California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he is moving forward with putting proposed new congressional maps for the state on the ballot in a Nov. 4 special election in an attempt to counter mid-decade redistricting being pushed by Republicans in Texas.
“I know they say ‘Don’t mess with Texas.’ Well, don’t mess with the great Golden State,” Newsom said at a news conference, flanked by Democratic members of Congress and California union leaders.
“We’re doing this in reaction to a president of the United States that called a sitting governor of the state of Texas and said, ‘Find me five seats,'” he added later.
Ahead of Thursday’s event, Newsom and his media team had been trolling President Donald Trump on social media, posting mocking messages in all capital letters, appearing to mimic Trump’s own social media posts.
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In his remarks, Newsom said the state government will affirm its commitment to the state’s independent redistricting commission after the 2030 census, “but we’re asking the voters for their consent to do midterm redistricting in 2026, 2028 and 2030 for the congressional maps to respond to what’s happening in Texas … and we’ll do so in a way that also affirms our desire as a state to level the playing field all across the United States.”
Mike Blake/Reuters – PHOTO: California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks as he announces the redrawing of California’s congressional maps, calling on voters to approve a ballot measure in Los Angeles, Calif. August 14, 2025.
In a campaign video released concurrently with his announcement, Newsom framed the issue in stark terms.
“It is a five-alarm fire for democracy in the United States of America. Donald Trump, who is trying to light a torch on democracy, continues to try to rig the election,” Newsom says in the video.
Immigration arrest near Newsom speech
As the governor was speaking Thursday, federal agents appeared to be conducting an immigration enforcement operation outside of the venue.
KABC – PHOTO: Federal agents gather on the street outside the venue where California Governor Gavin Newsom spoke about the redrawing of California’s congressional maps before moving to a federal building in Los Angeles, Calif., August 14, 2025.
“Where are we? We are at Democracy Center and right outside at this exact moment? There are dozens and dozens of ICE agents … You think it’s coincidental?” Newsom said, referring to the Democracy Center at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown Los Angeles where he was delivering his remarks. “Donald Trump and his minions, [border czar] Tom Homan, tough guy, clearly decided, coincidentally or not, that this was a location to advance ICE arrests.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said there was “no way” the operation was a coincidence.
“This was widely publicized that the governor and many of our elected officials were having a press conference here to talk about redistricting. And they decided they were going to come and thumb their nose in front of the governor’s face,” she said. “Why would you do that? It’s unbelievably disrespectful. It’s a provocative act. They’re talking about disorder in Los Angeles and they are the source of the disorder in Los Angeles right now. This is just completely unacceptable.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection official Gregory Bovino told reporters that CBP was conducting routine “roving patrols” and made an arrest outside of the venue where Newsom was speaking, but pushed back against insinuations that the location had been chosen for arrests because the governor was holding an event.
Asked if it is a coincidence that CBP made arrests right outside of Newsom’s presser, Bovino said, “Breaking the law is not coincidental. Breaking the law is breaking the law. There’s no coincidence in breaking the law. So when they break the law, you can expect that you’re probably going to get arrested.
MORE: Obama rallies Texas Democrats who left state to block GOP redistricting plan
What will California’s new maps look like?
The California legislature will now have to pass legislation to put the maps on the ballot.
Speaking to reporters after the announcement, Newsom did not address what the proposed congressional maps would look like — only saying that they would be presented in the next few days. He said state legislators would introduce bills on Monday to put the special election in motion and said he is confident they’ll have the two thirds of legislators needed to approve the new maps.
Amid questions from critics about transparency, Newsom claimed the process in California is more transparent than how Texas has handled redistricting, in part because voters will get to weigh in during the special election.
He described the mid-decade redistricting effort as a “temporary” measure and said that the state’s independent commission that normally redraws congressional maps would continue its work in 2030.
“We need to disabuse ourselves of the way things have been done,” Newsom said in his public remarks, adding, “It’s not good enough to just hold hands, have a candlelight vigil and talk about the way the world should be. We have got to recognize the cards that have been dealt, and we have got to meet fire with fire, and we’ve got to be held to a higher level of accountability.”
Even as California is moving forward with the special election, Newsom said the state’s plans for mid-decade redistricting plans would be halted if Republican-run states considering redistricting don’t move forward with redrawing their own maps.
“This does not go forward — I want to remind everybody — unless one of these other states move forward,” Newsom told reporters after the event. “There’s still an exit ramp — not just Texas, but Missouri, as I mentioned, or Florida, Indiana, these other states that are considering doing the unprecedented, rigging their elections with midterm redistricting. So we’re hopeful they don’t move forward. If that’s the case, this effort will not be necessary. But we’re not waiting,” he said.
Republicans are criticizing Newsom’s move as political.
U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, a Republican congressman from California, who has proposed a bill that would ban mid-decade redistricting, wrote on X on Thursday afternoon: “We will not let Gavin Newsom destroy democracy in California.”
State Rep. James Gallagher, the California Assembly Republican Leader, wrote on X: “Drawing maps in the dark with political consultants and likely politicians’ input and influence and then giving 5 days notice for public input on maps that have already been decided is the opposite of transparency. #Gavinmandering”
In a statement to ABC News, Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, criticized California’s current breakdown of congressional districts — where nine of 52 congressional seats are held by Republicans — and said of Newsom’s move, “This is nothing more than political posturing for his 2028 pipe dream.”
“Gavin Newsom’s latest stunt has nothing to do with Californians and everything to do with consolidating radical Democrat power, silencing California voters, and propping up his pathetic 2028 presidential pipe dream,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Christian Martinez said in a statement ahead of the press conference.
“Newsom’s made it clear: he’ll shred California’s Constitution and trample over democracy — running a cynical, self-serving playbook where Californians are an afterthought and power is the only priority,” Martinez said in the statement.
