From the onset, Gov. Gavin Newsom and supporters of California’s mid-cycle redistricting plan have called it a “response” to Republicans.
The measure before voters in the special election is Proposition 50, dubbed the “Election Rigging Response Act” when Newsom kicked off the campaign — the legislature needed to approve the new congressional district maps and call the special election first — in mid-August. Newsom said then that the special election was predicated upon Texas or other Republican-led states going through with partisan redistricting, at the behest of his archrival, President Donald Trump.
Read more: Southern California’s guide to Prop. 50, the 2025 redistricting election
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, not too long after California’s redistricting rally, signed into law new congressional maps for his state, designed to give Republicans five extra seats courtesy of the Lone Star State in the 2026 midterm elections.
Should California voters approve Prop. 50, those gains could be neutralized; California’s redistricting plan is meant to give Democrats an additional five seats.
But in the weeks since Texas and California launched competing redistricting efforts, two more states have OK’d new, gerrymandered maps meant to boost the GOP: Missouri in September, and just this week, North Carolina, as well.
For those keeping score at home, that means two more notches in the Republican column in the redistricting race.
Could that be a boost for Prop. 50 with a little more than a week to go until Election Day?
It can’t hurt, supporters said.
“I’m sure it will help,” said Florice Hoffman, chair of the Democratic Party of Orange County, which is involved in get-out-the-vote efforts in favor of Prop. 50.
“North Carolina is the latest state to bend the knee for Trump’s election rigging scheme,” said Hannah Milgrom, a spokesperson for the Yes on 50 campaign, “and it’s more proof of why we must pass Prop. 50.”
Despite it not being, originally, an election year in California, already more than 4 million ballots have already been returned (through the mail or at various drop-off locations), as of the secretary of state’s latest tally on Thursday, Oct. 23. That’s a little more than 17% of the nearly 23.3 million ballots issued through the mail to the state’s registered voters.
“We’re seeing some pretty extraordinary numbers of early votes that have already been cast,” Newsom said during a recent event in support of Prop. 50, alongside former President Barack Obama.
Supporters and opponents of Prop. 50 alike say the high interest in the special election may be attributed to Trump, rather than more states moving forward with partisan redistricting.
“I can’t think of anything in my lifetime where we’ve had an election that is specifically, metaphorically, poking the president of the United States in the nose the way this does,” said Michael Trujillo, a Democratic strategist in Southern California. “This is the first time in recent modern history that voters in one state can vote for a proposition that (angers) Donald Trump. That makes so many happy Democrats in California because it neutralizes the shenanigans in other states, and it upsets the White House.”
The Yes on 50 campaign, its spokesperson, Milgrom, said, is engaging voters with the message of: “Prop. 50 is America’s best hope to stop Trump’s power grab and ensure a fair election in 2026.”
Longtime Republican strategist Jon Fleischman also points to the Trump effect in the election.
“I don’t think the argument for passing Prop. 50 has anything to do with redistricting,” said Fleischman, who is opposed to Prop. 50. “They’ve turned that campaign into a referendum on Donald Trump.”
“I don’t think people are voting for this because of the fact that Texas did it. I don’t think it’s the motivating factor for voters,” he said.
A recent CBS News poll seemingly backs up that opinion.
Among likely California voters who are picking yes on Prop. 50, only 18% said Trump was not a reason for their decision. A whopping 75%, however, said they were voting yes to oppose Trump.
Meanwhile, 62% of likely voters surveyed said they were choosing yes on Prop. 50, while 38% said no.
The poll surveyed more than 1,500 registered voters between Oct. 16-21 with a margin of error of +/- 3.6 points for likely voters.
North Carolina legislators earlier this week approved a new congressional map meant to give Republicans one extra seat in the U.S. House by targeting the district held by Democratic Rep. Don Davis in the northeastern part of the state. There, Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of the legislature, and the state’s Democratic governor, Josh Stein, is prevented from vetoing redistricting maps.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.