{"id":34823,"date":"2025-11-02T17:30:06","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T17:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/34823\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T17:30:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T17:30:06","slug":"dems-looking-at-prop-50-campaign-as-a-redistricting-blueprint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/34823\/","title":{"rendered":"Dems looking at Prop. 50 campaign as a redistricting blueprint"},"content":{"rendered":"

California is less than two weeks away from voters deciding whether to approve new\u00a0congressional district lines<\/a>. Democrats across the country are jumping in to help push the ballot initiative through, knowing it will be a decisive data point in their\u00a0broader redistricting efforts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

State<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0state<\/a>, Republicans have delivered seats that are more friendly to their party as President Donald Trump looks for ways to preserve and grow the House majority ahead of\u00a0next year\u2019s midterms<\/a>. But the Proposition 50 ballot initiative in California is Democrats\u2019 first opportunity to gain up to five seats tilted toward their party.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re on the verge of winning Prop 50, which is an important and decisive response, and there are ongoing efforts across the country, including in Illinois, to decide what is the next step to push back against the aggressive gerrymandering as part of Donald Trump\u2019s effort to rig the midterm elections,\u201d House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told NOTUS when asked about ongoing conversations regarding redistricting.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur efforts across the country will be ongoing and continuous.\u201d<\/p>\n

In California, Democrats are aware of how much what they do could serve as a blueprint or momentum for other states. Blue states like Virginia, Illinois, Maryland and New York have signaled interest in pursuing this path, but Democrats in each state face various hurdles and timelines to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re a Democratic leader in a red state, you\u2019re cheering the action of California Democrats who are fighting the fight on your behalf, and if you\u2019re a Democratic leader in a blue state where you have the legislature and\/or the governor\u2019s office, you see close monitoring of what\u2019s going on here to get into the fight yourselves,\u201d Rusty Hicks, chair of the California Democratic Party, told NOTUS.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo Illinois, Maryland, and New York, wherever you can squeeze out a seat or two, because North Carolina and Indiana and these other states are looking to do the same,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

California is the first state in which Democrats have begun redistricting in response to Republican efforts to redistrict their states under pressure from Trump. If Proposition 50 passes, the new maps would be used until 2030, at which point the state\u2019s independent redistricting commission would again draw new ones based on the census.<\/p>\n

However, due to recent state-level reforms in blue states aimed at stopping political gerrymandering, Democrats have\u00a0fewer options<\/a>\u00a0when it comes to redistricting, limiting their options to respond to Republican efforts. Even California is legally required by state law to obtain voter approval for redistricting measures \u2014 unlike other states, like Texas, where the process lies almost exclusively with the state Legislature.<\/p>\n

Illinois and Virginia are two of the Democratic states currently considering redistricting efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want Prop 50, and in my opinion, we have to do what we have to do in my state, too,\u201d Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois told NOTUS.\u00a0\u201cThey\u2019re just getting into it more now, but hopefully Prop 50 will pass and that will be the role model.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier in October, Jeffries campaigned for Proposition 50 with Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove in Southern California. Former President Barack Obama held a virtual campaign rally with Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday, where he continued to make the case that the outcome of the statewide initiative has national implications. The \u201cYes on 50\u201d campaign has also greatly\u00a0outraised<\/a>\u00a0the \u201cNo on Prop 50\u201d campaign, raking in almost $97 million, compared to $42 million the No on Prop 50 campaign brought in, according to CalMatters.<\/p>\n

National Democratic figures are also putting in virtual appearances.\u00a0The \u201cYes on 50\u201d campaign has steadily released ads featuring lawmakers from outside of California, including\u00a0Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Jasmine Crockett<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Sens. Chris Murphy<\/a>and\u00a0Elizabeth Warren<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Donald Trump ordered Texas Republicans to rig the next election, they drew my seat off the map,\u201d Crockett,\u00a0who is now\u00a0mulling a Senate run<\/a>, says\u00a0in one ad<\/a>. \u201cCalifornia, our right to fair representation is in your hands. With Prop 50, you have the power to stop them,\u201d she continues.<\/p>\n

For the \u201cYes on 50\u201d campaign, that type of involvement is welcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose messengers are an important proof point for that and to sort of send that message home about what California can do and what\u2019s at stake in California, but what\u2019s at stake nationally,\u201d a spokesperson for the \u201cYes on 50\u201d campaign said. \u201cThis is what Californians can do, broadly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warren told NOTUS that she was glad to help \u201cget the word out\u201d about Proposition 50.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the Republicans in Texas decided to change the rules and redistrict in the middle of an election cycle, they affect the whole country. So California said they would put it to their voters and see if the voters wanted to do the same thing in California, and I support that,\u201d Warren told NOTUS.<\/p>\n

Mail-in voting has already begun in California, with\u00a0more than 3.4 million<\/a>\u00a0ballots already turned in. Voters can also cast their ballots at the polls on Nov. 4.<\/p>\n

This story was produced as part of a partnership between\u00a0NOTUS\u00a0<\/a>\u2014 a publication from the nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute \u2014 and\u00a0NEWSWELL<\/a>, home of\u00a0Times of San Diego<\/a>,\u00a0Santa Barbara News-Press<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Stocktonia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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