California Gov. Gavin Newsom calls for a new way for California to redraw its voting districts during a news conference in Sacramento, California, on Friday July 25, 2025. (AP Photo / Rich Pedroncelli)
The Republican push in Texas is part of a broader effort by the GOP across the country to keep control of their razor-thin House majority, and cushion losses elsewhere in the country, as the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats in midterm elections.
Trump and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House, when Democrats stormed back to grab the House majority in the 2018 midterms.
AWOL TEXAS DEMS THREATENED WITH EXPULSION, FELONY CHARGES FOR ABSENCE AMID REDISTRICTING BATTLE
"Texas will be the biggest one," the president told reporters recently, as he predicted the number of GOP-friendly seats that could be added through redistricting in the reliably red state. "Just a simple redrawing, we pick up five seats."
Scores of Texas Democrats in the state legislature fled the state, to prevent Republicans from holding votes to pass the new maps. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has called for those lawmakers to be arrested and prosecuted upon their return to the Lone Star State.
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (left) and current Gov. Gavin Newsom are on opposite sides in the push for mid-decade congressional redistricting. (Getty; AP)
The governor is moving to hold a special election this year, to obtain voter approval to undo the constitutional amendments that created the non-partisan redistricting commission. A two-thirds majority vote in the Democrat-dominated California legislature would be needed to hold the referendum.
"The proposal that we're advancing with the legislature has a trigger only if they move forward, to dismantling the protocols that are well-established," Newsom said on Monday. "Would the state of California move forward in kind? Fighting? Yes, fire with fire."
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Newsom said the people of California would have the final say.
"We will offer them the opportunity to make judgments for themselves, again, only if Texas moves forward," Newsom said.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/schwarzenegger-push-back-against-newsom-redistricting-bid-california