'Fighting Fire With Fire': California Puts Retaliatory Redistricting on November Ballot

REDISTRICTING - Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday swiftly signed legislation passed by state lawmakers to let voters decide this November whether to approve a redrawn congressional map designed to counter Texas Republicans' gerrymandering at the behest of President Donald Trump.

"California is countering [Trump's] attempt to rig the 2026 election and redistrict his way out of accountability in states like Texas," Newsom said on social media. "We're fighting fire with fire—giving the power to the people to fight back and demand nationwide independent redistricting." 

The move followed Wednesday's approval by the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature of a Trump-backed plan to redraw the state's congressional map to create five new Republican districts ahead of next year's midterm elections. The California map aims to win five more Democratic seats in 2026.

"Let me be crystal clear, we don't want this fight, and we didn't choose this fight, but with our democracy on the line, we cannot and will not run away from this fight," Democratic Assemblyman Marc Berman (D-23) said prior to Thursday's vote.

National Democrats welcomed California's move, with Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin saying: "This isn't just about California. The basic premise of Americans—instead of Donald Trump—choosing their elected officials is at stake."

While some progressives, including former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, have spoken out against retaliatory redistricting, many others cheered California's fight.

"The response by Democrats in California to counter-balance is being triggered by a blatant GOP plot to steal the 2026 midterms," former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich wrote on X. "This isn't a race to the bottom. It's a means of avoiding the bottom."

(Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams where this article was first published.)