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Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) was caught on a hot mic expressing concerns about a new map passed in California that would give Democrats up to five pickup opportunities in the House next year.

“Ken has nowhere else to go,” Issa said in footage caught on a pool camera ahead of a White House peace-signing deal, according to a reporter at Spectrum News’s Washington, D.C. bureau. The Congress member was apparently referring to Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.).

“She does have a hard seat she could go to, and I know the administration would look favorably if she would do that,” Issa continued, apparently referring to Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.). “And then if she doesn’t win, you know, she could go to the administration for two years. With Ken, we need him exactly where he is.”

Much of the district “is or has been his,” Issa said. “If anyone else had a claim for it, it’d be me because we’ve overlapped a lot.” Issa and Calvert’s districts share a border.

The Hill has reached out to a spokesperson in Issa’s office for comment. 

California voters last month passed Proposition 50, which redraws the Golden State’s congressional lines to add up to five pickup opportunities for Democrats ahead of the 2026 midterms. 

California Democrats put Proposition 50 on the ballot for a special November election after Texas Republicans passed a new House map earlier this summer that would give Republicans the chance to net up to five seats in the state. The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that those lines could be used in time for next year’s elections, as the high court weighs the broader lawsuit around the Texas House map.

The redistricting battle has set off a national war that’s prompted blue and red states alike nationwide to pass new maps as both parties try to cancel out the other’s gains. 

Punchbowl News reported earlier this week that Issa was considering leaving his House seat in California to run in Texas instead. However, Issa told Fox News Digital in a statement Thursday that he would be running in California this cycle.

“I’m thrilled to set the record straight and here’s the truth: Texas House members and residents of that state did ask if I would consider running there following Gavin Newsom’s historically corrupt gerrymander,” the California Republican told the news outlet.

“I appreciate the opportunity, but California is my home. I told them I’m going to stay in Congress, and I don’t need to go to Texas for that.”

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