Gavin Newsom knows the popular image of him is of a smooth talker with slicked-back hair, the wealthy liberal who co-owns a vineyard.

Braun—who Trump relegated to the kids’ table during his star-studded inauguration—has yet to make a decision on the matter, but his counterpart in Texas, Greg Abbott, is all in on the plan, with a special redistricting session planned for this week that could net the GOP five more House seats.

As Texas hurtles toward a flashpoint on a GOP effort to redraw congressional districts, California Democrats are answering with a plan of their own.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to roll out an official campaign on Thursday in Los Angeles advocating for California to redraw its congressional districts and offset a similar GOP-led effort in Texas to net the party an additional five U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterms.

The state’s voters would need to approve redrawing of congressional maps in a special election Nov. 4.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is advocating for California to redraw its congressional districts and offset a similar GOP-led effort in Texas.

Voters will be tasked with approving new congressional maps in a special election in November, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced.

A group of masked U.S. Border Patrol agents showed up in trucks outside of the press conference at the Japanese American National Museum.

So, Newsom and Democratic legislators are not thumbing their noses at the voters’ will. They’re asking today’s voters to suspend the ban on gerrymandering and adopt a partisan redistricting plan at a Nov. 4 special election. The good government process of map drawing by the citizen’s commission would return after the 2030 decennial census.

The redistrict strategy could be a boon for Newsom's 2028 ambitions during a moment when Democrats are hungry for leaders. But it's also risky.