California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Thursday in Los Angeles that the state will hold a special election on November 4 for a ballot initiative to adopt a new Democratic-led redistricting plan ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The proposal, unveiled during a public address, drew sharp criticism from CNN Senior Political Commentator Scott Jennings, who argued that Newsom’s plan undermines his stated opposition to gerrymandering.
Speaking on CNN’s “The Arena With Kasie Hunt,” Jennings said the governor’s remarks revealed a contradiction between his stated principles and proposed actions.
“Let me summarize Gavin Newsom’s speech today: gerrymandering is evil, please vote for my gerrymandering,” Jennings said.
“Of course he failed to mention that it’s already gerrymandered — Republicans get 40% of the vote in California, they have 17% of the congressional seats under a supposed independent redistricting commission — so we’re gonna further gerrymander the gerrymandering.”
According to PolitiFact, Republicans routinely receive about 40% of the statewide vote in California but hold just 9 of the state’s 52 congressional seats, representing 17% of the delegation.
California’s congressional maps are currently drawn by an independent redistricting commission, established in 2010 through a ballot measure intended to reduce partisan control.
Critics argue that despite the commission’s role, the current district boundaries favor Democrats significantly.
Newsom’s announcement comes as national debates over redistricting intensify ahead of the next election cycle.
Democrats have accused Texas Republicans of manipulating district boundaries before 2026, while Republican lawmakers point to similar practices by Democrats in other states.
Jennings referenced the inconsistency in how such disputes are covered, noting that major news outlets have amplified Texas Democrats’ claims of defending democracy while giving less attention to similar issues in Democratic-controlled states.
Illinois has been cited as one example of a heavily skewed map. Despite President Donald Trump receiving over 43.5% of the statewide vote in 2024, Democrats control 82% of Illinois’ U.S. House seats.
In 2021, Texas Democrats left the state for Illinois to block a vote on Republican-backed election legislation, drawing criticism from opponents who pointed to Illinois’ partisan map.
Beyond California and Illinois, Democrats have explored redrawing congressional lines in other states, including New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Oregon.
In several of these states, courts and independent commissions have imposed limits on redistricting changes, creating legal and political roadblocks.
The proposed California ballot measure will go before voters in less than three months, placing the state in the center of the national conversation over electoral boundaries.
The initiative, if approved, would alter district lines before the 2026 elections, impacting representation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Neither Newsom’s office nor the California Redistricting Commission provided immediate responses to questions regarding the specific changes proposed in the new plan.
Election officials said the measure will be filed with the Secretary of State’s office ahead of the November vote.
The special election marks another chapter in California’s ongoing redistricting debate, which has been a point of contention since voters shifted authority from the legislature to the commission more than a decade ago.
