What you’re striving for is predetermined elections,” Strickland said. “You’re taking the dependable distant from Californians.”

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Riccardi reported from Denver. Austin and Nguyen reported from Sacramento, California.

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