GRAB. THIS REDISTRICTING BATTLE BEGAN WITH PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP IN JULY. HE CALLED ON TEXAS TO REDRAW CONGRESSIONAL LINES TO SEND FIVE REPUBLICANS TO THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. IN RESPONSE, GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM RALLIED STATE DEMOCRATS TO DO THE SAME THING HERE. BUT THE PROCESS IN CALIFORNIA IS NOT AS SIMPLE AS TEXAS. IN 2008, VOTERS CREATED A CITIZEN LED INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION, SO NOW ONLY VOTERS HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THE MAPS. LAST WEEK, THE GOVERNOR LAUNCHED A CAMPAIGN FOR WHAT HE CALLED THE ELECTION RIGGING RESPONSE ACT, ASKING VOTERS TO APPROVE A NEW MAP THAT HEAVILY FAVORS DEMOCRATS. THE OFFICIAL BILLS WERE INTRODUCED MONDAY. AND BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON, CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS APPROVED THE MAP AND PASSED THE LEGISLATION. SOON AFTER, GOVERNOR NEWSOM SIGNED THE BILLS OUTLINING THE LOGISTICS AND FUNDING FOR THE SPECIAL ELECTION. THE VOTERS WILL DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES. NEVER HAPPENED IN U.S. HISTORY. SPARE ME ANY MORAL OR FALSE EQUIVALENCY OF WHAT THEY’RE DOING IN TEXAS. RIGGING CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS TO GET PARTIZAN RESULTS. THAT’S WHAT A GERRYMANDER IS. TONIGHT WE’RE HEARING REACTION FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE. THE CHAIR OF THE GROUP STOP SACRAMENTO’S POWER GRAB SENT KCRA 3 A STATEMENT SAYING IN PART, GAVIN NEWSOM’S DISGUSTING DISPLAY OF PARTIZANSHIP IS AN ATTACK ON CALIFORNIA’S VOTER APPROVED INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING SYSTEM, AS HE AIMS TO ADVANCE HIS OWN POLITICAL INTERESTS. MEANWHILE, THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE SAYING IN PART IN HOLDING A SPECIAL ELECTION TO ASK THE VOTERS OF CALIFORNIA TO DECIDE ON A NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP. CALIFORNIA’S PROPOSAL STANDS IN STARK CONTRAST TO THE REPUBLICANS SHAMELESS SCHEME IN TEXAS. AND CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS MADE A LATE CHANGE TODAY. IF VOTERS APPROVE THESE CONGRESSIONAL MAPS, THEY WILL TAKE EFFECT REGARDLESS OF WHAT OTHER STATES LIKE TEXAS DO WITH THEIR MAPS. IT IS A MAJOR REVERSAL FROM WHAT WE HAD BEEN HEARING FROM THE GOVERNOR AND OTHER STATE LAWMAKERS, SAYING THAT IT ALL HINGED ON TEXAS. MEANWHILE, THE STATE SENATE PLANS TO VOTE ON THEIR MAPS TOMORROW. LIVE IN SACRAMENTO, PEYTON HEADLEE KCRA THREE NEWS. PEYTON. THANK YOU. HERE’S A LOOK AT THE CURRENT MAP AND THE PROPOSED MAP THAT PEOPLE WILL VOTE ON. YOU CAN SEE DISTRICT TWO IN THE GREEN IN THE PROPOSED MAP WOULD LOOK QUITE DIFFERENT. THAT IS DEMOCRAT JARED HUFFMAN SEAT. HE REPRESENTS THE NORTH COAST RIGHT NOW. AND THE PROPOSED MAPS CUT OUT A LARGE CHUNK OF REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN DOUG LAMALFA SEAT. THE DISTRICTS WOULD ALSO CHANGE FOR OTHER REPUBLICAN CONGRESS
Barack Obama urges California voters to pass Prop 50 to counter President Trump
Updated: 9:03 AM PDT Oct 14, 2025
Barack Obama is entering the fight for U.S. House control by appearing in a 30-second ad urging California voters to approve a November ballot proposal that could add as many as five Democrat-held House seats in California.Proposition 50 would dramatically reshape California’s congressional districts with the intent of adding Democratic seats in Congress. It’s crafted to gain Democratic House control, aimed at offsetting President Donald Trump’s moves in Texas and elsewhere to help win more Republican seats in the 2026 midterm election.“Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years,” Obama says in the ad, looking directly into the camera. “You can stop Republicans in their tracks.”Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has framed the election as a referendum on all things Trump, who is unpopular in liberal-leaning California outside of his conservative base. Voting on the proposal is underway and concludes Nov. 4.Republicans and other opponents say the proposal amounts to a Democratic power grab that would set aside district lines crafted by an independent commission that was created by voters more than a decade ago.The duel between California and Texas, the nation’s two most populous states, has spread nationally. North Carolina Republican legislative leaders announced plans Monday to vote next week on redrawing the state’s House district map, taking up Trump’s call to secure more GOP seats nationwide and resist rival moves by Democrats.Republicans hold a 219-213 majority in the U.S. House, with three vacancies.If approved in California, it’s possible the new political map could slash five Republican-held House seats while bolstering Democratic incumbents in other battleground districts. That could boost the Democratic margin to 48 of California’s 52 congressional seats, up from the 43 seats the party now holds.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channelPHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
LOS ANGELES —
Barack Obama is entering the fight for U.S. House control by appearing in a 30-second ad urging California voters to approve a November ballot proposal that could add as many as five Democrat-held House seats in California.
Proposition 50 would dramatically reshape California’s congressional districts with the intent of adding Democratic seats in Congress. It’s crafted to gain Democratic House control, aimed at offsetting President Donald Trump’s moves in Texas and elsewhere to help win more Republican seats in the 2026 midterm election.
“Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years,” Obama says in the ad, looking directly into the camera. “You can stop Republicans in their tracks.”
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has framed the election as a referendum on all things Trump, who is unpopular in liberal-leaning California outside of his conservative base. Voting on the proposal is underway and concludes Nov. 4.
Republicans and other opponents say the proposal amounts to a Democratic power grab that would set aside district lines crafted by an independent commission that was created by voters more than a decade ago.
The duel between California and Texas, the nation’s two most populous states, has spread nationally. North Carolina Republican legislative leaders announced plans Monday to vote next week on redrawing the state’s House district map, taking up Trump’s call to secure more GOP seats nationwide and resist rival moves by Democrats.
Republicans hold a 219-213 majority in the U.S. House, with three vacancies.
If approved in California, it’s possible the new political map could slash five Republican-held House seats while bolstering Democratic incumbents in other battleground districts. That could boost the Democratic margin to 48 of California’s 52 congressional seats, up from the 43 seats the party now holds.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel