Newsom Plans to Redistrict California in ‘Tit for Tat’ Response to Texas

Gov. Gavin Newsom said democracy is at stake if Texas redraws its congressional map and vowed to make up any lost blue seats in California.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom holds a news conference at Downey Memorial Christian Church in Downey, Calif., on July 16, 2025. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vowed to redraw California’s congressional seats to elect more Democrats if Texas decides to move ahead with redistricting that would favor Republicans, he announced on July 25.

Newsom held a news conference after private discussions with Democratic Texas lawmakers about what the governor called an “assault on democracy.”

The California governor, who has hinted at a presidential run in 2028, said he and other Democratic governors across the nation were concerned and have started discussing ways to counteract the actions by Texas and the Trump administration.

“If we don’t put a stake in the heart of this administration, there won’t be an election in 2028,” Newsom said. “We’ve got to fight fire with fire.”

The Texas Legislature opened a special session on July 21 to consider redrawing its congressional maps.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said his state needs to redraw its districts because of constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice surrounding four Democrat-controlled districts.

A July 7 letter from Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon and Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney General Michael Gates of the Civil Rights Division outlines concerns that the state’s ninth, 18th, 29th, and 33rd congressional districts create unconstitutional “coalition districts” that run afoul of the Voting Rights Act and the 14th Amendment. Coalition districts combine different minority groups to create a potential majority.

President Donald Trump said redistricting Texas could widen the slim Republican House majority by several more seats.

“I think we get five,” Trump told reporters at the White House on July 15.

Newsom responded to Trump’s claim later that day, stating in a post on X, “Two can play this game.”

Newsom did not offer a formal plan to capture more blue House seats, but said he and the Legislature were considering three or four pathways. One of the paths could include asking voters to weigh in on redistricting, Newsom said.

“We are committed to this process,” Newsom said. “This is not a bluff. This is real.”

Texas lawmakers flew out to meet Newsom in Sacramento, California, before the news conference to brief the governor on the situation, according to Texas state Rep. Rafael Anchía, a past chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. Texas Democrats are already planning several lawsuits to fight the redistricting, according to Anchía.

“We, as Democrats, are going to use every tool in our toolbox to fight this unlawful redistricting,” Anchía told reporters. “Every tool is on the table and we plan on fighting on multiple fronts.”

President Trump with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in Kerrville, Texas, on July 11, 2025. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

California’s redistricting occurs every 10 years after the census is complete and is done through an independent commission.

Bonta Is All In

California Attorney General Rob Bonta told CNN’s Jake Tapper on July 24 that he would join Newsom’s effort to redistrict the state if Texas’s plans are approved.

“I would support a lawful approach to blunting and neutralizing the raw and inappropriate exercise of gerrymandering power in Texas,” Bonta said. “We should neutralize any gains they try to seek if we can do it lawfully, and I believe we can.”

Bonta’s team has already met with Newsom’s team, he said.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks as Gov. Gavin Newsom looks on during a news conference at Gemperle Orchards in Ceres, Calif., on April 16, 2025. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Bonta said California would seek a “tit for tat” approach. If Texas adds five Republican seats, California will seek to add five Democratic seats.

Bonta has filed 34 lawsuits against the Trump administration in six months over a wide range of policies and actions.

Opposition Calls Newsom’s Plan Illegal

Newsom’s redistricting revenge plan has already raised some eyebrows in the state.

Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) said Newsom planned to abolish California’s voter-approved commission in an attempt to relegate Republicans to just three seats out of 52 in the state. The move would give Democrats even more power and erase all checks and balances in the state, Kiley claimed.

“Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” Kiley posted on X.

California already has a supermajority of Democrats in the state Legislature, and Democrats fill every elected state seat across the board.

In Congress, the state is represented by two Democratic senators. In the House of Representatives, 43 Democrats and nine Republicans represent the state.

Republicans make up about 40 percent of the state’s voters, but hold only 17 percent of the congressional seats.

Steve Hilton, a commentator and Fox News contributor who is running for governor in 2028, deemed Newsom’s gerrymandering proposal an outrage.

“To be clear, there is NO way for Newsom and Bonta to carry out their outrageous threat ‘lawfully,’” Hilton said in a statement. “Newsom and Bonta’s illegal and unconstitutional partisan scheme is a threat to our democracy, and I will do everything in my power to resist it.”

Hilton vowed to take immediate legal action if Newsom and Bonta followed through with their threat.

Hilton said the plan put forward by Newsom and Bonta would violate the California Constitution. In a 1983 Legislature v. Deukmejian decision, the California Supreme Court ruled that redistricting can happen only once per decade after the census and cannot be amended by a voter initiative.

The state would have to pass a constitutional amendment, repeal the once-a-decade redistricting rule, and transfer power back to the Legislature to carry out Newsom’s plan.

Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) also noted that California had created an independent commission specifically to keep politics out of the process.

“The voters took redistricting power away from the California Legislature in 2010 for a reason,” he posted on X. “They created the Citizens Redistricting Commission to keep partisan politics out of the process, because politicians shouldn’t be allowed to rig the maps to protect their own power.”