By Michael R. Blood, Tran Nguyen, Nadia Lathan and Invoice Barrow | Related Press
LOS ANGELES — In a show of cutthroat but calculated politics, Democrats unveiled a proposal Friday that would give California’s dominant political celebration an extra 5 U.S. Home seats in a bid to win the struggle to manage Congress subsequent yr.
The plan requires an unusually timed reshaping of Home district strains to tremendously strengthen the Democratic benefit within the state forward of midterm elections, when Republicans will probably be defending the celebration’s fragile Home majority.
It quantities to a counterpunch to Texas, the place the GOP is attempting so as to add 5 seats to its Home delegation on the urging of President Donald Trump as he tries to keep away from shedding management of Congress and, with it, prospects for his conservative agenda within the later a part of his time period.
If authorized by voters in a November election, the California blueprint may practically erase Republican Home members within the nation’s most populous state. The Democratic plan is meant to win the celebration 48 of its 52 U.S. Home seats, up from 43 at present.
The proposal was launched by the marketing campaign arm of Home Democrats, the Democratic Congressional Marketing campaign Committee. Democrats within the state Legislature will maintain hearings and plan to vote on maps subsequent week. Leaders didn’t instantly touch upon the DCCC maps.
New districts have boundaries to spice up Democratic edge
Whereas a common notion behind drawing districts is to unite what’s known as communities of curiosity — neighborhoods and cities that share related issues or demographic traits — the proposed remapping would create a jigsaw of oddly formed districts to maximise Democratic clout.
The first Congressional District is at present anchored within the state’s conservative far northeast nook and is represented by Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a Trump supporter. The district has an almost 18-point GOP registration edge.
Beneath the proposal Democrats would find yourself with a 10-point registration benefit within the district after drastic reshaping to incorporate components of closely Democratic Sonoma County close to the Pacific Coast.
In a submit on the social platform X, LaMalfa known as the proposal “absolutely ridiculous.”
Within the battleground forty first District east of Los Angeles, represented by long-serving Republican Rep. Ken Calvert, Democratic and Republican registration is at present break up about evenly.
However within the redrawn district, Democratic registration would bounce to 46%, with GOP registration falling to 26%.
Different Republicans whose districts would see main modifications supposed to favor Democrats embody Reps. Kevin Kiley in Northern California, David Valadao within the Central Valley farm belt and Darrell Issa in San Diego County. Additionally, embattled Democratic incumbents would see their districts padded with further left-leaning voters.
Texas stays at stalemate in push for extra GOP seats
The discharge of the plan got here the identical day that Texas Republicans started a second particular session to approve new congressional maps sought by Trump.
The GOP’s first particular session in Texas ended with out approving new political maps, thwarted by Democrats who staged an almost two-week walkout that meant not sufficient lawmakers had been current to go any laws. Gov. Greg Abbott then rapidly known as a second session that began with out the required quorum to conduct enterprise.
The looming query: How will voters react?
An enormous danger for Democrats is whether or not voters will probably be open to setting apart district boundaries crafted by an unbiased fee for ones formed for partisan benefit.
What’s subsequent in Texas?
Absent lawmakers have stated they’ll return to Austin as soon as California Democrats take extra formal steps on their very own redistricting plan.
Trump is attempting to keep away from a repeat of the 2018 midterms, when the GOP yielded management throughout his first presidency to a Democratic majority that stymied his agenda and twice impeached him. The nation’s two most populous states have been on the forefront of the ensuing battle, which has reached into a number of courtrooms and statehouses managed by each events.
“Let’s be ready to work,” Burrows stated, ticking by way of a litany of points with out mentioning the president or redistricting.
The struggle goes nationwide
Trump has urged different Republican-run states to redraw maps, even dispatching Vice President JD Vance to Indiana to strain officers there. In Missouri, in response to a doc obtained by The Related Press, the state Senate acquired a $46,000 bill to activate six redistricting software program licenses and supply coaching for as much as 10 workers members.
Home management may come down to a couple seats in 2026
On a nationwide degree, the partisan make-up of current district strains places Democrats inside three seats of a majority. Of the 435 whole seats, solely a number of dozen districts are aggressive. So even slight modifications in a couple of states may have an effect on which celebration wins management.
New maps are sometimes drawn as soon as a decade after the census — the final being in 2020. Many states, together with Texas, give legislators the facility to attract maps. California is amongst people who empowers unbiased commissions with the duty.
If authorized, a brand new California map would take impact provided that a Republican state does its personal redistricting. It might stay by way of the 2030 elections. After that, Democrats say, they might return mapmaking energy to the unbiased fee voters authorized in 2008.
Nguyễn reported from Sacramento, Blood from Los Angeles and Barrow from Atlanta. Related Press author David Lieb in Jefferson Metropolis, Missouri, contributed.
Initially Revealed: August 15, 2025 at 6:06 PM PDT
